Archived material
Some aspects of the documents in this section no longer apply, however they have been archived for reference.
Perspectives on English
- Context
- Introduction
- Variations of Perspectives
- Cultural Heritage
- Personal Growth
- Cultural Analysis Approaches
- Literacy development
- References
Context
The Stage 6 English Forum has been convened to provide an opportunity for consultation on significant issues relating to the development of the new Stage 6 English courses.
Introduction
This paper seeks to provide a brief summary of the perspectives on the study of English which are currently to be found underpinning English curriculum in Universities, teacher training courses, secondary English syllabuses and policy documents in Australia and other English speaking countries. The purpose of the summary is to outline, insofar as that is possible, the most significant views of English affecting curriculum development in order to provide a context for discussion.
Variations of Perspectives
Perspectives on the study of English and the nature of the subject vary. Individuals describe the parameters of English differently. Wendy Morgan refers to four essential concerns in English: the "aesthetic", "ethical", "rhetorical", and "political" (Morgan 1997, p 17). Jack Thomson identifies views of English under the terms "cultural heritage", "language skills", "personal growth", "cultural studies/textuality model", (Thomson 1997, p 133).
These views of English are also reflected in different syllabuses with varying emphases. The National Curriculum in the United Kingdom describes "cultural heritage", "personal growth", "cultural analysis", "adult needs", and "cross curricular", as current approaches to subject English. The Queensland Guide to Using English Syllabus Materials categorises views of English as "cultural heritage", "skills approaches", "growth, developmental, process and whole language approaches", "functional linguistic and genre based approaches", and "critical literacy".
From that range of descriptions of subject English it is clear that definitions of perspectives on English overlap and terminology can be variously used. There is no one universally accepted definition of the parameters of the curriculum indicated by the `models' of English as identified by different bodies and authorities. The use of the term `models' indicates the separateness of those views yet teachers often draw on them eclectically in their practice. There are views of English which integrate aspects of different models in order to attempt to unify the field for teaching purposes. Richard Andrews' proposal for a "rhetorical perspective" (Andrews 1993, p 47) of English is one example and a proposed adaptation of this view, a "rhetorical/ethical model" (Thomson, 1997.p 134), has the same unifying potential.
As a stimulus to discussion at the Stage 6 English Forum, this paper has situated the variations of perspectives under the headings "Cultural Heritage", "Personal Growth", "Cultural Analysis" and "Literacy Development". At the same time, it acknowledges the difficulty of any attempt to encapsulate the variety of current perspectives on what constitutes the nature of subject English.
Cultural Heritage
This approach aims to promote transmission of the knowledge that has shaped the established view of high culture in the community. This perspective on English ascribes high value to texts currently considered the literature of the Western canon. Its assumptions are based on the notion that the cultivation of aesthetic appreciation will produce a refined or mature sensibility capable of moral and ethical distinction.
Based largely on the critical and theoretical writings of Matthew Arnold, as developed and given new forms by F.R Leavis and the New Critics, this predominantly formalist approach implies the detailed analytical treatment of a single text in order to uncover the meanings communicated by the author. This is emphasised to be a demanding process as canonical texts are usually lexically dense and complex.
The study of language as promoted by this approach emphasises the written mode over the spoken, standard over non-standard English and concerns itself mainly with literary analysis. The latter includes the study of stylistic registers, literary devices, traditional rhetoric to a degree and traditional grammar.
In syllabus design, the inclusion of this perspective would allow for:
* the introduction of students into the established knowledge and values of past culture
* the provision of opportunities for close textual analysis
This perspective may not facilitate:
* the diversity of experience required in a pluralist society because its assumptions tend to be either monocultural or culturally restrictive
* self directed learning because the complexity of preferred texts and the inclination towards authorities tend to encourage teacher led pedagogies
* the notion that texts are products of their cultures and tends to promote instead the idea of a `universal' morality and aesthetic.
Personal Growth
Central to this view of English is the development of students' personal responses, their enjoyment of reading and the fostering of individual creativity. It is particularly concerned with students' social needs and personal interests and explicitly values students' own experience.
The theoretical underpinnings of the personal growth model lie in reader-response theories and in developmental psychology. This approach was promulgated by Dixon and Stratta and set out in Dixon's book Growth Through English.. The pedagogical approaches that it advances includes process writing and whole language learning. Its broad support in the 70s and 80s in NSW is in part due to its providing the philosophic basis of the current Year 7-10 English syllabus.
There is an emphasis on teaching language through the language of `literary' narrative. Through its exploration of personal experience and its acceptance of everyday communication, it allows for the incorporation of a wide range of texts and media
In syllabus design, the inclusion of this perspective would allow for:
* individual and social growth through its focus on the students' needs and interests
* a validation of students' real experience which leads them to apply knowledge and skills beyond the classroom.
* the incorporation of a process approach for developing understanding of communicative procedures
This perspective may not facilitate:
* the development of techniques through which students can explore or challenge their own language or dialect, or analyse the language of those with ideological perspectives different from their own.
* the cultivation of a critical consciousness and the social construction of knowledge and linguistic practices which acknowledge one's own cultural positioning and the possibility of different ideological perspectives
* sequential learning programs, as it is assumed students will intuitively grasp the conventions of language use as part of "whole language acquisition" rather than through being taught about language in a systematic way.
Cultural Analysis Approaches
This range of approaches to English includes cultural literacy/history and cultural studies which have grown out of the diverse theories of post-structuralism. In these views of English, the subject and the text are seen as embodying cultural and political assumptions such as those of gender, or class, which need to be read as part of meaning making.
These approaches embrace a wider range of texts, (written, spoken, visual and multimedia) which are explored from various perspectives so as to be understood as cultural products. This enables readers to become aware of the ways in which they themselves have been and are culturally constructed. The text is not accepted as authoritative or a mirror of reality but as one construction of a view which can be dismantled and reconstructed from different perspectives by readers. Reading and writing are seen as interdependent, as reading becomes re-writing and writing becomes re-reading.
The study of language and its effects is integral to these views of English as language is seen as dynamic, simultaneously encoding and reflecting social and cultural patterns. Discourse analysis, embracing questions of genre and context, explores the ways in which linguistic structures mediate social relations. Literary texts are seen as continuous with all other kinds of texts, so allowing for comparative scrutiny between such variables as spoken and written, male and female, literary and non literary in standard and non standard English.
In syllabus design, the inclusion of this perspective would allow for:
* students to take a more critical approach to the values inherent in texts so as to be more open to cultural pluralism.
* the development of a broad-based media literacy and interdisciplinary activities
This perspective may not facilitate:
* absolute notions of value, the self and aesthetics because texts and the self are seen as social constructs and are regarded as relative.
Literacy development
Literacy approaches aim to develop knowledge about language and effective use of language and historically this may have involved the decontextualised analysis of language structures. This practice can still be evident in some "drill the skill" exercises and some aspects of the "back to basics" movement.
More recent approaches insist on the learning of language use as part of its social and cultural context. They include functional and genre-based approaches which concentrate on the ways in which textual structures create meaning. They also involve the integration of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
These approaches are similar to cultural analysis in their social purpose. However here, the emphasis is on skills for adult needs and social interchanges. In this form, literacy approaches tend to address the texts of the kinds that are necessary to one's functioning in work and everyday life.
In syllabus design, the inclusion of this perspective would allow for:
* a focus on textual features and the development of knowledge about language
* explanation of the relationships between micro and macro features of texts and their contexts
* an emphasis on language in social contexts.
This perspective may not facilitate:
* the promotion of the imaginative, aesthetic and affective elements of subject English.
References
Andrews, Richard, The Future of English, English in Australia No.106, Dec.1993.
Department of Education, Queensland, A Guide to Using English Syllabus Materials. Department of Education, Queensland, 1994.
DES/WO, English for Ages 5 -16 (The Cox Report). HMSO, London, 1989
Dixon, John, Growth through English. Oxford University Press, London, 1975.
Morgan, Wendy, Critical Literacy in the Classroom: the art of the possible. Routledge, London, 1997
Thomson, Jack, Post-Dartmouth Development in English Teaching in Australia , Metaphor, Issue 3 , English Teachers' Association NSW, Leichhardt, 1997