QCA List of Authors every teenager should read.

QCA recently published a list of authors they believe EVERY teenager should - whether it is reading an entire novel or through an anthology examples of their writing. Reading is fast becoming a lost 'art', so often children and teenagers spend more time in front of their computer, DVD or PS3 than they do reading. Yet reading is the essence of the English language and as such must be encouraged. Here is the new list of authors - note the influence of world literature reflecting the need for understanding of different cultures.

How many of these authors have you read or know?

From Meera Syal to Charles Dickens: Ken Boston's list for 14- to 16-year-olds

Contemporary writers

Douglas Adams, Richard Adams, Fleur Adcock, Isabel Allende, Simon Armitage, Alan Ayckbourn, JG Ballard, Pat Barker, Alan Bennett, Alan Bleasdale, Bill Bryson, Angela Carter, Bruce Chatwin, Brian Clark, Gillian Clarke, Robert Cormier, Jennifer Donnelly, Keith Douglas, Roddy Doyle, Carol Ann Duffy, UA Fanthorpe, John Fowles, Brian Friel, Mark Haddon, Willis Hall, David Hare, Tony Harrison, Susan Hill, SE Hinton, Jackie Kay, Harper Lee, Laurie Lee, Andrea Levy, Joan Lingard, Penelope Lively, Liz Lochhead, Mal Peet, Philip Pullman, Peter Porter, Willy Russell, Jo Shapcott, RC Sherriff, Zadie Smith, Arnold Wesker

English literary heritage

Matthew Arnold, Jane Austen, William Blake, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Robert Browning, John Bunyan, Lord Byron, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Congreve, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Conrad, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, John Donne, John Dryden, George Eliot, Henry Fielding, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oliver Goldsmith, Thomas Hardy, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Henry James, John Keats, Christopher Marlowe, Andrew Marvell, John Milton, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, RB Sheridan, Edmund Spenser, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Swift, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Anthony Trollope, Henry Vaughan, HG Wells, Oscar Wilde, William Wordsworth, Sir Thomas Wyatt

Twentieth century heritage list

Kingsley Amis, WH Auden, TS Eliot, EM Forster, Robert Frost, William Golding, Graham Greene, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Aldous Huxley, Elizabeth Jennings, James Joyce, Philip Larkin, DH Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Sean O'Casey, George Orwell, Wilfred Owen, Harold Pinter, Slyvia Plath, JB Priestley, Siegfried Sassoon, Peter Shaffer, George Bernard Shawe, Stevie Smith, Muriel Spark, Dylan Thomas, Edward Thomas, RS Thomas, William Trevor, Evelyn Waugh, John Wyndham, WB Yeats

Writers from different cultures and traditions

Chinua Achebe, John Agard, Monica Ali, Maya Angelou, Moniza Alvi, Isaac Bashevis-Singer, James Berry, Edward Brathwaite, Anita Desai, Emily Dickinson, F Scott Fitzgerald, Athol Fugard, Jamila Gavin, Nadine Gordimer, Arthur Miller, Doris Lessing, Les Murray, Beverly Naidoo, RK Narayan, Grace Nichols, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Wole Soyinka, John Steinbeck, Meera Syal, Bali Rai, Mildred D Taylor, Mark Twain, Derek Walcott, Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Adeline Yen Mah, Benjamin Zephaniah

TOEFL Practice Essay - Xhoia 9B

22. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay.

We all know that human populations are increasing and scientists can easily prove that. Over the last 300 years there has been a huge increase in human populations. We are going to reveal together the causes of this increase. All these reasons are based on facts that we can also find in scientific books.

One of the most important things is the improved medical care, including control of diseases and improved public health. If those things are improved then lives get better, less people die, more of them are careful, eat better food, go to the doctor, etc. Also there are some drugs that can control diseases inside the body, and there are others which totally destroy diseases. With public health we can have better sanitation and water supplies.

Another reason is the improved agriculture and the increase in amount of buildings and places to live. Improved agriculture means more food, more food means that all people are fed properly and don’t die of starvation. Buildings are needed for people without shelter so they don’t die of the cold outside.

There is also the last but not the least of importance, the war. We know that in wars hundreds and thousands of people die. But now countries can deal with each other about their problems without including war, so less people are dead.

So, these were the things I wanted you to know about the causes the increase of human populations all over the world. These were the reasons of this phenomenon. We hope it will not continue forever or everybody would die of the lack of food, diseases, wars, lack of shelter, etc., etc.  Help be part of the solution, not part of the problem - one person can and does make the difference!

TOEFL practice essay #3 ~ Ledio 9B

Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed (damaged) by human activity. Others feel that human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.


