The title of my presentation is "Does the NC provide a varied and balanced approach for teaching English or is it a restrictive hinderance.".
I want to begin by explaining why I chose this topic for my presentation. During research I"ve found that some teachers are opposed to the "rigid" guidelines laid out in the NC - a particular gripe in various forums ie TES messageboards. They argue that the NC is too prescriptive and leaves them with no freedom of choice - as evidenced by handout.
To be fair and impartial I decided to give some consideration to their argument. They complain about the lack of choice in choosing authors saying that those selected are stilted, dry and in some cases inappropriate for the modern era. The current reading lists, long lists of long dead authors, could give credence to this claim but a cursory glance at the authors contained in these lists dispels this theory. The range of choice is vast - from Jane Austen to George Orwell. Each section that teachers have to choose from has a wide range of choice to satisfy everyone's needs. I would conclude that a rich and varied choice is found throughout.
On the other end of the scale, I believe that complete autonomy would result in students nationwide receiving a vastly different education. The centralization of education policies has enabled schools nationwide to follow the same program which gives students the length and breadth of the country the same opportunities, therefore leveling the playing field.
The NC framework also ensures that we don"t discard our own literary heritage. Drawing from personal experience, I felt I missed out by not studying Shakespeare in years 7 -11. It was only when I changed schools and took A-levels that I was exposed to any Shakespeare - and I felt disadvantaged because everyone else in my year had. This highlights my earlier point of everyone receiving a differing education. Instead we had spent almost two years studying American writers - my question is what is wrong with our own writers? And the NC answers this empathically.
Peer Pressure Many youths in this society have to deal with peer pressure daily. Peer pressure comes in many different forms such as sex, making decisions, or helping you make a choice. Peer pressure involves friends who influence life in many types of ways such as making decisions or choice...
Throughout The English Patient, Kip struggles to choose whether he should follow his family's culture or adopt a new, more modern western lifestyle, while the English Patient chooses to abandon national identity as a whole and live a convoluted life of uncertainty. ... The sappers national identity crisis derives from his inability to follow the path his family chose for him by joining the English army and then becoming a bomb defuser rather than becoming a doctor and raising a family in India. ... The English Patient seems to have no particular interest in national identity, and even f...
It seems problematic to attempt to educate children in a form of spoken language for which there are no exact rules, and Perera herself states that that "the National Curriculum requires that pupils are assessed on their ability to speak it, so it is essential to have some agreement about what it is" (p.209) Another problem in the definition of Standard English is that it differs throughout the world. ... Is Standard British English more correct than Standard American English or Australian English? ... However with a move away from Standard English, it is likely that more features of a countri...
ENGLISH and ENGLISH FIRST, two national groups spearheading this legislation, started small in the mid-1980s. ... English. ... English strongly supports and suggests passing English-only law and sees it as a necessity. ... State declarations of Official English produced a counter-trend: legislative endorsement of English Plus. ... English Plus would guarantee language rights: both freedom from language-based discrimination and freedom to speak, learn, and maintain the language of one's choice. 2) Just as languages other than English have always been a part of our history and cultur...
" T he official languages in Singapore are English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Most people speak "Singlish" which is English mixed in with words from different languages. ... English is the first language of Singapore. The standard form of English spoken in Singapore is "Singapore Standard English" which uses British spellings and grammar. ... Singaporeans who do not speak English as their home language normally speak it as their second language. ...
A couple of years ago, I went to the grocery store with my uncle. After shopping around for whatever it was we were looking for, we ended up waiting in an unbearably long line because the store was so crowded. We found ourselves behind a middle-aged white man in front of us with a Hispanic mother w...
ENGLISH ONLY MOVEMENT There is a movement taking place throughout the country aimed at making English the official language of the United States. ... Is the English language "American?" ... Declaring English as the official language is an attempt to define Americanism on the basis of the ability to speak English. ... Making English the official language is unnecessary. ... Non-English speakers in America provide a natural resource that has met national needs during times of war and peace (Abale 4). ...
Who is to say what is Standard or Non-Standard English? Is there some law that says your English is right or wrong? ... Everyone uses the English language differently on a daily basis, and the English they use is depending upon the audience they are speaking to. ... This English is a group of Englishes put together of dialects, slang, and slogans we learn for television, movies, and politicians. ... Grammar books, as a rule, describe one of the many Englishes spoken in America as Standard English. ...
Some Facts about the English Language Introduction English is a member of the Indo-European family of languages. ... Written Old English is mainly known from this period. ... This has remained the writing system of English. ... One century later English was first taught at schools, alongside Latin and French. ... English is the language of science, aviation, computing, diplomacy, and tourism. ...
