Section 2: Rationale

English is the official language of the Solomon Islands and the recognised medium of instruction in all formal education institutions throughout the country. This is in accordance with The Education Act of the Solomon Islands (1978), more lately amended to include other languages for instructional purposes. Raising standards in oracy and literacy in English enables learners to function effectively in all areas of the curriculum and develop skills to progress through formal education, future employment and adult life.

Learners develop oracy and literacy skills in English to enable them to communicate confidently and effectively in both spoken and written modes. Literacy skills include fundamental knowledge and skills in alphabetic principles, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, letter sound relationship and decoding and encoding. Applying phonics strategies will enable learners to read fluently with understanding as they progress through the primary years.

They develop the ability to listen to, read and respond to stories, drama, poems and other forms of speaking and writing about their own and other cultures. In the Solomon Islands, English fulfils a number of roles:

• Fluency in spoken English enables learners to communicate and express their ideas with confidence in the official language of the Solomon Islands,
• A sound understanding of English is necessary for learners to fully access all areas of the primary curriculum, and is essential if they are to progress to secondary and tertiary education,
• Achieving literacy in English gives pupils access to a range of written texts including, magazines, books, poetry and both mass media and social media,
• In adulthood, the ability to read in English promotes access to a range of professional fields, business, science and technology.

The syllabus integrates all language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – to promote learning within and across all curriculum areas.

The use of languages other than English in the curriculum

The Primary English Syllabus aims to build learners’ proficiency in the use of everyday and academic English. As a multilingual nation with over 70 indigenous languages, children in the Solomon Islands generally enter primary school speaking the vernacular of their home environment and often Pijin, the language of wider communication. Therefore English teaching should explicitly build upon the languages that learners already know in order to support their growing English proficiency. This is done through teaching and learning strategies which promote and value the other languages of learners and teachers, as outlined in Section 8. Using learners’ first languages is consistent with the learner centred nature of the outcome based education approach, and the Policy Statement and Guidelines for the Use of Vernacular Language and English Education in Solomon Islands.