The Earth’s natural resources are being damaged a lot by human activity. Since the last century the Earth’s natural resources have suffered very harsh damage. The environment and the climate are suffering changes. Carbon dioxide released by cars has caused an increase in the Earth’s temperature, which is leading our planet towards global warming. The humans’ excessive use of energy has led to the extinction of some fuels, which are very important for our technology.

Global warming is a much discussed topic in recent years and it is becoming a serious threat to humanity each day that passes. Governments are making many promises, but there are few actions. The plans that are made and talked about aren’t put into action. If the situation continues like this, then after seventy years our planet will be flooded by a large mass of water and countries, cities and towns will be lying underwater endangering the existence of humanity as we know it. Another problem is the pollution of the seas. The toxic wastes of ships and industries are released into the ocean. The seas are becoming polluted by the large quantity of toxic wastes released by human industries and washed away into the oceans. In this way much aquatic life will die because of poisoning. Oceans may become polluted and the sea will become useless.

In many poor countries these effects are being shown and because of this tourism in those countries is very weak. Marine tourism is the most beneficial tourism in the world. The sea has to be protected at every cost. Not only seas and oceans are at risk, but also rivers are affected by toxic wastes. If it continues like this many countries will remain short of water and a big part of the population will die because of thirst.

Humans are always working harder and harder to develop their technologies and they’re using all the natural resources available in the Earth to achieve this aim quickly. The necessity in the last century for building nuclear power stations has increased very much the level of radioactivity in the air. Just in Tirana, because of the high levels of carbon monoxide released by cars, the air has become so polluted that the chances of getting cancer are six times higher than the rest of the European Committee. Tirana is not the only capital with this condition; some well-known capitals share this problem such as those of Belgium, Germany, and France.

I personally think that it is our responsibility to save the planet. It is time for the leaders who rule the world to use their influence and power in the war against global warming and against the destruction of the planet. It is a shame that in the 21st century, the century of development, there are still leaders that think making war, which does not profit anyone, instead of reaching an arrangement between them and starting to work towards the problems that face humanity today such as poverty, global warming etc.

Robotics - English PPT Project (Year 9)

The following PowerPoint is from Arber and James for their end of semester English project. They chose Robotics as their theme and created this powerful and well constructed PowerPoint to support their presentation.

An interesting and well researched project which enables us to understand the impact of Robotics on our day to day life as well as a glimpse of the possibilities for the future. Good teamwork was observed throughout the project time period. Well done to both boys. (Grade 5+)

IGCSE English as a Second Language

 

This course is designed for students who have English as their second or additional language. It is a full IGCSE course that is accepted at A-Level and Universities around the world as a valid English Language qualification.

The IGCSE ESL is a skills based course that aims to enable students to do the following:

• To develop the ability to use English effectively for the purpose of practical communication in a variety of situations.
• To form a sound base for the skills required for further study and employment using English as the medium.
• To develop an awareness of the nature of language and language learning skills along with skills of a more general application, (e.g. writing for specific purposes, analysing and synthesizing material).

Students are examined on Reading and Writing for 2 hours and on Listening Skills for 40 minutes. There is also a 15-minute oral examination.

All students are currently required to take the English Language (First Language) exam – which takes place in May at the end of Year 11. The IGCSE ESL exam is therefore taken in November, soon after students enter Year 11 and offers students an additional English language qualification.

What are the advantages of taking IGCSE ESL ?

• No long coursework assignments – improve your speaking confidence with the 15-minute oral assessment.
• Better English Language reading and writing skills that are useful in all subjects.
• Improved general knowledge and vocabulary from exposure to newspapers and magazines.
• Exposure to radio and television excerpts to enhance listening skills.
• Developing Oral confidence and speaking skills through short group discussions, presentations and speeches.
• Summarizing, skimming, scanning and note-taking skills.
• Writing in different registers, both formal and informal. Writing for specific purposes - reports, business letters, letters of complaint, persuasion, transactions, arguments etc.
• Less examination pressure in May, because you take this one in November. Lots more time after November in Year 11 to work on improving subject coursework in other subjects and developing revision and study skills.
• Two useful English Language GCSE grades – IGCSE ESL and the English as a First Language.

 

For Further Information :

Please see Dr. Rod

Media Studies - GCSE Year 12, 2008/2009

Media Studies - GCSE

There is a powerful force sending its messages to virtually everyone on the planet. It is using every form of communication tool available. It is in your sitting room, your bedroom, maybe even your bathroom. It is in shops, cinemas, libraries and churches. It travels in cars, on buses, trains, planes and ships. No matter how hard you try, you cannot escape it.

