This study examines language as it is used in the teaching-learning process in classrooms in Tobago, West Indies. The focus is at the primary level and the touchstone for the exercise is the current Primary School Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2013) of Trinidad and Tobago. Emphasis is on the use of Creole English vis-a?-vis Standard English, a concern enunciated in the above curriculum document.

The state, through the Ministry of Education, has made the pronouncement that Creole English may be engaged in the teaching-learning process in classrooms in the nation’s public primary schools. This policy is critical and raises certain concerns for the researcher. The policy was made against a background of popular knowledge that Creole English has been used for several decades now in the schooling environment by both teachers and students, and against a historical precedence which gave pride of place to the use of Standard English in the classroom.

The situation is one in which a shift of state policy is made at a time when the ideological currents are different, and the contrast here points to a major contestation. Herein lies the problem which provides the impetus for the proposed dissertation.

Questions about the process - those issues residing at the level of practice, where and when in the actual teaching process, and with what effect, must now be considered. The use of Creole English in the classroom also raises questions about curriculum policy, ideology, and how Creole English will in fact be engaged. All of these issues are pivotal in the implementation process and proceed from, and reside in, the Ministry’s decision to officially allow the use of Creole English in the classroom.

The study will yield information for practitioners, and administrators in education as the research questions put emphasis upon what takes place at the level of practice. Concrete feedback will be provided on language use, a factor which is critical not only for curricularists but also for all those who have a stake in improving performance standards among students in Tobago.

Ms. NICHOLE FRASER has been an educator for twenty-eight (28) years with experience at both the secondary and tertiary levels.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Andrews University in 1994, she began teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at the University of the Southern Caribbean.

While teaching English Language and English Literature at high school level, Ms Fraser also served with the Division of Education, Tobago as acting Head of Department and acting Dean of Academics. She later joined the School of Education and Human Sciences at USC in 2005 and served as Chair of the Department of Teacher Education from 2018 - 2021.

Ms Fraser holds the following qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English (Andrews University, USA), Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – (UWI), Postgraduate Diploma in Education - Educational Administration (UWI), Master of Education (M.Ed.) in International Teaching (Framingham State University, USA), Master of Managing Small and Medium Enterprises (Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business - UWI)

Her proposed dissertation focuses on the hegemonic and counter-hegemonic forces that are believed to have engineered and shaped schooling endeavours in the Caribbean context, with particular emphasis on English language education and language development in Tobago. The research will shed new light on teaching and learning across the Caribbean and stimulate awareness of language pedagogy in the classroom.