This paper gives a brief summary of Halliday's theory of how children learn to talk, illustrating the development of children's language from the microfunctions through the macrofunctions and into the metafunctions of adult language. The paper points to a possible source of the misinterpretation of Halliday's theory in the work of Frank Smith…

This essay focuses on two sites of memory in my professional life. One is from my very early years of teaching, the second from about 10 years later. Each is centred on a moment of controversy in English curriculum in New South Wales, Australia, and each is to do with the teaching of writing and the supposed neglect of language study, including…

In this piece I explore the concept of 'growth' in English teaching. Starting with John Dixon's 'growth' model, I argue that, by re-imagining his ideas in current contexts, practitioners might re-focus and re-invigorate the priorities of English teaching. Dominant conceptions of 'growth' are explored, along with their influence on teacher working…

The need for English and literacy curriculum to connect with young people's lifeworlds to build bridges and frames of reference that connect traditional English curriculum with digital texts and literacies, are increasing priorities in curriculum frameworks in Australia and elsewhere. This paper reports on a project in which the authors worked…

While perceptions that the roles of teacher and teacher educator as an oppositional binary are being challenged, sustaining and incorporating both professional identities has presented challenges. This paper presents a narrative account of my professional identity journey, including a description of a partnership that enabled boundaries to be…

Because of the global status of the English language, and the cultural and linguistic qualities of English literature, English teachers are at the fulcrum of educational debate. As global curriculum expands and refocuses the challenges and possibilities of multicultural education, teachers, schools, and communities are challenged to reexamine the…

In his article, Jack Thomson counsels against crudely instrumental models of English curriculum. His imagining of a national curriculum draws on the strong traditions of English curriculum in this country, and it is built on what he calls "Foundational Principles of Good Educative Practice."

Opinion surrounding Western Australia's provision of compulsory education via an outcomes-based education (OBE) paradigm is severely divided. At the centre of debate is an attempt by authorities to extend OBE into the final years of secondary schooling, Years 11 and 12. In this paper an examination is made of OBE as a curriculum paradigm.…

In this review of research in applied linguistics and language teaching and learning in Singapore, more than one hundred national publications for the period 2000-2007 will be reviewed. Since this period encompasses certain changes that were introduced in Singapore schools at the start of the new millennium, it would be appropriate to take stock…

This practical guide discusses the challenges teachers will face when programming for language--that is, in planning an effective language program for their students. The guide includes ways to meet the challenges; suggestions for what to read, attend to, observe, write, and who to talk to; points to ponder before programming; and a model for…

Increasingly in Australia, attention is being given in English or language education to core or functional literacy conceived as print mastery, alongside literature, and critical literacy. The Queensland Years 1 to 10 English syllabus evinces an attempt to organize such qualitatively distinct "literacies" under a burgeoning conceptual…

This large-scale international comparative study addresses changes in students' math- and English-related self-concept of ability, subjective task-value and interest. Australian (N=1,323) and American (N=651) students are from two separate studies with similar designs and samples, in three cohorts spanning grades 7 to 11 in Australia and 7 to 12…

Argues that the definition of teaching content for imaginative writing in Scotland's national curriculum guidelines is problematic and that the definitions of process and context are not sufficiently coherent to provide a sound basis for planning and teaching story writing. Indicates how the writing criteria applied to national tests of writing…

Research and controversy continues to surround the principles that underpin the teaching of English. English teachers, nonetheless, must understand and be able to articulate a rationale for what they believe to be important in the teaching of English. In Great Britain the introduction of a National Curriculum for England and Wales has produced a…

Assessment in the National Curriculum in England and Wales is an example of a different model. The report of the government-appointed working group on assessment, Task Group on Assessment and Testing (1988), states that assessment: (1) is an integral part of both teaching and learning; (2) should not determine what is to be taught and learned; and…