The name of this force is ‘the media’ and, whether you like it or not, to a large extent it defines your life and the way you think. ‘The media’ is the name given to channels of communication a society uses to speak to itself. It includes television, cinema, video/DVD, radio, newspapers, magazines, mobile phones, advertising and computer-internet communication.

How influential is the media? Is it a good or a bad force? Does advertising dominate our lives? Do films encourage violence? How are teenagers represented in magazines? Do pop videos influence which CDs we buy? Has the internet really changed our lives?

If you are interested in these questions, or any others related to the media, then this subject might be for you.

What do we study in Media Studies and what skills will you acquire?

50% of the course is evaluated in a final examination where students are expected to critically dissect at least two different forms of media. The first section requires analysis of audio-visual media which may include watching and evaluating television advertisements, broadcast news, film trailers, music videos or as was the case in 2008, animation. The second section requires students to analyse print based media such as newspapers, magazines, film posters or storyboards. Students will acquire a range of skills to critically appraise most aspects of the media.

50% of the course demands three pieces of practical coursework. Previous GCSE students have designed and produced web pages promoting a new animated version of Harry Potter, a front cover and contents page for a new sports magazine, a short extract for a television documentary about terrorism, an advertising campaign for a new clothes item and the opening five minutes of a new radio soap opera. Your options are only limited by your creativity.

Is the course for me?

If you intend to take GCSE Media Studies you must be interested in all aspects of the media. It is not an easy course and requires hard work and commitment. You also need a good standard of written English because the examination requires timed essay writing skills and all pieces of coursework have to be accompanied by substantial written evaluations. If you are prepared to work hard and have an interest in the media, or even a future career in fields such as journalism, marketing, advertising, TV/Film broadcasting, then you will thoroughly enjoy this course.

 

For further Information :

Please see Dr. Rod

English and English Literature at MIST

 

IGCSE – English Language – (OCR 0500)

IGCSE – English Literature – (Edexcel 4360)

During the two year course, all of you will study for two IGCSE qualifications- English and English Literature. Although examined separately, these will be taught as one course during your weekly lessons of English.

IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education. As an international school, with many different cultures and beliefs, we feel that this course offers a greater range of opportunities and challenges that relate well to our students. The IGCSE qualifications are run by Edexcel International and Cambridge University in England and are fully recognised by universities and centres of higher education worldwide.

In the English Language component you will study a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, examining how writers construct texts, as well as extracting information for your own writing tasks. Imaginative, personal and creative writing will also be important elements of the course. You will be asked to write in a variety of ways and for different purposes, ranging from descriptive to informative and argumentative writing. Every piece of work that you complete in English could count as coursework, which makes up 50% of your final mark.

Another area of English Language that you will study is Speaking and Listening. You will be asked to use appropriate language in a variety of situations, including personal anecdotes, speechmaking and debating. You will develop an awareness of how language changes depending on situation in both speech and writing.

In the English Literature component you will read a novel, a play and a selection of poems. You will be asked questions on two of these texts in your final examination, which makes up 70% of your final mark and to write an analysis of poetry for your coursework, which makes up the remaining 30% of your final mark. There will be an emphasis on learning about the literary techniques and language used by authors as well as looking at themes and ideas in a variety of texts. You will be asked to make comparisons between texts and to relate the ideas and issues that are raised to one another.

When you receive your examination marks at the end of Year Eleven you will be awarded three final grades and three qualifications as a result of this. One grade will be for English Language and with this will be a separated Speaking and Listening grade; the third grade will be for English Literature. It is possible to be awarded different grades in all three areas.

English Language and Literature are subjects that both allow a great deal of creativity, imagination and personal writing. However, they also both require hard work and determination. With these pre-requisites we believe you have every chance for success.

 

For Further Information :

Please see Dr. Rod

Teacher Talk for Parents

 

Teacher talk

Here are some of the words and phrases you may hear teachers use - and what they mean.

attainment target

Each National Curriculum subject has one or more attainment targets. Attainment targets help teachers decide how well students have learned what they have been taught. Each attainment target is made up of eight level descriptions and ‘exceptional performance’. They are a kind of measure. Each level is like the rung of a ladder - students should move up through the level descriptions as they grow older and make progress

breadth

National Curriculum subjects have a section about ‘breadth of study’.

This says that your child is entitled to be taught through a range of important learning experiences. For example, in English the National Curriculum says that your child should study drama, fiction and poetry, from classic and contemporary writers, and from different cultures and traditions. These deepen and broaden your child’s experience of the subject.

CATs

Cognitive Abilities Tests. These are tests which we run for all students at the start of year 7 and year 9. They come from the British based National Foundation for Educational Research and give a snapshot of students’ acquired abilities in thinking with number, with patterns and with words. We use these to help us to identify and build upon students’ particular strengths and preferred ways of working and to provide an indication of their potential in various areas of the curriculum in order to set challenging but realistic targets. Broad results of these are reported to parents with the usual school reports.

