I hate writing: making a case for the creation of graphic novels in the Caribbean English classroom to develop students' creative writing skills

Caribbean students are repeatedly engaged in rigid forms of writing to meet the requirements of external exams, which often leads to negative attitudes to writing. With current shifts to multimodal and multi-literate texts to engage students' multiple literacies in learning, students' creation of graphic novels in Caribbean English classrooms can enable their engagement in meaningful creative writing. To illustrate this, I draw on my recent experiences with four inner-city boys at a Jamaican high school who showed marked improvement in their attitudes and their creative writing skills after creating graphic novels. The preliminary findings from my research suggest a need for more personalised learning strategies and for more opportunities for students to use their home language in Caribbean classrooms.