The Prince's Teaching Institute (PTI), which has evolved out of the Summer Schools for English Literature and History which The Prince of Wales inaugurated in 2002, now provides a variety of courses in the major subjects of the secondary curriculum. In partnership with Cambridge University it enables teachers to update and extend their subject…

Various sociological frameworks strongly suggest that recent changes to the English literature GCSE syllabus content will have a detrimental effect on those individuals who come from an environment with few sources of educationally exchangeable literary and linguistic cultural capital. In an attempt to provide a more sociological position from…

In this study, we describe a framework for monitoring rater performance over time. We present several statistical indices to identify raters whose standards drift and explain how to use those indices operationally. To illustrate the use of the framework, we analyzed rating data from the 2002 Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition…

Describes a method of teaching Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" to secondary students that involves their reading the text aloud and discussing the responses of modern critics to Chaucer. (AEA)

Suggests that Shakespeare's intense self-consciousness of the theatrical conventions within which he was working, associated with an emphasis on studying the text as produced, has to be an important starting point for any classroom study of Shakespeare on film. Offers ideas for teaching such films, such as the Zeffirelli production of "Romeo…

Argues that the 1996 film of "Romeo and Juliet" (starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes, and transposed to inner-city gang culture) is a gripping presentation of Shakespeare's story of star-crossed lovers in an impulsive, hot-headed, violent world. Suggests that the film is practically guaranteed to make students love Shakespeare.…

Within large scale educational assessment agencies in the UK, there has been a shift towards assessors marking digitally scanned copies rather than the original paper scripts that were traditionally used. This project uses extended essay examination scripts to consider whether the mode in which an essay is read potentially influences the…

For an introduction to Shakespeare's "Tempest," dramatic interest and tension were created in the classroom through taped interviews with survivors of present-day sea disasters, student improvisations of scenes, music, and historical accounts of shipwrecks. (MF)

Presents an approach for teaching Chaucer's "Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" (from "The Canterbury Tales"). Recommends several reference texts related to the "The Canterbury Tales" and medieval literature in general. (MM)

This teacher's guide for William Shakespeare's play "Henry V" is designed to accompany the Kenneth Branagh Masterpiece Theater film production of the play, and to help teachers use the film in a variety of ways. The guide includes pre-viewing background information, five teaching units, and a pullout poster for classroom display. The…

Sixteen articles are presented which deal either generally with this issue's theme, "Elective Programs in English," or specifically describe and/or evaluate experiences with particular elective programs or courses. Included in the "Current Reading" section is a brief bibliography of articles and books, recent and old, on elective programs in…

Suggests that structuralist arguments in the teaching of English question the ideology that has traditionally informed the study of literature--the very idea that such a study is a "humane" activity. (HOD)

Examines the Working Party on English Literature's report on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Concludes that the report attempts both to validate and challenge some basic GCSE assumptions, and that its total rejection of criterion-referencing constitutes a much-needed stand against GCSE grading practices. (MM)

Describes how pairing Wordsworth's poem ("Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey") with a contemporary novel ("The River Why" by David James Duncan) makes the classic poem come alive for students. Argues that, regardless of the poem, Duncan's novel is ideally suited for classroom study. (SR)

Gustave Weltsek, a high school English teacher, has turned to process "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to avoid passing on traditional views and interpretations of the play. He has helped the students to see relevance in William Shakespeare's text by using improvisations to get them talking about issues that are important to them.