Victorian 7-10 English Curriculum and English-Literacy Syllabus - Term Paper Example

English Curriculum Q. [I]t is the very hybridity of English that makes for its generosity: its capa to serve a range of purposes and functions, and to allow for a multiplicity of social, cultural and educational effects. (Bill Green and Phil Cormack, 2008) Your task is to write an essay in which you discuss the theoretical models and English curriculum pedagogies of your states 7-10 English curriculum in the light of Green & McCormacks arguments about the generously hybrid nature of English as a curriculum area. Your essay should focus on the extent to which you see Green & McCormacks argument about the pedagogical hybridity of English as evident, explicitly or implicitly, in the Rationale, Aims and Objectives of your states document. This essay will examine the Victorian 7-10 English curriculum and English-literacy syllabus by discussing the philosophical, theoretical and pedagogical foundations of the documents in light of Green & McCormacks (2008) argument that the hybrid nature of the English language enables it to satisfy a variety of "purposes and functions" and produce a "multiplicity of social, cultural and educational effects." This essay will then examine how an understanding of the pedagogical hybridity of the language is evidenced in the Victorian curriculum and syllabus documents Rationale, Aims, and Objectives. The Level 4 and Level 5 of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, regarding English language teaching provide highest importance on reading, writing, speaking and listening. Either stages of the English language teaching provide adequate importance on enhancing expertise of students in the fields of reading, writing, speaking and listening through study of texts and language from various genres of the English language (“English - Level 4” and “English - Level 5”, September 11, 2009). As the English language 7-10 syllabus derive texts from diverse disciplines, Pennell has observed that “The [English] syllabus documents ... incorporate many broad and varied educational pedagogies that come from beyond English curriculum pedagogy .... [The 7-10 English Victorian Syllabus] contains may sections that deal with cross-curricula matters and pedagogical and educational issues that are broader than the English curriculum discipline: assessment and reporting; outcomes-based education; gender issues; multicultural education ...” (Dec 2010, p. 16). Green and Cormack in their attempts to explain the wide acceptability of the English language specified that the hybrid quality of the English language that has resulted in its generosity. Empowered by the “hybridity” as specified by Green and Cormack, the English language has the capacity to satisfy an array of purposes, having multiple social, cultural and educational effects. Keeping in mind the wide acceptability and appreciation of the English language as an essential medium of communication in academic disciplines it has also become important to teach and consequently encourage students to learn the language with such effectiveness so that they can acknowledge effects of the English Language in social, cultural and educational peripheries. Green and Cormack have identified that irrespective of its development and phenomenal success as the language for communication in the global context adequate measures have not yet been taken to contextualise the language within the educational philosophy: “What has not been understood to date, or sufficiently appreciated, is the extent to which such matters can, and need to, be related to and contextualised within a more general educational history” (Oct 2008, p. 253). Thus, in it important in this context to revaluate theoretical models, pedagogical rationales and “hybridity” of the English language so that possibilities can be explored to make students realize about the wide scope of its effects in social, cultural and educational aspects. Keeping in accord with Green and Cormack argument about “hybridity” of the English language that has resulted in the generous nature of English as a curriculum area, the initiatives taken by the Victorian educational department deserves special attention. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, under the State Government of Victoria, have provided special attention in the context of teaching English Language. The first paragraph of the “Introduction to English” section elaborates upon the philosophical and procedural approaches of the department to teach the English language: “In the English domain, texts and language constitute the central and essential concepts. The concept of texts focuses equally on creating and analysing texts, understanding and interpreting texts, and moving beyond interpretation to reflection and critical analysis. The concept of language includes the use of language and the development of linguistic competence, and the development of knowledge about language” (Victorian Essential Learning Standards “Introduction to English,” September 16 2009). Within brief scope of the observation the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has made it clear that for proper teaching of English language providing adequate importance on both English texts and linguistic aspects is very important. This part also clearly logically explains the authority’s intention to provide equal importance on both text and language. While the concept of textual studies helps a student to develop his analytical skills and help to expand the scope of reflective capacity, on the other hand, the language studies would help him to get deeper within the technical and linguistic aspects of the English Language. Basically, it is the intention of the authority to provide such a course structure to students in the context of the English Language studies so that the text and language act as complementary and supplementary to each other. The analytical and reflective skills developed from textual studies would help a student to be interested in appreciating the linguistic intricacies of English and simultaneously, the knowledge gained from linguistic would help a student to interpret a text beyond the scope of its apparent narrative. The English language curriculum followed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, if is analysed critically, will provide us with the information that the entire structure is established