Feelings on VCE English.

[zomgSEAN]

How does everyone feel about 1/2 3/4 English, in terms of suitability to accurately measure student's ability to use the language, as well as the general level of interest within the study design?

Do you feel the SAC's and exam are fair tests of our ability to express ideas and themes through a written form?

Do you feel that the relatively recent inclusion of context has been a valuable contribution to the VCE English curriculum?

Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

[EvangelionZeta]

I think that within a contemporary context, the VCE English course is fairly successful.  On the whole, the course achieves a range of purposes: language analysis is a relatively successful test of one's ability to analyse language's utility, context works to measure one's conceptual thinking, and text response encourages students to interpret and discuss the meaning of texts.  The assessment design is also, I feel, fair, given that students are tested in a wide range of "English" skills.  Of course, it is completely possible to get around actually "learning" anything (like TrueTears seemingly did) and just memorise and regurgitate, but the same could be said of many VCE subjects - in any case, empirical evidence would suggest that the course encourages students who have a flair for writing, and who are able to engage with the ideas presented throughout.

[IntoTheNewWorld]

I think it's pretty good compared to some other subjects.

[shinny]

I think it heavily tests people's abilities beyond just mere writing. A lot of it is actually about how creative, deep and unique you are with ideas and arguments.

[stonecold]

If VCAA were fair dinkum about English then there would be an oral assessment as part of the exam.

Meh, might as well ellaborate.  

IMO, the English study design is all over the shop, and tries to incorporate too much into one subject.  They should just separate everything out.  I've always thought it would be better to focus on just one area.

Something like this:
-Abolish English
-I don't know much about the Literature Course, but possible introduce a creative writing component into it if there isn't already one
-Introduce a subject called 'Journalist studies' which focuses entirely on language use in the media.  As well as language analysis, the course could have several other 'real life' applications including writing reports and persuasive pieces.  It could also include informative and persuasive orals as a part of the assessment.  Exam should definitely have an oral component.
-Rename English Language to 'Language studies' because no one really seems to get what it is judging by the name.  Other than some minor tweaking, the course works pretty well and is basically amateur linguistics.  Hardest part is probably getting teachers who actually know what they are on about to teach it.

I think these three varieties would just work better, as by focusing on a single aspect of the language, students will be able to channel their learning into one area, leading to a higher quality of work, and are also more likely to find the 'English requirement' which they will actually enjoy.

[HERculina]

-I don't know much about the Literature Course, but possible introduce a creative writing component into it if there isn't already one

I agree. I haven't done creative writing since primary school.

[EvangelionZeta]

If VCAA were fair dinkum about English then there would be an oral assessment as part of the exam.

Meh, might as well ellaborate.  

IMO, the English study design is all over the shop, and tries to incorporate too much into one subject.  They should just separate everything out.  I've always thought it would be better to focus on just one area.

Something like this:
-Abolish English
-I don't know much about the Literature Course, but possible introduce a creative writing component into it if there isn't already one
-Introduce a subject called 'Journalist studies' which focuses entirely on language use in the media.  As well as language analysis, the course could have several other 'real life' applications including writing reports and persuasive pieces.  It could also include informative and persuasive orals as a part of the assessment.  Exam should definitely have an oral component.
-Rename English Language to 'Language studies' because no one really seems to get what it is judging by the name.  Other than some minor tweaking, the course works pretty well and is basically amateur linguistics.  Hardest part is probably getting teachers who actually know what they are on about to teach it.

I think these three varieties would just work better, as by focusing on a single aspect of the language, students will be able to channel their learning into one area, leading to a higher quality of work, and are also more likely to find the 'English requirement' which they will actually enjoy.

1. Creative writing as an exam-style assessed piece of work would be a nightmare for students.  Creatives are quite possibly THE most subjective kind of writing you could be assessed on; even the criterion-based creatives (eg. Context Creatives, the Lit Creative SAC) are somewhat iffy.

2. From an educational perspective, I think the point of English as a compulsary subject (mostly compulsary anyway, since not that many do Englang or Lit) is that it equips students with skills for virtually every facet of life.  Splitting the subject so that it's almost vocationally based almost undermines this point - if you made English all journalism from an early period, then students lose the interpretive and reflective aspects of the subject, which are pretty much the point of an English education in the first place.  It's somewhat telling that in IB English, for instance, there is absolutely nothing that isn't text-response based...

3. Oral point is interesting, but again perhaps is too vocationally based in a subject that should be about conceptual consolidation.  I think that it's enough that students are forced to do an oral as part of their Year 12 in-school assessment - making it any larger would be to change what English is actually teaching the youth.

[Andiio]

As EvangelionZeta said, I also believe that the VCE English course is one which is quite proficient in testing students. It also equips students with a variety of skills which will most definitely benefit them in the outside world, and even further heightens the students' maturity levels and knowledge banks.