Teaching Secondary English

Describes and evaluates various changes to English teaching brought about by initiatives such as the Literacy Strategy, the 'A' levels and the requirement to focus on spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This book helps teachers to foster keen readers, writers and communicators. `What the book does extremely well is do describe the way things are in terms of the requirements of the Framework for Teaching English, the curriculum and the new specifications - and for this reason it is likely to be most useful to those contemplating English tech9ng in the maintained sector from outside - returnees, aspiring NQTs or those in the independent sector′ - Times Educational Supplement `Instead of taking us yet again on a tour through the four modalities of English, this book′s tri-partite structure takes a refreshingly different approach by offering thought-provoking argument grounded in classroom practicality′ - Nick McGuinn, University of York Students′ comments on Teaching Secondary English: `The book is written in clear, digestible terms, offering many practical ideas for teaching the key skills and the wide range of material encountered in the English classroom. .. It is the kind of book which can be dipped into, which is particularly useful for people who spend most of their time planning lessons!′ `Teaching Secondary English is a must for student teachers and NQTs. It is a clear, comprehensive and practical guidebook dealing not solely with theory and pedagogy, but with the very real issues facing new teachers today′ ` It is clear that Teaching Secondary English, unlike so many textbooks on the subject, is written by someone with recent classroom experience and this helps the reader to trust and respect the advice it purports. I certainly feel it is grounded in practicalities not "pie in the sky" theory that will not work in most `real′ classrooms!′ This book enables English teachers to implement change and rise to new challenges, while remaining true to an ethically and socially just position which provides the rationale for their vocation. The author describes and evaluates recent changes to English teaching brought about by initiatives such as the Literacy Strategy, the new `A′ levels and the requirement to focus on spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Examples of innovative teaching and learning strategies are provided throughout. The author helps teachers to foster keen readers, writers and communicators. He shows how they can enable their students to acquire skills and knowledge, as well as to recognize the value of aesthetic experience, emotional literacy and spiritual and moral response to literature in their own lives and in their communities. This book is essential reading for PGCE students as well as practising teachers and all those involved in English in education.

This new edition of Teaching Secondary English is thoroughly revised, but its purpose has not changed. Like the popular first edition, it balances content knowledge with methodology, theory with practice, and problem-posing with suggested solutions. The tone and format are inviting, while addressing student-readers on a professional level. Rather than attempting to cover everything, the text provides a framework and materials for teaching a secondary English methods course, while allowing considerable choice for the instructor. The focus is on teaching literature, writing, and language--the basics of the profession. Attention is given to the issues that arise as one seeks to explore what it means to "teach English." The problems and tensions of becoming a teacher are discussed frankly, in a manner that helps students figure out their own attitudes and solutions. Features: * Focuses on a few central concepts in the teaching of secondary English * Provides an anthology of 22 readable and challenging essays on key topics--allowing students to hear a variety of voices and opinions * Includes an applications section for each reading that extends the discussion and asks students to explore problems and grapple with important issues related to the articles * Offers short writing assignments in questions that follow the readings and in brief writing tasks in the applications, and a longer writing assignment at the end of each chapter * Addresses student readers directly without talking down to them New in the Second Edition: * This edition is shorter, tighter, and easier to use. * The opening and concluding chapters more directly address the concerns of new teachers. * The anthology is substantially updated (of the 22 articles included, 14 are new to this edition). * Each essay is preceded by a brief introduction and followed by questions for further thought. * There are fewer applications, but these are more extensive and more fully integrated within the text. * A writing assignment is provided at the end of each chapter. * Interviews with college students--before and after student teaching--are included in Chapters 1 and 6. * The bibliographies at the end of each chapter are fully updated.