English as an additional language (EAL)  English as a Second Language (ESL)

Students who speak English as an additional language, rather than as their first language, may need extra help with their reading and writing tasks across the curriculum. They will need lots of opportunities to talk with English-speaking adults and other students about their work, thoughts and feelings. Often what they need most is varied, vibrant teaching that involves visual resources, sound, speaking and writing to make it easier for them to learn in English while developing their academic skills in the language. We may recommend that some students take separate EAL lessons while others receive extra support in their other lessons. Some students for whom English is an additional language may also have special educational needs.

ICT

This stands for information and communication technology, which includes the use of computers, the internet, and video and sound recording equipment. This subject used to be called ‘information technology’.

key stage

A key stage is a block of years in your child’s schooling. Key stage 1 covers the first two years a child spends at school (aged 5-7), key stage 2 the next four (aged 7-11), key stage 3 ages 11-14, and key stage 4 ages 14-16.

levels (level descriptions)

Each level is a measure teachers use to check how much your child knows, understands, and can do. See ‘attainment target’ above.

Programme of study

Every National Curriculum subject has a programme of study. This sets out what your child is entitled to be taught in schools. The main part of this guide summarises the programmes of study and the attainment targets (see above).

‘SATs’

Many people call National Curriculum QCA tests and tasks by the name of ‘SATs’. Some schools use National Curriculum optional tests in other years, to track students’ progress.

Special educational needs (SEN)

Students have special educational needs if they have learning difficulties that make it much harder for them to learn than most students of the same age. SEN includes students with a range of physical or sensory difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties or difficulties with speech, language or social interaction. These students may need to be helped more than other students of the same age, and perhaps in different ways. If you think your child has SEN your first step should be to talk to your child’s form Home Room teacher.

year 7, year 8 (etc)

Because students in a school year have birthdays in different months, it is simpler for schools not to talk about the year by referring to the age of the students in it. Instead, they talk about the number of years since students began key stage 1.

Preparing for Next Year Part 2

Useful Guide for Parents Old and New - KEY STAGE 4

 

Key stage 4 - Choices for students aged 14

Around age 14, your child will be able to make choices for study from 14 to 16 (key stage 4). This stage of your child’s education calls for more choices than at earlier stages:

• your child has to make choices about subjects, and might end up studying a unique mix of subjects;
• there are choices to be made about styles of assessment: should your child choose an option with lots of coursework, or will they be better off with exams?
• and at the same time as studying for exams, you and your child will be thinking about the next steps: what do they intend to do after age 16?

This section gives information you will find useful when your child is about 14. It also gives some answers to questions parents have about study and coursework during the two years that follow.

 

Which qualification?

Between 14 and 16, your child will spend most of their school study time working towards qualifications. Memorial International School of Tirana offers mainly GCSE’s and their international equivalent, IGCSE’s at KS4.

The information that follows explains how these qualifications work.

GCSE’s - General Certificates of Secondary Education

IGCSE’s – International GCSE’s

GCSE’s replaced O-levels and CSE’s in 1988. Most students should take GCSE’s in most of their subjects.

It usually takes two years to study for a GCSE. Coursework is part of most GCSE’s: work over an extended period, which could include essays, field work reports, art work, making products, or investigations.

GCSE’s are graded A*-G. The grade your child gets will depend on coursework and exam marks.

Students might take exams only once (at the end of year 11, aged 16) or twice (at the end of years 10 and 11).

GCSE tiers

At some time during year 10, when your child is aged 15-16, teachers will decide which tier they should enter in each of their GCSE’s.

Each tier has a target range of grades that can be awarded. The aim is for your child to take an exam in which their ability will be tested, without their being thrown off course by questions that are much too difficult or much too easy. Some GCSE subjects are not tiered: art and design, history, music, PE and religious studies, for example. Other GCSEs have tiers.

 

Studying from 14-16

Coursework and exams

The descriptions of the various subjects in the KS4 School Booklet will give you an idea of the different styles of study and assessment your child may meet. Some qualifications award more of their final marks through exams - but even for GCSE’s your child is likely to have to present a substantial amount of coursework. Find out what the mix is for each qualification your child is taking.

Coursework is different from homework, although to parents the activity may look much the same. The difference is simple: if it’s coursework, the mark your child gets for it will count towards their final grade.

This guide can’t generalise about the amount of homework and coursework your child will have to do every week because it will vary according to the ebb and flow of individual subjects and qualifications. Your child’s teachers will be able to give accurate advice.

