English
Purpose of study
English has a pre-eminent place in education and in
society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to write and
speak fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others
and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them.
Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally,
emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially,
plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to
acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of
language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils,
therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently
are effectively disenfranchised.
Aims
The overarching aim
for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of literacy
by equipping pupils with a strong command of the written and spoken word, and
to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.
The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
Ø read easily,
fluently and with good understanding
Ø develop the habit of
reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
Ø acquire a wide
vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions
for reading, writing and spoken language
Ø appreciate our rich
and varied literary heritage
Ø write clearly,
accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range
of contexts, purposes and audiences
Ø use discussion in
order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their
understanding and ideas
Ø are competent in the
arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to
others and participating in debate.
Spoken language
The national
curriculum for English reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’
development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and
linguistically. Spoken language underpins the development of reading and
writing. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are
vital for developing their vocabulary and grammar and their understanding for
reading and writing. Teachers should therefore ensure the continual development
of pupils’ confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills.
Pupils should develop a capacity to explain their understanding of books and
other reading, and to prepare their ideas before they write. They must be
assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as to others and
teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion
to probe and remedy their misconceptions. Pupils should also be taught to
understand and use the conventions for discussion and debate. Statutory
requirements which underpin all aspects of speaking and listening across the
six years of primary education form part of the national curriculum. These are
reflected and contextualised within the reading and writing domains which
follow.
Reading
The programs of
study for reading at Kindergartens should consist of two dimensions:
Ø word reading
Ø Comprehension (both
listening and reading).
It is essential that
teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions; different
kinds of teaching are needed for each. Skilled word reading involves both the
speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding)
and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the
understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken
words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of
reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school. Good
comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and
grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through
pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from
reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils
must be encouraged to read widely acrossnboth fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of
themselves and the world in which they
live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge
across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary
because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech.
Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of wonder
and joy for curious young minds. It is essential that, by the end of their
primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence,
in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
Writing
The programs of
study for writing at Kindergartens should be constructed similarly to those for
reading:
Ø transcription (spelling and handwriting)
Ø composition
(articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).
It is essential that
teaching develops pupils’ competence in these two dimensions. In addition, pupils
should be taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. These aspects
of writing have been incorporated into the programmes of study for composition.
Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on
spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds
and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and
orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves
articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a
reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and
an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends
on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.
Spelling, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation
and glossary
The two statutory
appendices – on spelling and on grammar and punctuation – give an overview of
the specific features that should be included in teaching the programmes of
study. References to developing pupils’ vocabulary are also included within the
appendices. Pupils should be taught to control their speaking and writing
consciously and to use Standard English. They should be taught to use the
elements of spelling, grammar, punctuation and ‘language about language’
listed. This is not intended to constrain or restrict teachers’ creativity, but
simply to provide the structure on which they can construct exciting lessons. A
non-statutory glossary is provided for teachers. Throughout the programmes of
study, teachers should teach pupils the vocabulary they need to discuss their
reading, writing and spoken language. It is important that pupils learn the correct
grammatical terms in English and that these terms are integrated within
teaching.
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