The ability of students to understand fully what they read and listen to and to express themselves clearly in writing and in speech is a critical factor in managing their personal and social well-being.  The study of language and literature provides opportunity for students to develop competence and confidence in speaking and writing for personal and public purposes in everyday activities.  It also seeks to develop the students’ ability to read and enjoy literacy texts, to explore social and moral issues, and to evaluate the way language grows, develops and is used.

Students explore receptively and expressively three major literacy modes, Drama, Poetry and Prose Fiction, in order to come aware of the many functions and purposes of language.  In doing so, they discover that the four facets of language arts, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing are closely linked together and are interdependent.

Syllabus objectives are organised under understanding and expression in order to guide curriculum development, to give meaning to a teaching programme and too define an assessment scheme that reinforces an English syllabus which has been conceived as an integrate approach to language teaching and which enables students to appreciate the holistic nature of language learning.

The English syllabus is organised for examination as English A and English B.  the former emphasises the development of oral and written language skills among students through a variety of strategies.  The latter provides opportunities for students to explore and respond critically to specific literacy texts as they observe and appreciate the author’s craft.

The syllabus aims to:

1. Develop the ability to  use the language with precision, clarity and grammatical correctness;
2. Develop the ability to give effective articulation to experience (real or imagined;
3. Promote a willingness and ability in students to inform themselves about, and to contribute reasoned opinions on social issues;
4. Promote a lasting appreciation of the diversity of purposes for which language varieties are used;
5. Develop a critical awareness of the language devices used to persuade;
6. Develop an ability to respond to literature for pleasure, and to make sensitive appraisals of value judgements, feelings, and other concepts expressed in literature;
7. Develop knowledge of the various sources of information and a desire to use these for their own enlightenment;
8. Promote an understanding and appreciation of the place and value of the varieties of English and of the dialects and creoles of the Caribbean and other regions in different social and cultural contexts.

The syllabus covers the following broad areas:

• Grammar and Mechanics
• Informative Discourse
• Literacy Discourse
• Persuasive Discourse