It is very important that students pace and organise their work through the two years. It is tempting to organise your child if you think they are not doing the right amount of work on time, but remember that your child needs to learn to organise their own work, and interference can sometimes be very counter-productive. It is more productive to help your child sort out the big picture. For example, you might look through the scheme for each qualification with your child, noting when they will have to hand in coursework, when they will have to sit exams or tests, and how much each of these is worth. You and your child could draw up a timetable covering the two years from 14 to 16 showing the critical points for each qualification. Your child is then free to organise their work week by week, but can ask for more help from you when they feel they need it.

The homework tips dotted throughout the key stage 3 section of this guide are also relevant for parents of 14-16 year olds.

 

Spelling and punctuation

Some parents who have been asked to look at their children’s work wonder whether they should correct punctuation and spelling if the subject is not English.

When assessors are marking coursework and exam scripts, some of the marks available will be deducted for English errors - typically 5 - 10%. This means that if your child writes incorrectly, they will lose a significant portion of the marks.

So in marking terms there is a limit to how much your child can lose with poor spelling, punctuation or grammar. If your child asks for your help with geography you will need to spend more time talking about the key concepts and knowledge for geography than about incorrect English.

But writing correctly is essential for English GCSE and it plays an important part in almost every job in adult working life. This is why the government has put a lot of emphasis on literacy for every student. So if your child is making a lot of errors they will need to spend some extra time improving their skills. Take advice from your child’s teacher.

 

Help! Answers to questions

Frequently asked questions

‘This guide says that most students reach the ‘target for every child’ by age 14. But I’m worried that my child won’t.’

In the key stage 3 section of this guide, the ‘targets for every child’ in each subject described what children should be able to do and know. Levels 5 and 6 are the National Curriculum target for 14 year olds.

The aim of the targets is to give a level that most students should have reached by a certain age. There will always be some students below and others beyond the target. If your child finds their work easy, talk to their teachers about what target they should be aiming for - they may need to aim higher. If your child is likely to find level 5 or 6 hard when they get to age 14, the school will tell you in good time.

Qualifications taken at 16 are not assessed using National Curriculum levels. Although National Curriculum levels are not used at 16, the levels your child reaches at 14 give schools a good idea of how well your child is progressing towards the challenges of GCSEs and other qualifications.

If the school says that your child is likely to find it hard to reach the target, remember: students develop at different rates. Some may not reach the level at the given age, but will catch up later. At the moment, however, your child may need extra help from their school and from you. Talk to their teacher about how you can help.

‘Where can I find help if my child has health or social problems at school?’

School is about much more than learning: it’s about your child growing up, making friends, growing in confidence. School might bring all kinds of questions: for example, what kind of books and uniform do you need to buy? How can you get through to your child when they are moody, bored or resentful? This guide focuses on learning between the ages of 11 and 16, and there isn’t space to look at many other questions.

‘I see there are tips in this guide, but I don’t have time to do them all - will my child be left behind?’

No. The tips in this guide are there for you to help your child as they plan their homework and coursework, but at this age children need to learn to take responsibility for their own study. So the tips will come in useful from time to time, especially when your child asks for help. The main thing is always to show an interest in what your child is learning at school.

‘My child seems to have difficulty keeping up at school and finds the work difficult. What can I do?’

Talk regularly to your child’s teachers. You don’t have to wait for a parents’ evening: you can ask the school for an appointment with your child’s teachers at any time. Find out more about what your child is doing at school and ask the teacher what your child could do at home to help their learning at school. See also ‘special educational needs’ in the ‘Teacher talk’ section.

‘Will my child be taught sex and relationship education?’

Yes. Find out more in the parent conference.

‘My child just wants to watch television instead of doing homework. Help!’

Television can encourage learning if chosen carefully. For example, some wildlife documentaries are excellent explanations of important topics in science and geography. Schools don’t always have time to show these kinds of television programmes in full. So if your child watches them, this will add to their school learning.

However, homework is important and sometimes it may be demanding. On many occasions it will be best simply to turn the TV off (or record the programme!), and give your child both encouragement and support when they are not motivated.

Preparing for Next Year - What we do.

Useful Guide for Parents Old and New - HEY STAGE 3

“What is the National Curriculum for England and why does it matter to parents?”

The National Curriculum:

• sets out the most important knowledge and skills that every student has a right to learn;
• is a framework designed so that all students are taught in a way that is balanced and manageable, but hard enough to challenge them;
• gives standards that measure how well students are doing in each subject - so teachers can plan to help them do better.

The National Curriculum isn’t just for teachers and schools: it belongs to everyone. This guide will help you understand it, so you can help your child as they continue their journey.

 

“I don’t always follow talk about year 7, key stage, National Curriculum, tests and levels. How does it all work?”