over certain theoretical disciplines. While these theoretical approaches respectively aims at nourishing a student’s aptitude from the perspectives of analytical, creative and cultural understanding, on the other hand, conjointly they encourage a student to follow the English language curriculum with such depth so that a complete empathy towards civic responsibilities and citizenship can be developed. Judging from the perspectives of scholars like Sayre and McFarlane the Victorian 7-10 English Syllabus encompasses within its scope theoretical disciplines like critical literacy, cultural heritage, personal growth and sociocultural approaches to language and literacy (Nov 2000, p. 3). Sawyer has specifically suggested that the Personal Growth model of English is important for developing personal experience in classroom and also helps a student to develop expertise in expressing their opinions in terms of both verbal and written mediums. A student not only becomes efficient in the active use of language but also the workshop based classroom organisation helps him to become more interactive with other in a constructive way that is reflected later in social context. He also has mentioned within the scope of his evaluation that adoption of the Personal Growth model will be equally effective in the 7-10 syllabus structure (Sawyer, 1998, p. 3). The Cultural Heritage model aims at emphasising over enhancing knowledge of students in terms of understanding the great literary tradition of their cultural heritage. It is important for every student to understand as well as appreciate the depth of their culture. The Cultural Heritage model that encompasses within its scope the cultural studies that does not focus on a particular time or situation; rather the entire dynamism of socio-cultural progression has been captured through literary creations hailing from different periods of time. The Cultural Heritage model also helps students to follow an interdisciplinary approach and consequently helps them to adopt with the new ideas from sociological, semiotic and political situations. The cultural perception of social existence, compared to earlier time, has experienced radical change due to birth of new ideological disciplines such as, postmodernism, poststructuralism, feminism, and postcolonialism. The Cultural Heritage model not only incites a student to explore horizons of the theoretical approaches but also helps a student to identify the new dimensions of socio-cultural existence through emphasizing on the changing traits of gender, race, class and modern history of the society (Sawyer, 1998, p. 3). However, in order to develop the expertise for keeping accord with the principles of Personal Growth and Cultural Heritage model the students are required to be critical. It is in this context the importance of Critical Literacy model can be realized as it aims at developing an “uncompromising [attitude] about the centrality of social conscience in educational practice” (Sawyer, 1998 p. 3). According to Wayne Sayre, critical literacy is “about empowerment over texts and over language” (Sawyer, 1998 p. 3). In the Australian educational context, equal importance has been provided over careful study of both text and language in order to enhance a student’s capacity to adapt with the principles of critical literacy. The Cultural Heritage Model while has provided scope to the education department to include texts from different genres of literature so that a student can be aware about the depth and diversity of his cultural existence, on the other hand the Critical Literary model provides him with the scope to evaluate the texts in a critical manner. The main objective of the model is to encourage a student not only to appreciate a text from the perspective of cultural aspects; rather it incites the critical part of the student and consequently helps a student to understand aesthetics of the text with adequate appreciation for the linguistic technique that a particular author has used in the text. Wayne in this context has attempted to show that how the Critical Literacy model has used texts from different genres of literature to enhance the critical capacity of students under the 7-10 Syllabus. The inclusion of drama in the curriculum teaches a student the technique of recording. The study of correspondent texts, personal journal, autobiography and memoir teaches a student of the narrative techniques as well as of the reporting. The study of biographical journal, chronicles and history enhances the expository and generalising capacity of a student. Finally, the argumentative and theorising capacity of students is cultivated by study of texts related to science and metaphysics (Sawyer, 2005, p. 13). It has been found that the “whole-language approach” (Cater and Whittaker, 2007, p. 19) that is pervasive among Victorian and other Australian schools has not been very successful because the educational system “assumes that children teach themselves, with little or no explicit instruction” (Cater and Whittaker, 2007, p. 19). Thus, the critical literacy theory could not serve the best interest of students by supporting the whole language approach. In this context, the Victorian Education system has formulated the 7-10 English Syllabus in such a way so that the students are not merely indoctrinated; rather they are taught to meet up the benchmarks in terms of reading, writing and verbally communicating so that the aptitude for critical literacy is adequately developed (“Year 7 Benchmark, 2000). While the theoretical models have aimed at enhancing aptitude of a student from different approaches, on the other hand, there is no denial of the fact that unless a student develops the expertise in understanding linguistic diversity and rich rhetoric of the language, he will not be able to communicate with the text and consequently the entire effort will fail. The English Language has been considered by academicians as the most effective medium that would help them to communicate with the text. However, a critical observer can raise the basic question that why it is English and no other language? Bill Green and Phil Cormack in their discourse have attempted to provide an answer to such query. Keeping in accord to the historical evolution of the New Education system, cultural complexity within the education system of modern time and poststructuralist approach of Michel Foucault they have attempted