Throughout the Caribbean, there is concern about the standard of writing among students. This concern is verbalized in numerous reports from the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) on students’ performance in English in their certification examinations. Hard Words offers solutions to this problem by exploring the effects of English-based Creole on students’ writing and by promoting reading as powerful tool that can assist students and teachers in the classroom.

Existing studies of adolescents’ leisure reading rarely afford the opportunity to observe them engaging with reading material over an extended period. In Hard Words the author uses observations and in-depth interviews to gauge students’ reaction to different reading material, reading-related activities and streaming. This study is unique in its provision of a programme to promote a culture of leisure reading as well as a mechanism for assessing the relationship between reading for pleasure and writing. It also offers insights into students’ thoughts about reading, their preference of reading materials and activities that can be used to encourage them to read more.

Through the use of figures, tables, samples of students’ writing and useful references, the book provides a valuable source of teaching strategies for Caribbean Students in classrooms both within and outside the Caribbean.