ISSUES IN ENGLISH TEACHING Sue Brindley 1 INTRODUCTION

ISSUES IN ENGLISH TEACHING Sue Brindley 1

INTRODUCTION l Focus: three controversial aspects of English teaching: l l l The role of Standard English in relation to other varieties and other languages in education. Teaching reading (Phonics vs. real books) Teaching writing (genre vs. process writing) 2

: WHICH ENGLISH l l Australia: Standard Australian English should be available to pupils. Other parts of the English-speaking world: l l children should be given access to a standard variety of English, for geographical and social mobility. In Britain: l Standard English is part of the curriculum. 3

Standard English l Katharine Perera: l l SE refers to the structure of the language; its grammar and vocabulary; it may be spoken in any accent. Characterization of SE: l l l Relatively uniform throughout the English-speaking world The variety used by educated native speakers The variety used in formal contexts 4

Standard English in the British Curriculum SE is distinguished from other forms of English by l l l its vocabulary, and by rules and conventions of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Spoken SE is not the same as RP; it can be expressed in a variety of accents. 5

Standard English in the British Curriculum Newbolt Report on the teaching of English in England: l l children should be taught spoken and written SE in the interest of national unity. Bullock Report l l Respect of children’s home varieties but only SE is taught. 6

PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING READING Two debatable approaches to reading: l l The phonics approach (decoding): l learning the sounds that letters make skill-based The real books approach l l looking for meaning and try to find out, through looking at pictures and turning the pages, what reading means. exploratory way of learning 7

Department of education in England Welsh office, 1995: to read with fluency, accuracy, understanding and enjoyment. Students should develop: l l l l Phonic knowledge: Graphic knowledge: Word recognition: Grammatical knowledge: Contextual knowledge: 8

PROCESS OR GENRE IN WRITING: Process writing: l l focus on the process of writing (teaching one unified structure): l l l l Choosing a topic Brainstorming/Idea map Drafting Discussing Revising Editing child-centered model criteria for good writing: l l personal creativity effectiveness. 9

PROCESS OR GENRE IN WRITING: Genre writing l l Focus on constructing particular kinds of texts: l l l expository narrative explicit instruction/grammar knowledge-by-transmission mode criteria for good writing: l effectiveness in reproducing particular genres of writing. 10

a genre-based teaching approach: l l l l introducing genre: modeling genre implicitly through reading. focus on genre negotiating genre researching drafting consultation publishing 11