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Showing posts from December, 2015

Text Language And The Education Sytem

Most of us in the Caribbean speak an English Creole as our first language.   Despite this, we are expected, and sometimes forced, to speak and write a standard form of English in formal situations, such as what occurs in the classroom. As a result, we are likely to learn a standard, Caribbean English as our second language. However, this process has become more challenging with the influence and interference of text language which has seeped into formal writing and expression. Text language is an abbreviated form of jargon and or vernacular which has gained acceptance by users of various social media platforms. It is widely utilized by users of cellular phones to communicate with each other. Some educators refer to the process of development which all second language learners experience as interlanguage. Interlanguage includes some forms of the second language, with a mixture of other structures from the first language as well as from environmental influences. Ever since the increase o

World AIDS Day

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December 1 is celebrated globally as World Aids Day. As in previous years this year the call to action is for an expansion of antiretroviral therapy to all people living with HIV which is the key to ending the AIDS epidemic within a generation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The day is also a way to demonstrate international solidarity for people living with HIV and to commemorate the spirit of those who have died battling the deadly disease. The theme for the 2015 “On the Fast Track to End AIDS” According to the World Health Organization (WHO) some 35 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, of this number 3. 2 million are children. Since the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in 1981 some 39 million individuals have died.   It is estimated that some 240,000 people in the Caribbean are living with HIV/AIDS. Jamaica has an estimated 32, 000 people living with HIV/AIDS. The Caribbean is second to Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of HIV prevalence. The WHO es