Why do we study English language?
Dahlia Bartley, Contributor

Wow! What a summer we have had! One thing that certainly unites our people is sports and it did just that these past weeks as we travelled to Beijing with our athletes! What joy! What thrills! What ecstasy! And, of course, there were some disappointments. We congratulate our athletes who represented us, and it should not really matter if they gave us gold, silver or bronze medals, or none at all. What we should really look at are the lessons to be learnt from the performances. I will mention two. A most obvious one is that success is sweet. Once you work hard, you can and will achieve much. Just recall the glee, the joy, the jubilation, the dancing and, oh yes, the cheers and tears.

I humbly believe that Asafa Powell reminded us of a second important lesson. Many may feel that he disappointed us in the 100-metre race, but what was his response? He did not keel over but, he instead, like a bolt of lightning, magnificently anchored the 4x100-metre relay to help his team shatter an existing world record. Now, these two lessons are applicable to students in school. Can you think of others?

Another school year has started and, with that, I welcome you all to this year's series of lessons. The last year seems to have flown by so quickly. Time is moving at such a pace that we must make optimum use of it. New readers, I welcome you especially. I hope this new school year will be quite memorable and fulfilling. I deem it an honour to participate in this way, as you face new friends, new teachers, new challenges and new ideas.

As all concerned individuals, we ought to be perturbed by the continued poor performance of many Jamaican children who write the English A Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination. We certainly have to find measures to deal with the current situation, for our standard must improve.

Let me congratulate those students who were successful in their examinations, and those of you who are moving towards wider horizons.

Hard work

No doubt, your success was as a result of your hard work, your dedication and your determination to apply the best of yourselves. Didn't our athletes do just that? To those of you who were not so successful, my advice to you is quite simple: Learn from your mistakes, pick yourself up, set new goals and try to reach them, starting today!!! We can learn so much from a seemingly failed attempt. Asafa certainly did.

Do not treat the matter of going to school lightly. Have you thanked your parents, other relatives, your guardians and God for the privilege of being in an educational institution? Have you thanked them for the sacrifices they have made? I know that in several cases the sacrifices have been many. The least you can do to show your appreciation is to pay attention in all your classes and apply yourself.

So many people seem to blow a fuse very easily these days, therefore, I am earnestly asking you to avoid conflicts with other students and do not hurt others, whether physically or verbally. I do not have to remind you of the results of many of these 'battles' that have taken place on the school compounds, in the communities and even in the homes.

Now, why do we study English language? There are so many students who believe that there is no need to study this subject. This is so unfortunate, and this myth must be changed. Please try to identify some of the important reasons for the study of the subject. Among these are the following:

English, a universal language, is used for communication in business and politics, even in some countries where it is a minority language.

Competence

It is also the major language of news and information in the world.

English is necessary for professional careers.

An understanding of the language will greatly enhance a student's performance in other subjects. Consider why this is so.

The course of study will culminate with the sitting of the Caribbean Examination Council's (CXC's) English A paper. Students, in the examination, you must demonstrate competence in your ability to use the language with ease. You, therefore, need to develop high-level skills in both comprehension and expression. These skills must be demonstrated in the examination as you write several answers, paying attention to the proper use of all punctuation marks and other conventions in writing - proper sentence structure and paragraphing, inverted commas, capital letters, abbreviations, the writing of numbers, whether in figures or in words, and correct spelling. These areas will be addressed in subsequent lessons.

Next week, we will consider the CXC syllabus. Again, I welcome you to another year of these lessons which I hope will assist you as you strive towards honour and success, as our athletes did in Beijing.

These William Knibb High School students share an English language past paper during the 'Youthlink's' CSEC Exams Technique Seminar at the Montego Bay Civic Centre in Montego Bay, St James, recently. Photo by by Sheena Gayle

Dahlia Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.