The
use of Creole in Teaching in Réunion
by:
Leila
Caid-Capron
9 bis rue Lorraine
97400 Saint Denis
REUNION
As
an Assistant Lecturer in Linguistics in the Department of
Sciences of Education at the Faculty of Arts in Réunion,
I try to give the students1) the tools
in lexicology, syntax and sociolinguistics which should
help them to suppress the linguistic problems they encounter
in the pedagogic experience. These are often caused by the
voluntary rejection of Creole as the mother tongue in the
school system. Réunion, like the three other French
départments2), follows
the national program, generally without consideration for
the local languages and cultures.
With the help of an “IPR-IA” (Regional Teaching
Inspector, Inspector of Academy), commissioned in the area
of language acquisition and mastery as well as for regional
cooperation, we are going to specify what is done on an
institutional level, then concretely consider Creole as
a mother-tongue in Réunion.
At the Rectorate of Réunion, the educational district
council of programs is responsible for the adaptation of
the national program to the local cultural realities. There
exist commissions in geography, history, botany, and language
which take into account the Reunionese culture and language.
In the commission which is interested in language teaching,
a workshop as been constituted, guided by an “IDEN”3).
Since the creation of the “ZEP” (Zone d’Education
Prioritaire4), and their articulation
with the operations of the “DSQ” (Développement
Social des Quartiers5), the emphasis
is laid on how to take into account the Reunionese linguistic
facts.
It
is within this framework (DSQ/ZEP) that an agreement has
been concluded between the Rectorate and the town of Le
Port on the area of Rivière des Galets – an
underprivileged quarter – to struggle against school
failure, a program entitled “Réussir l’école”6).
Four
projects are led in this framework in conjunction with the
actors in the field (teachers/parents) and one or two scientific
tutors. The projects – School, Family, Reading, and
AFMC (Learning French in a Creole-speaking Area) –
were laid out simultaneously two years ago. Another one,
which has the theme “scientific study and entomology”,
was laid out this year.
The
purpose is to use science in order to favour the pupils’
success in school, in their natural environment and through
the means of their mother tongue.
The group AFMC, for example, intervenes from kindergarten
to primary school. The problems which are studied are strictly
linguistic: phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical. Further
more, the local cultural elements are integrated in the
school programs throughout with relations of everyday life,
counting rhymes, “sirandanes” (riddles).
In
this quarter of La Rivière des Galets, a group of
parents is represented in all the activities – they
help with invigilation of studies, homework studies, reading
– in order to help the creole-speaking children to
succeed at school.
Provided
for in the institutional framework, these actions remain,
however, marginal. In everyday reality, on the other hand,
the consideration of the fact of Creole is very limited.
The debate remains coloured by its political character.
At
the level of the headmasters, the positions are usually
clear-cut: for some of them, French language must be the
only one used and taught at school. For others, it is acceptable
to allow the Creole-speaking children to speak Creole at
school. In this second case, the ideology and the purpose
remain, however, always the same: the usage of the Creole
language to learn French. Learning Creole as a language
to be studied in its entirety has never been contemplated.
What
can be stated from this will to ignore the Creole language
is that the twelve-year old children speak an interlanguage
which is no longer Creole and which is not French either.
We cannot deny the impact of such a policy on the acquisition
of the French written language.
It
follows from this study that French language is not taught
with techniques which take into account the pupils’
social language practice. The parallel with the neighbouring
countries – the Creole speaking countries (Seychelles,
Mauritius) and non-Creole-speaking countries (Madagascar,
Comoro Islands) – would on the one hand open up new
horizons in the understanding of linguistic problems, with
a view to removing them. As well, it would make it easier
to determine the best techniques of learning in a Creole-speaking
environment which would finally allow the acceptance of
Creole as a language (as in the Seychelles where Creole
is recognized as the official language).
__________________
1)
Most of them are primary or secondary school teachers ,
educators or future teachers who sit for this examination
to be able to enter the “IUFM” (Institute Universitaire
de la Formations des Maîtres) (Training School).
2) Martinique, Guadaloupe and French Guiana.
3)
“IDEN”: Inspectrice Départementale de
l’Education Nationale (a primary teacher inspector).
4)
Area of Priority Education.
5)
Social Development of the Districts.
6)
Succeed in School. |