to show that English language based education system is “... immensely significant and, always ‘effective’ – and that, notwithstanding their failures, both schooling and English are intricated cultural and discursive projects, fraught with ambivalence and yet charged with complex productivity” (Green and Cormack, Oct 2008, p. 258). This observation immediately paves path toward the realization that in the context of New education the notion of Culture undergoes a rapid transformation and consequently requires to be interpreted “...within a broader context of communications, as a socially contested field of technologies, attributes and constituencies” (Green and Cormack, Oct 2008, p. 258). Under light of such interpretation issues like pedagogical rational, cultural interpretation and aims of the English Language education receive an altogether new dimension but limits of the dimension are also not rigid. Observing this scope of flexibility and capacity to encompass various approaches within its scope, quite aptly it has been opined by Cormack and Green that “Moreover, it is the very hybridity of ‘English’ that makes for its generosity: its capacity to serve a range of purposes and functions, and to allow for a multiplicity of social, cultural and educational effects” (Green and Cormack, Oct 2008, p. 259). The element of linguistic variety and ‘hybridity’ of the English Language has been widely accepted and it is because of this reason the language has been able to give birth to so many forms in different regional and cultural domains. According to Green literacy is of two types, 1) official and 2) critical. The critical literacy though has attracted much attention from educationists; however, it actually aims at strengthening the foundation of official literacy (Green, 2006, p. 11). Plurality is one of the most basic features of the English language and this very aspect along with its flexible rhetoric, according to Bill Green, can be used as an effective instrument to “shape a radicalized, socially critical, productive agenda for English teaching” (Green, 2006, p. 11). Thus, the English language in its pluralist scope reflects different dimensions of cultural, educational and social effect. The intercultural approach to the English Language teaching suggests that it helps in understanding a) the relationship between individual and the society, b) interpretation and relation of information, c) political understanding of education as well as dimensions of cultural behaviour, c) discovery of cultural information and e) development of the intellectual liberalization to respect values and attitudes of others. Such wide range of purposes is served due to teaching of the English Language because of the generosity produced out of the hybrid nature of the English Language, as specified by Green and Cormack. In conclusion it can be said that the Victorian 7-10 Syllabus of the English language is ordained in such manner that finds a close relevance with the principles of different theoretical approaches, such as, the Personal Growth Model, Cultural Heritage Model and the Critical Literacy Model. While on one hand, the 7-10 Syllabus enables the education department to follow a specific and well planned structural approach to guide students in the context of enhancing their efficiency in learning the English Language, moreover, it also germinates among students the capacity of creative thinking, analytical power, an aptitude to understand the politics of modernist existence and finally the spontaneous will to realize the responsibilities of civic and citizenship, irrespective of the radical change that has occurred in the socio-cultural scenario compared to the earlier times. The highest success of the 7-10 Syllabus is that is effectively encourages students to follow an interdisciplinary approach that helps students identify new ideals from modern sociology, semiotics and politics. Empowered with such knowledge the students not only develop their respective styles to respond to the social situation in the long run, but also start contributing to the society in a constructive way. In this context it is interesting to observe that linguistic variety and rhetoric of the English language that has been identified by Bill and Cormack as the “hybridity” of the language plays a highly important role in the context of impregnating students with cultural learning as well as with the interdisciplinary aptitude. Due to the hybrid generosity of English language students apart from appreciating the aesthetics of the text and linguistic diversity also develops respect and empathy for different cultural traditions. The “multiplicity of social, cultural and educational effects,” thus, can be practised and catered among students effectively due to the pedagogical diversity of the Victorian English language curriculum. Works Cited “Benchmarks-Year 7 Benchmarks”. (2000). Available at: http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/litbench/build.asp?pg=3. Accessed on: May 3, 2011. Cater, N. and Whittaker, P. (2007, September 5). “Reading the riot act, ‘Opinion’. The Australian, p. 19. Cormack, P. and Green, B. (October 2008). “Curriculum history, ‘English’ and the New Education; or, installing the empire of English?” Pedagogy, Culture & Society. Vol. 16, No. 3, London: Routledge. p. 253–267. Green, B. (2006) “English, literacy, rhetoric: changing the Project?” English Education. 40 (1). New South Wales: Charles Sturt University. pp. 7-19. Pennell, B. (2010). “Curriculum Method 1: English”. EML441 Module 1. New South Wales: Charles Sturt University. Sawyer, W. (1998). “Board of Studies HSC Syllabus review 7/3/98”. BOS NSW English Forum 1998. New South Wales: Board of Studies. Sawyer, W. and McFarlane, K. (2000). “Reviewing English in Years 7-10: A Report for the Board of Studies, NSW”. New South Wales: The University of Western Sydney Nepean. Sawyer, Wayne. (2005). “English Literacy: A More Open Marriage or a Time for Divorce?” Literacy Learning in the Middle Years. 13 (1). p. 11-19. Victorian Essential Learning Standards. (2009, Sept 11). “Standards – English”. Available at: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vels/english.html#. Accessed on: May 3, 2011. Victorian Essential Learning Standards. (2009, September 16). “Introduction to English”. Available at: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/english/intro.html. Retrieved on: April 20, 2011. Read More