The National Curriculum says when things should be taught by describing broad ‘key stages’.

Key stages are blocks of years:

• Key stage 3 covers National Curriculum learning in years 7 to 9.
• Key stage 4 covers National Curriculum learning in years 10 and 11.

Key stage 3 - teaching for students in years 7 to 9

These years of your child’s time at school are called key stage 3.

At the end of each key stage, each National Curriculum subject has a target: your child should have reached a particular level of skills, knowledge, understanding and application, though many students will go beyond the National Curriculum targets.

‘Why have targets and tests?’

• Students get a sense of achievement from reaching each milestone in their learning, and going beyond it.
• Teachers use them to check on students’ progress, so that they can match their teaching to each student’s needs and abilities.
• The school uses them as part of ongoing quality assurance and self-evaluation processes. We can get a picture of where we are doing well as a school and where there may be problems which we need to tackle.

Of course, some students may not make as much progress as others and some have special educational needs.

As a parent or carer, you have a very important role to play in helping your child learn. Some parents are afraid of doing the wrong thing. (If you are unsure about how to help, you can always ask your child’s teachers.)

The most important things you can do are:

• take an interest in what your child is learning at school, and encourage them to tell you about it;
• praise them when they have done well;
• give them a quiet space to do their homework.

There are other things you can do, too: this guide gives ideas and tips about homework, revision and how to develop your child’s thinking skills. Don’t feel you have to do all of them, but any you can do will support your child’s learning.

English

Why do we teach English?

English concentrates on four key skills that your child needs to get the most out of all their learning at school - speaking clearly, listening closely, reading carefully and writing fluently. English helps students express themselves creatively and boosts their confidence about speaking in public and writing for others. Students read classic and contemporary prose, poetry and drama from around the world, look closely at the way writers use language and explore the social and moral issues they raise.

Teaching for every student

Students are taught:

Speaking and listening

They speak to different audiences, adapting their style to suit the audience and the purpose of what they are saying. They structure their speaking so that listeners can follow their line of argument clearly, using techniques such as pace, gesture, anecdotes and visual aids to make their speaking colourful and lively. They learn how to listen carefully, picking out the main points of what a speaker is saying as well as the details and any underlying meanings. They play an active and helpful role in group discussions. They learn how to convey different emotions and moods through drama, and write and act in plays. They learn about how language changes in different situations, about the development of the English language and its importance in the world, and about the differences between speech and writing.

 

Reading

Students studying English at this age read a wide range of plays, poems and books, both fiction and non-fiction, including:

• at least one play by Shakespeare;
• plays by other playwrights;
• works of fiction and poetry from different times, including works by contemporary writers;
• drama, fiction and poetry by writers from different cultures;
• non-fiction writing (for example, diaries, travel writing and science writing).

Students learn how to get more out of their reading at this age, uncovering different layers of meaning and understanding how writing can be open to different interpretations. They appreciate the full scope and richness of complete novels, plays and poems. They begin to explore how writers make up plots and characters, realising that the viewpoints of a character in a story may not necessarily be the same as the author’s.

They compare different styles and themes in writing from the English literary heritage and from different cultures. They look at how writing can be presented in different ways, exploring how the use of print, images and sometimes sound can affect how we read texts.

The non-fiction texts students study include information and reference texts, both in print and in electronic format such as web pages.

Students also look at how text can be presented in different kinds of media. For example, they may explore how words and images work together in magazines or television advertisements, or look at how a film based on a novel compares with the original text.

Writing

Students draw on their experience of good fiction and non-fiction to compose their own stories, poems, scripts, articles, brochures and reviews. They learn how to use different styles of writing to suit their purposes and to meet the needs of different readers. They develop their knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation, learning how to proof-read their work, judge how successful it is and redraft it accordingly. They write quickly and fluently, presenting their work neatly and clearly.

Targets for every student

Around age 14, most students are able to:

Speaking and listening

• adapt the style of their speaking to suit different situations;
• hold the interest of listeners by varying their expression and vocabulary
• take an active part in discussions while being sensitive to the feelings and opinions of other people;
• use standard English fluently in formal situations;
• take on and sustain a role in drama.

Reading

• find different layers of meaning in texts and comment on them;
• discuss their views and feelings about works of literature;
• refer to different aspects of a piece of writing - such as structure and theme - to justify their views about it;
• summarise information they have gathered from different sources.

Writing

• write in a way that captures the reader’s interest;
• write in different styles;
• structure their work clearly;
• use different sentence structures and a varied vocabulary;
• organise their ideas into paragraphs;
• spell and punctuate their writing accurately most of the time;
• write neatly and legibly, and present writing on screen.

