USA
from: Georgette Gonsalves
308 Columbus Ave
Boston, MA 02116 USA
Despite the general, hostile climate towards the use of languages other than English in US school classrooms, the City of Boston continues to support the role of native languages in its Transitional Bilingual Education programs. Current efforts are underway to develop learning standards in the following languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole and Capeverdean Creole. Truly exciting! Especially for the last two languages. Of course they are spoken by significant numbers of students in the schools, grades K-12.

Starting October 1998, I will be teaching an innovative graduate course for Haitian and Capeverdean language teachers in the Boston schools. Entitled “Creoles in Education: the Role of Reading and Writing in Capeverdean and Haitian Bilingual Education”. It is offered through the University of Massachusetts, Boston, supported by Dr. Donaldo Macedo and by Dr. Michel DeGraff of M.I.T.

The timely announcement in July 1998 by the Government of Cape Verde to support the officialization of a unified orthography for the Capeverdean language is most encouraging for those of us who are working for validation of creoles in the area of formal education.

Finally, the Capeverdean Creole Institute, Inc. of Boston is sponsoring the November visit of Dr. Manuel Veiga, author of the first comprehensive linguistic study of Capeverdean Creole entitled “Introdução à Gramática do Crioulo” (1995,1996). More information about the Institute can be obtained by e-mail to me: GRGET @AOL.COM or by accessing the web using keyword “Capeverdean”
A Luta Kontinua!

Solomon Islands
from: Fr Bernie O’Donnell
LASI
Box R4
Honiara, SOLOMON ISLANDS
nac@welkam.solomon.com.sb
LASI (Literacy Association of Solomon Islands) continues to conduct its literacy programs in SI Pidgin as well as other local languages. These adult literacy programs have proved very useful in getting older people able to read and at a later stage, to write, if necessary. Those who are well-motivated are able to read in 6 months with a couple of 1-1.5 hour classes every week.

In general, while English is still the official language of instruction in formal education, much education is effectively done in Pidgin. Officially in the Solomon Islands, Pidgin is looked down upon, but it is increasingly spoken, making it necessary for everyone to become more conversant in it and also to read, write and speak it accurately.

Sweden
from: Karl Erland Gadelii
Department of Oriental and African Languages
Göteborg University
Box 200
SE-405 30 Göteborg, SWEDEN
gadelii@african.gu.se
I do not know how relevant the stuff I am doing now is but I am still working on the grammar of Lesser Antillean French Creole and my present (and also past) endeavour is to show that this language has a grammar of its own which can neither be derived from its super- nor substratal languages. I suppose this has educational implications because it means that Lesser Antillean has to be treated as a language in its own right in the educational system.

Australia
from: Jennifer Munro
6 Dudley St
Rapid Creek, NT 0810
AUSTRALIA
I have been involved in 2 main programs that involve the use of Kriol in education:

1. Kriol literacy workshop for General Studies students of Batchelor College during the Aboriginal Languages Fortnight.
This was held in May 1999 for 2 weeks; 23 students attended, mostly from the Roper River region of the Northern Territory. The workshop was held in Katherine. The main aims of the workshop, which were all achieved, were: a) to introduce and develop Kriol literacy skills; b) to explore the domains and roles of Kriol literacy in Aboriginal society; and c) for each student to produce a written text based on one such role. As the linguist, I designed and delivered the course with assistance from the two lecturers and support from Diwurru-wurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation (Katherine Language Centre). The students displayed great enthusiasm and interest and it was felt the workshop was successful both in this way and in meeting its aims.

2. Kriol used as the language of instruction in Language Revitalisation (LR) Programs in primary schools.
Since 1996 I have worked as a teacher-linguist on 4 LR programs, largely in the Roper River region. It has become increasingly obvious that Kriol must be employed both orally and in literacy as the language of instruction. There are 3 main benefits, and they are: a) Aboriginal teachers and teaching assistants will only claim ownership over material written in Kriol and these are therefore the only ones they will use. b) It broadens the scope of the program from simply teaching a traditional language as a second language to one where Aboriginal language and culture can begin to find a place within the school. c) Children’s compre-hension is immediate and therefore more effective.

from: Margaret Sharpe
33A Brown St
Armidale, NSW 2350
AUSTRALIA
Currently working on the final draft of the Alawa-Kriol-English triglot dictionary. Alawa people are now centred around Minyerri or Hodgson Downs in the Northern Territory. Children (whose first language is Kriol) are learning some Alawa in the school at Minyerri, aided by Jen Munro who is employed by Diwurruwurru-jaru (Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre).