[English] VCE English/ESL

[Gail]

Hi Lyle,

I remember when we first introduced VCE English and we all opted for the narrowest of interpretations of the Study Design, but I can also see that over the years our interpreation has become broader (and better educationally). I am guessing this will happen again.

Our students did present a point of view as an oral and most of them were cogent and well expressed, but only achieved this because they had written them first. One of our reflections after the process was that we had perhaps made a mistake, not because the process was worthless, but because it was so valuable that we might have done better to have them use this development for their texts in preparation for their exams.

With the C & P tasks there are ample opportunities for students to present a developed and argued point of view -- assuming of course schools are not limiting their students in a way that precludes this

Gail

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lyle Stebbing 
  To: VCE English Teachers' Mailing List 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 10:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [English] VCE English/ESL


        Thanks Marion and everyone else who replied to my last letter. Since returning and doing some tutoring, I’ve found out some interesting things about the way the new study design has been implemented in some schools. 
        (a)    Some schools had their students do an oral presentation expressing a point of view last year. That means that students can go right through year 12 without having to develop an argumentative/point of view essay. (Unless you claim that all essays develop an argument.)

        (b)   Several schools have students analyse three unseen articles for Persuasion on an issue that they have never discussed or examined before – so as to mirror the exam.  This means that students no longer engage in any depth with an issue in the news;  the analysis has been transformed into a formalistic language analysis rather than being part of an exploration of current issues, social trends and the media.  Students no longer have the opportunity to debate the issue itself or to follow a socially important issue through.

        (c)    In several schools, the Creating and Presenting work has been confined to one long essay on the context and text and many students are opting for the persuasive or expository option as that seems more likely to be the sensible choice on the exam. That means students can go through year 12 without doing any personal or imaginative writing.

        Thus, in some schools, students can go through year 12 without writing any argumentative essay, or any personal or imaginative writing.  What seems to be disappearing here is both creative writing and the exploration of an issue -  any arguing around an issue of social significance or concern so that there is no focus on students being socially aware and concerned.  Was this intended?

        Lyle

        --- On Mon, 14/7/08, White, Marion G <white.marion.g at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:

          From: White, Marion G <white.marion.g at edumail.vic.gov.au>
          Subject: [English] VCE English/ESL
          To: english at edulists.com.au
          Received: Monday, 14 July, 2008, 6:09 PM


          Thanks Lyle, Gail, Mary, Prue for yet another stimulating discussion about the VCE English/ESL study.

          Implementation supports provided by VCAA include:

          ·       State-wide briefings on Units 3 and 4 in February/March 2008 and (in partnership with VATE) in July 2007; over 2,000 teachers attended the briefings. Briefings on Units 1 and 2 had been conducted in 2006.

          ·       Support Materials for Area of Study 2 were published in both English and ESL versions.

          ·       English and ESL sample exams and Examination Criteria were published in April 2007 (teaching of Units 3 and 4 began in 2008).  

          ·       English and ESL ‘Expected qualities for the mark range’ were published in March 2008; a draft of the Section B expected qualities was available at the February Briefings and also at the VATE Englishes day in February. 

          ·       The VCAA will soon publish some sample pieces of writing; these were written by teachers of Unit 3 towards the end of Term 2 – they illustrate some of the many possible approaches to the writing in Area of Study 2.

          ·       Ongoing telephone support is available at 9651 4580.  



          Marion G White

          Curriculum Manager, English




          Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

          _______________________________________________ 
          http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe 
          VCE English Teachers' Mailing List kindly supported by http://www.vate.org.au - Victorian Association for the Teaching of English VATE and
          http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/english/index.html - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 
       


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Start at the new Yahoo!7 for a better online experience - Start Here._______________________________________________ 
  http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe 
  VCE English Teachers' Mailing List kindly supported by http://www.vate.org.au - Victorian Association for the Teaching of English VATE and
  http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/english/index.html - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 

Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/english/attachments/20080717/1a1d68b6/attachment.html