‘Learning English has helped me to read literature, analyse it and also write my own creative pieces. I still write creatively when I have a spare moment and I certainly read a lot. I find that I’m writing all the time at work. Learning English language helps you to communicate clearly, both in speech and on paper - and literature can bring people together: it crosses boundaries and gets people talking.’ Heidi Gilchrist, 24

Scribd - Useful Resources

Scribd claims to be the world's largest document sharing community and I have personally found everything from exam papers to study guides and presentations there. Here is their description of what they offer:

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Study Guides ~ Cummings

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Cummings Study Guides are perhaps some of the best available 'FREE' on the internet today. Here is a comprehensive list - linked back to the Cummings Study guide Site.

Index of Study Guides: Plays, Novels, Poems, Essays, Definitions
.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn..Mark Twain The Aeneid Vergil. Agamemnon..Aeschylus The Age of Feudalism Cummings Ajax..Sophocles All's Well That Ends Well..Shakespeare The Analects..Confucius An American Tragedy..Dreiser Animal Farm..Orwell Annabel Lee..Poe Antigone..Sophocles Antony and Cleopatra..Shakespeare Apology (The Trial of Socrates)..Plato As You Like It..Shakespeare The Atheist's Mass..Honoré de Balzac Babbitt..Sinclair Lewis Because I Could Not Stop for Death..Emily Dickinson The Beggar..Chekhov The Bells..Poe Beowulf..Unknown Christian Poet Berenice..Poe The Black Cat..Poe Bleak House..Dickens Break, Break, Break..Tennyson Candide..Voltaire The Cask of Amontillado..Poe Castles and Kings Cummings The Catcher in the Rye..J.D. Salinger Civil Disobedience..Thoreau The Cloak (The Overcoat)..Nicholay Gogol The Clouds..Aristophanes The Comedy of Errors..Shakespeare Confucius..Study Guide The Conqueror Worm..Poe Coriolanus..Shakespeare Crime and Punishment..Dostoevsky The Crucible..Arthur Miller Cymbeline..Shakespeare Daisy Miller..Henry James David Copperfield..Dickens Death, Be Not Proud..John Donne Death of a Salesman..Arthur Miller A Descent Into the Maelström..Poe The Divine Comedy..Dante A Doll's House..Ibsen Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night..Dylan Thomas Don Quixote de La Mancha..Cervantes Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde..Stevenson Dover Beach..Matthew Arnold A Dream Within a Dream..Poe Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes (To Celia).Philostratus /Ben Jonson Edward III..Shakespeare Eldorado..Poe Electra..Sophocles Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard..Thomas Gray The Emperor of Ice Cream..Wallace Stevens Enemy of the People..Ibsen Eumenides..Aeschylus Everyday Expressions From Shakespeare Everyman..Anonymous Expostulation and Reply..Wordsworth The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar..Poe The Fall of the House of Usher..Poe Fathers and Sons..Turgenev Fascinating Facts About Shakespeare Faust..Goethe Feudalism..Cummings Figures of Speech Flowering Judas..Katherine Anne Porter Folio and Quarto Texts of Shakespeare Four Periods of Shakespeare Frankenstein..Mary Shelley Gawain and the Green Knight..Unknown Author The Garden Party Katherine Mansfield The Gift of the Magi O. Henry Globe Theatre of Shakespeare Globe Theatre: Special Effects Greek Drama Glossary..Cummings Greek Theater (Structure)..Cummings The Great Gatsby..Fitzgerald Gulliver's Travels..Swift Hamlet, Prince of Denmark..Shakespeare Harlem (A Dream Deferred)..Langston Hughes The Haunted Palace..Poe Heart of Darkness..Conrad Hedda Gabler..Ibsen Henry IV Part I..Shakespeare Henry IV Part II..Shakespeare Henry V..Shakespeare Henry VI Part I..Shakespeare Henry VI Part II..Shakespeare Henry VI Part III..Shakespeare Hills Like White Elephants..Hemingway Homer: Biography..Cummings Homer, The Odyssey..Homer Homer, The Iliad..Homer Huckleberry Finn..Mark Twain The Iceman Cometh..Eugene O'Neill The Iliad..Homer The Imp of the Perverse..Poe Inferno..Dante Israfel..Poe Ivanhoe..Scott Jane Eyre..Charlotte Brontë Julius Caesar..Shakespeare Kidnapped..Robert Louis Stevenson King John..Shakespeare King Lear..Shakespeare The Lake Isle of Innisfree..William Butler Yeats Lenore..Poe Literary Terms..Cummings The Libation Bearers (Choephori)..Aeschylus Ligeia..Poe Long Day's Journey Into Night..Eugene O'Neill The Lord of the Flies..Golding The Lottery..Shirley Jackson The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock..T.S. Eliot Love's Labour's Lost..Shakespeare Lover's Complaint..Shakespeare Lysistrata..Aristophanes

