Shamira Coye

SSED-400: Understanding Belizean Society

Galen University
Language Policy Reflection
 Language Policy is a set of rules placed by the Government of Belize as part of a

designed plan to enforce the use of Standardized English within the country. The Government of

Belize expects that by the end of primary school the child can speak English and use it properly.

Never the less, the policy takes in consideration that Belize is diverse with various cultural

groups and languages and advices and guide teachers to be very conscious that children come to

class from different geographical areas, ethnic group, cultural background and religion.

Therefore, it is expected that many of them will have a different native language other than

English and are more comfortable communicating using their 1 st language. As a teacher it is

imperative to understand that language development is an important part of the child’s life as it

helps them to express and communicate with one another. So teachers should get to know their

children and their background so to be aware of what he/she needs to have in consideration when

planning and preparing instructions. The English language is required within a classroom but

knowing that they come from different backgrounds and that they might have a different mother

tongue language it is important to sometimes plan instructions that would build on their 1 st

language. The use of the second language will come along as the child learn more words, listens

to the language constantly and is able to understand how the sounds within the language works.

It is then that they will be able to put words together and build different type of sentences and

become proficient with the English language.

As children continue learning and developing new language skills they will learn to

decide when they can speak the English and when they can use their native language, as it is very

beneficial for an individual to speak more than one language. Since a majority of Belizeans

speak Spanish, the language Spanish is also taught in the school which I believe is great so that
children whom their 1st language is English or any other they are able to communicate and

express themselves in Spanish as well, having in mind that our neighboring countries as

Chetumal, Guatemala, El Salvador are Spanish speakers.

What I like of the curriculum is that it allows the opportunity to promote cultural

preservation and awareness. Especially when teaching Social Studies where children are taught

about the Belize history and how the different ethnic groups and cultures came about. Having

them being able to experience being in a class where there are different ethnic groups allows

them to express freely and feel proud of their culture and language which is awesome because

each culture is given recognition. The Government has done many things to promote awareness

and preservation of culture and history of Belize by launching the National Culture Policy and

the World Indigenous Music Festival, naming of the George Price Highway and Philip Goldson

Highway and by celebrating the Caracol Soltice.

Overall, it is evident that despite having English as the official language of Belize. The

government of Belize and different organizations such as NICH have done a lot from their part to

maintain our cultural roots and history. Yes, globalization has affected cultures greatly but we

are resilient people and through proper education and knowledge we will maintain strong and it

is my job as an educator to promote awareness and preservation of cultures and language in the

classroom. Culture is what makes up Belize and therefore preservation of language will keep

culture alive.
 References

https://issuu.com/nich-belize/docs/culturepolicy2014

http://www.belizeanstudies.com/uploads/1/1/7/3/117332085/upper_division_language_arts_c

urriculum.pdf