Most Haitians speak Haitian Creole but traditional language of education is French

While French may be the official language of Haiti, Creole is what is spoken by over 90% of its citizens. However French is the language used to teach in nearly every Haitian classroom, yet instructors don't speak or write it fluently. Creole and French vocabularies and syntaxes differ to the point they are almost unrecognizable. People ask why continue an education system using a language uncomfortable to teach and learn in?

Haitian Creole is perceived as an inferior offshoot of French and its speakers as having no fluency in French, when in fact they are speaking Creole. For students, not being able to master French means not being able to do well in their studies.

Another barrier to introducing Creole into classroom instruction is its colonial and historical roots. When the French colonized Haiti, it created an elite, educated class, which spoke French. This tradition has endured and needs to be banished if Haiti is to offer fundamental education to all its children.

Some people fear if students aren't required to learn in French, a global language, they will be undereducated. But educators say children can easily learn French ". . . once they have learned how to learn in their primary language."

To demonstrate Creole does not hold back students from achieving, Louverture Cleary School reports 98% of its seniors passed the national high school exam. Educators are starting to put together Creole-based curriculums and it seems a new day is dawning for Haitian education.

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