Macbeth..Shakespeare Machiavelli's Philosophy..Machiavelli Madame Bovary..Flaubert The Masque of the Red Death..Poe Measure for Measure..Shakespeare Medea..Euripides Medicine in Shakespeare's Plays .Cummings The Merchant of Venice..Shakespeare The Merry Wives of Windsor..Shakespeare Meter in Poetry and Verse: Iambic, Trochaic, etc. Metzengerstein..Poe A Midsummer Night's Dream..Shakespeare Miss Julie..Strindberg Moby Dick..Melville A Modest Proposal..Swift Morella..Poe The Most Dangerous Game..Richard Connell Much Ado About Nothing..Shakespeare The Murders in the Rue Morgue..Poe My Last Duchess..Robert Browning The Necklace..Guy de Maupassant Nicholas Nickleby..Dickens An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge..Ambrose Bierce Ode on a Grecian Urn..Keats The Odyssey..Homer Oedipus at Colonus..Sophocles Oedipus the King..Sophocles Oedipus: the Theban Plays..Sophocles The Old Man and the Sea..Hemingway Opera Summaries..Information Provided by OperaGlass The Oresteia..Aeschylus Othello..Shakespeare Our Town..Thornton Wilder The Outcasts of Poker Flat.Bret Harte The Overcoat (The Cloak)..Nicholay Gogol Ozymandias..Percy Bysshe Shelley Pamela..Samuel Richardson Paradise Lost..John Milton Paradiso..Dante The Passionate Shepherd to His Love..Marlowe Pericles, Prince of Tyre..Shakespeare Phaedra (Phèdre) .Jean Baptiste Racine Philoctetes..Sophocles The Phoenix and the Turtle..Shakespeare The Picture of Dorian Gray..Wilde The Pit and the Pendulum..Poe The Playboy of the Western World..Synge The Premature Burial..Poe The Prince..Machiavelli Prometheus Bound..Aeschylus Purgatorio..Dante The Purloined Letter..Poe The Queen of Spades..Pushkin Quotations for All Occasions..Shakespeare A Raisin in the Sun..Lorraine Hansberry The Rape of Lucrece..Shakespeare The Rape of the Lock..Alexander Pope The Raven..Poe The Red Badge of Courage..Stephen Crane Richard Cory..Edwin Arlington Robinson Richard II..Shakespeare Richard III..Shakespeare The Rime of the Ancient Mariner..Coleridge Rip Van Winkle..Washington Irving Robinson Crusoe..Daniel Defoe Romeo and Juliet..Shakespeare The Scarlet Letter..Hawthorne Self-Reliance..Emerson Shakespeare's Manuscripts: Preparation..Cummings Shakespeare's Pronouns..Cummings Shakespeare's Stage Directions..Glossary Shakespeare Study Guide..Cummings She Stoops to Conquer..Goldsmith Sir Gawain and the Green Knight..Unknown Author Sir Thomas More..Shakespeare and Others The Sleeper..Poe The Sniper..Liam O'Flaherty Socrates..Cummings Sonnet 43..Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sonnets..Shakespeare Sophocles..Cummings The Sound and the Fury..Faulkner Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening..Robert Frost The Story of an Hour..Kate Chopin The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde..Stevenson A Streetcar Named Desire..Tennesee Williams Tartuffe..Molière The Taming of the Shrew..Shakespeare The Tell-Tale Heart..Poe The Tempest..Shakespeare Tess of the d'Urbervilles..Thomas Hardy The Tiger.William Blake Timon of Athens..Shakespeare Titus Andronicus..Shakespeare To Celia.Philostratus /Ben Jonson To Althea, From Prison..Richard Lovelace To an Athlete Dying Young..A.E. Housman To Helen..Poe To His Coy Mistress..Andrew Marvell To a Mouse..Robert Burns Trachiniae..Sophocles Trackers..Sophocles The Trial..Kafka The Trial of Socrates..Plato Troilus and Cressida..Shakespeare The Turn of the Screw..Henry Hames Twelfth Night..Shakespeare The Two Gentlemen of Verona..Shakespeare The Two Noble Kinsmen..Shakespeare Ulalume..Poe Ulysses..James Joyce Uncle Tom's Cabin..Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Vanya..Chekhov A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning..John Donne Venus and Adonis..Shakespeare Waiting for Godot..Samuel Beckett War and Peace..Tolstoy We Wear the Mask..Paul Laurence Dunbar The Winter's Tale..Shakespeare Women of Trachis..Sophocles Young Goodman Brown..Hawthorne Wuthering Heights..Emily Brontë