[English] English/ESL exam feedback

Fri Nov 2 10:07:33 EST 2012

Hi folks,

Below is some feedback on the ESL exam. The VCAA survey is being circulated.
Perhaps this will spark an interest.

Get rid of the note-form summary. The instruction "Do not use complete sentences" is linguistically ill-informed and semantically ludicrous. As soon as a student has a complete verb, they have a complete sentence. This puts the note form summary at odds with the pieces of writing they are meant to analyse. The writing is persuasive, therefore the whole purpose is to undertake the process of persuading. There is naturally enough a contention and an intention, and that intention relates to shaping opinion and sometimes actions.   The function is centered around effect and thus verbs are necessary. To exorcise verbs is to cut against the whole function of the text and common sense. This means that ESL teachers spend their time teaching ESL students how to avoid constructing proper sentences for Section C, then spend the rest of their time teaching ESL students how to construct complete sentences for Sections A and B. It is a tremendous irony that an English exam carries the instruction "Do not use complete sentences".

I can see the argument that a  note-form may be valid academic task. But that does not explain the emphatic instruction "Your response must be in note form. Do not use complete sentences." I simply do not see why you can note have a note form summary  which includes complete verbs.  I know examiners are then duty bound to reward those students who have managed to sidestep verbs and see look less favourably upon writing where they use their eagle eyes to spy a verb. It gets into the realm of the ridiculous when teachers argue that the writing can have verbs, but not full stops and capital letters, because it is the punctuation that makes the sentence complete. This is not what I want to be talking to ESL students about.

Section C was too long for ESL students. Students doing English only have to do one task in this section, but ESL student have to do two. Getting the two tasks done in the time and processing all of the written information means that students who possibly could demonstrate skills in the tasks will have been burdened by the reading load. The decoding aspect of the task was too onerous and detracted from the text user, text participant and text analyst aspects of critical reading.

Greta Caruso

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355 Station Street, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia 3128
T: +61 3 9896 1706
E:caruso.g at kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au<mailto:caruso.g at kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au>
www.kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au<http://www.kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au/>

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Asking ESL students to undertake two tasks where English students only have to do one is unfair. Further the marks allocated for Section C does not seem in line with the time the task would take.

Greta Caruso

From: Caruso, Greta
Sent: Wednesday, 22 February 2012 8:42 AM
To: VCE English Teachers' Mailing List
Subject: Texts on VCCA list for only two years

 Hi all,

The Reluctant Fundamentalist has been withdrawn from the text list after only 2 years. I am not sure how much the text selection panel had to do with the decision, or exactly who is responsible. It could even be an error. (I recall that Gattaca got an extra year on the list as a result of an error.) I checked the Examination Reports for 2010 and 2011 and The Reluctant Fundamentalist does not appear on the list of least popular texts. (For 2012, the least popular texts were  Great Short Works, Bypass, A Human Pattern, Dreams from My Father.)  So, the reason cannot be lack of uptake. In my living memory, only two texts have been removed from the list before their four year rotation. These are Into Thin Air and Voices and Visions: India. Both of these had extremely low popularity. The list includes the number of years a text has been on the list, so the expectation of a four year minimum is not out of order.

For teachers, the enormous amount of time and effort that goes into devising assignments, imagining engaging activities, collecting images, writing questions and researching the context is negated. We need to know that the work we put into our jobs is worth it.

 If you are concerned about this because you teach the text, or because it makes you worry about the longevity of the text you teach, I suggest you

write to VATE asking them to represent your interests in an official capacity,
write to VCAA individually requesting that The Reluctant Fundamentalist be included in an amended text list for 2013,
ask VCAA for a written explanation as to the reasons for removing a popular text after only two years,

ask VCAA for written clarification as to their policy on the text list,
ask for assurance that all texts other than the one with extremely low levels of uptake be included on the list for 4 years, and
ask your principal to raise the issue with VCAA.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist meets the requirements for text selection. That is why it was selected in the first place, and it is a popular text.

"Each text selected for the VCE English and English (ESL) text lists will:
* have literary merit and be worthy of close study
* be an excellent example of form and genre
* sustain intensive study, raising interesting issues and providing challenging ideas
* be appropriate for both male and female students
* be appropriate for the age and development of students and, in that context, reflect current community standards and expectations."

 We need to be assured that texts will stay on the list for the full four years.  The consequences of withdrawing a text after only two years are significant. Apart from the alarming disregard for teachers, there are consequences for other stakeholders.  For assessors, this means the learning of the text is wasted, and the accumulated wisdom is not accrued. For not-for-profit organisations such as VATE, The Wheeler Centre, the NGV the production of teachers' notes and preparation of revision lectures is a questionable use of time and resources. For publishers, speakers' agencies, theatre companies and tutoring businesses, the motivation to invest in text resources is low.

I am concerned about what can be read into this about how VCAA value the work of English teachers. We are already committed to changing the syllabus and happily develop new content on a cyclical basis. Few other VCE Studies are as dynamic as English. However, we need to know that the texts into which I have poured enormous effort and led my faculty through, will remain on the list for four years.

Yours,

Greta Caruso

 355 Station Street, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia 3128

 T: +61 3 9896 1703  M: 0434 280 108
E: caruso.g at kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au<mailto:caruso.g at kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au>
www.kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au<http://www.kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au>

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