English Language Teaching in England

Have you noticed that England no longer teaches English to the English?

Have a look at the syllabus for a UK based exam- it is a sorry mess of creative writing and writing for a purpose, poetry in English (from here and from other lands), Shakespeare, and a novel.

Somewhere in the 1980’s traditional textbooks were phased out. No longer does a lesson consist of practical exercises in the English language. In fact if there is any language work done it is done as an afterthought.

English teachers in their twenties and thirties have been brought up on the new ways and do not have any experience of what English teaching used to be like. Consequently they do not have a sufficient command of their own language to be confident to teach grammar and spelling. In fact spelling is to be disregarded when marking a creative piece of work.

A typical traditional English lesson for Year 9 (the old Third Year of Secondary School) from pre 1980 could include some or any of the following activities: (and this list is not exhaustive)

·        Comprehension test

·        Vocabulary Work i.e. find a single word to express a phrase, find synonyms of words

·        Definitions i.e. find the word that matches the definition

·        The Use of the Comma – rewrite sentences using commas when necessary

·        Adjective Phrases and Clauses – exchange an adjectival phrase for a single adjective

·        Types of Paragraph

·        Speech Training: including speaking a sentence to include a given phrase.

·        General Punctuation

·        Adverbial Clauses and Phrases

·        Composition

Nowadays it is likely to be an occasional worksheet, which pays lip service to grammar and punctuation.  The rest of the time is taken up with socially acceptable themes to discuss and write about along with the rest of the sorry mess mentioned above.

You an now see why so many children, even the A grade GCSE’s have such a poor grasp of their own language and require remedial work at University and in the Workplace.

No longer do they spend time thinking about words, defining them and spelling them, and using them to build up a comprehensive vocabulary to take into other situations.

The Mesopotamians could have taught us a thing or two about teaching and learning. Where has the rote learning, the extended practice, the building of self-discipline to stick at boring, lengthy and tedious tasks gone?

The advice from on high at teacher training level is that a good lesson is like a good performance. You must have a starter, you must structure the lesson into bite size chunks of around three minutes, and you must have a plenary. I am sure this keeps the pupils entertained but education is not about being entertained.

I worry – for where are the next Alan Bennett’s to come from?