Language Development in Language as Subject

1. Language Development in Language as Subject Mike Fleming

2. Questions Are there any language requirements specific to your subject area? How do you see the relationship between your specific subject area and the possibility of formulating a general framework for the language of schooling? What do you think is the specific contribution of your subject to such a framework?

3. Are there any language requirements specific to your subject area? Claims for uniqueness of LS in relation to: • Aims • Literary/aesthetic content • Specific language element

4. Aims Language As Subject “is also defined -more so than any other school subject - by the values it tries to create. …This has meant the promotion of humane values…It has also meant a concern with the personal growth of the individual…this includes a kind of self-reflexivity that enables students to understand how their 'self' is located within social and cultural contexts, and constructed through language and text.” English Teachers Association http://www.englishteacher.com.au/AboutUs/OfficialStatements/RelationshipbetweenEnglishLiteracyEducation.aspx

5. Aims • Language as subject and • Foreign Language Teaching Council of Europe website www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/

6. Literary/aesthetic content Specific requirements do lie in the area of literary/aesthetic education... ...but it may be misleading to overemphasise the difference between functional and aesthetic uses of language.

7. “Each reader brings a unique reservoir of public and private significances, the residue of past experiences with language and texts in life situations….” (123). Rosenblatt, L. (1986) ‘The aesthetic transaction’, Journal of Aesthetic Education, 20, (4), 122-128.

8. Aspects of text-complexity • Vocabulary: specific and unfamiliar/outdated or common and current • Syntax: length of sentences and complexity • Text length, density • Text genre: meeting or varying the familiar/the pattern • Arrangement of structure: chronology and its explicitness • Perspectives: clear and few /unclear and many • Indirectness, imagery (metaphor/ symbolic language), irony • Layers of meaning • Demands on prior knowledge and interests Adapted from “Items for a description of linguistic competence…in literature”

9. Are there any language requirements specific to your subject area? Typical outcomes in LS • Speaking and listening • Reading • Writing • Knowledge About Language

10. Speaking and listening • present information and points of view clearly and appropriately in different contexts, adapting talk for a range of purposes and audiences, including the more formal • use a range of ways to structure and organise their speech to support their purposes and guide the listener • vary vocabulary, structures and grammar to convey meaning, including speaking a standard form of language fluently • engage an audience, using a range of techniques to explore, enrich and explain their ideas • listen and respond constructively to others, taking different views into account and modifying their own views in the light of what others say • understand explicit and implicit meanings

11. Speaking and Listening ctd. • make different kinds of relevant contributions in groups, responding appropriately to others, proposing ideas and asking questions • take different roles in organising, planning and sustaining talk in groups • sift, summarise and use the most important points • use different dramatic approaches to explore ideas, texts and issues • use different dramatic techniques to convey action, character, atmosphere and tension • explore the ways that words, actions, sound and staging combine to create dramatic moments.

12. Reading • extract and interpret information, events, main points and ideas from texts • infer and deduce meanings, recognising the writers’ intentions • understand how meaning is constructed within sentences and across texts as a whole • select and compare information from different texts • assess the usefulness of texts, sift the relevant from the irrelevant and distinguish between fact and opinion

13. Reading ctd. • recognise and discuss different interpretations of texts, justifying their own views on what they read and see, and supporting them with evidence • understand how audiences and readers choose and respond to texts • understand how the nature and purpose of texts influences the selection of content and its meanings • understand how meaning is created through the combination of words, images and sounds in multimodal texts

14. Writing • generate and harness new ideas and develop them in their writing • adapt style and language appropriately for a range of forms, purposes and readers • maintain consistent points of view in fiction and non-fiction writing • use imaginative vocabulary and varied linguistic and literary techniques to achieve particular effects • structure their writing to support the purpose of the task and guide the reader • use clearly demarcated paragraphs to organise meaning • use complex sentences to extend, link and develop ideas • vary sentence structure for interest, effect and subtleties of meaning

15. Writing ctd. • consider what the reader needs to know and include relevant details • use formal and impersonal language and concise expression • develop logical arguments and cite evidence • use persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices • form their own view, taking into account a range of evidence and opinions • present material clearly, using appropriate layout, illustrations and organisation • use planning, drafting, editing, proofreading and self-evaluation to shape, summarise and take notes • write legibly, with fluency and, when required, speed.

16. Knowledge About Languageexamples • show an awareness of grammatical differences between standard and non-standard language variations • recognise variations in vocabulary between different social or regional groups • identify changes in vocabulary and grammar over time • demonstrate knowledge of organisation differences between spoken and written language

17. Early years The special role of language as subject becomes more obvious in relation to teaching initial reading and writing, e.g. • knowledge of initial and final sounds and short vowel sounds in words

18. How do you see the relationship between your specific subject area and the possibility of formulating a general framework for the language of schooling? It is not a ‘service subject’ But It does have a special role to play in relation to language education.

19. What do you think is the specific contribution of your subject to such a framework? • Role of LS in a framework needs to be described in relation to language in other subjects • LS may have a role in helping to ‘harmonise’ progression in language competence across the curriculum • This needs to happen through dialogue

20. Harmonising • Ensure progression and continuity are consistent across the curriculum • Ensure breadth so that pupils are not addressing a limited range of skills repeatedly • Ensure that subject teachers share perceptions about the language content of their subjects