While speaking, reading and writing are identified in the Newbolt Report as components of English and are still acknowledged as such one hundred years later, Reading Aloud, which the Report ranks alongside them, is no longer accorded any prominence. The Newbolt Report connects Reading Aloud with literature and announces it as a method of…

This essay offers readings of three significant texts within the history of subject English: "The Teaching of English in England" (1921), "The Education of the Poetic Spirit" (1949), and "Growth Through English" (1967). These texts each yield valuable insights into what students and their teachers can learn through…

A comparative analysis of English in the primary curricula of England and Australia reveals markedly different policy perspectives of the functions and purposes of language, literacy and literature in these two Anglophone countries. Whilst the Australian curriculum incorporates 'the basics' with broader socio-linguistic views of language in an…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the important work of Peter Medway in seeking to define English as a school subject in the period from the 1980s to the early years of this century. Design/methodology/approach: The author reviews the work of Peter Medway. Findings: The paper addresses the issue of how his work reflected -- or not…

This article explores the use of Bourdieusian analysis for examining how policy and practice interact in the teaching of English and therefore in the development of children's language and literacy, in particular how. Bourdieusian analysis uncovers the ways in which teachers' practice has been influenced unconsciously by centralised shaping of the…

The Foreign Language Learning (FLL) programme aimed to improve the English language attainment of Year 3 and 4 pupils through a detailed curriculum of weekly French classes with linked activity in English lessons. The programme, created by the Education Development Trust (formerly CfBT), lasted for three half-terms. French classes were 45 minutes…

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale research project which investigated the levels of awareness and knowledge of written standard English of 10 and 11-year-old children in two English primary schools. The project involved repeating in 2010 a written questionnaire previously used with children in the same schools in three separate…

Linguistics is a subject that has remained largely confined to the academy, rather than being integrated into school curricula. This is unfortunate but not surprising, as although some teacher education programs include courses on linguistics, it is not comprehensively integrated into teacher education, so it is largely absent from the curriculum.…

This paper reports a small-scale study of wider reading at Key Stage 3 in current English classrooms in secondary schools in the south of England. Six English teachers, three of whom were relatively new to teaching, were interviewed on what they thought about wider reading. The findings indicate that because of a lack of time and absence of demand…

Edited by three authorities in the field, this "Handbook" presents contributions from experts across the world who report the cutting-edge of international research. It is ground-breaking in its holistic, evidence-informed account that aims to synthesize key messages for policy and practice in English, language and literacy teaching. A…

Looks at what has been happening to the notion of being a "good" English teacher during a period when increasingly this has become a political and professional issue in England. Outlines the pattern of change for English teachers in England, including positive and negative outcomes of the last few years. Indicates what might be learned…

In "The English Patient: English Grammar and teaching in the Twentieth Century", Hudson and Walmsley (2005) contend that the decline of grammar in schools was linked to a similar decline in English universities, where no serious research or teaching on English grammar took place. This article argues that such a decline was due not only…

As words fly onto the computer screen, revolve, and dissolve, image, sound, and movement enter school classrooms in "new" and significant ways, ways that reconfigure the relationship of image and word. In this paper I discuss these "new" modal configurations and explore how they impact on students' text production and reading…

Noting that the achievements of boys have been the subject of growing concern in England for a number of years, this booklet indicates some ways to improve the achievement of boys in literacy. The booklet focuses on work in secondary schools and is based on visits to 14 mixed secondary schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It begins with a…

This paper draws on recent research in English classrooms on media education, offers new evidence on the forms of media education currently taught by English teachers, and attempts to connect the current English-language curriculum debate with more general concerns about values and religion in the curriculum. The project involved 11 secondary…