Dr
Neil Béchervaise
NB
Consulting (Australasia) Pty Ltd
Department of Language and
Literacy
Course Name:
Reading Between the Lines: Language Awareness for Teachers
Course Leader: Dr Neil
Béchervaise
Cert Ed [ATTI], BEd [Calgary],
MEd, PhD [Monash], MACE
Professor of English Education,
The University of Sydney and Adjunct Professor of Business Administration,
Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship
Brief Course Description:
Secondary English teachers are expected to prepare
students for literacy across the curriculum at the same time as
they help them to develop their own voice, an appreciation of literature
and a facility for communication in every social situation. Faced
with such an awesome task, it is essential they prepare themselves
with a deep understanding of the fundamentals of both language and
literature. This course will focus on the development of an understanding
of language. It will provide an exploration of critical literacy
and functional grammar practices as they are being theorised to
assist critical readers and authors to communicate effectively in
the range of social contexts.
Using a workshop approach, traditional and functional
grammars will be applied to the understanding of a wide range of
text in context. The power of language to persuade will be used
to develop effective teaching strategies. These strategies will
be rehearsed during the course to create a critical literacy awareness
that can be applied with every student in the secondary classroom.
Intended Outcomes of the Course:
As a result of completing this course, students
are expected to be able to:
Identify the fundamental elements of language
in use.
Apply traditional and functional grammar
terminology in identifying text construction.
Recognise differences
in the way language is applied according to changes in field and
tenor.
Recognise variation
in spoken and written text developed for different purposes.
Analyse text
for effectiveness, complexity and possible difficulty for students.
Establish principles
for text suitability for use within the secondary classroom.
Explore strategies
for increasing awareness of the constructedness of every text
Apply strategies
for the editing of self-authored text.
Recognise the
potential of text to create multiple readings.
Identify paratextual
features that complicate the reading of a simple text.
Create texts
to exemplify the range of language use in changing social contexts.
Utilise knowledge
about language to interpret knowledge presented through language.
Analyse meaning
through the application of critical reading principles.
Synthesise
texts from a variety of sources to create more effective texts.
Generate teaching
contexts involving a range of communication tasks from a single
text.
Demonstrate
an expanded understanding of the role of language structure in
effective oral, written and visual communication.
Course Assessment:
Prepared formal assessment tasks for this course
are due for submission on the 9th
and 16th
of July. The final assessment task will be completed on Thursday
19th
July.
Objective of Assessment:
The purpose of assessment is to identify difficulties
in understanding [diagnostic], help students to establish increasing
confidence in, and fluency with the stated outcomes of the course
[formative] and, provide an achievement reference point from which
increased proficiency can be measured [summative].
Assessment task 1:
The intended outcomes to be assessed in task
1 are:
Identify
the fundamental elements of language in use.
Apply
traditional and functional grammar terminology in identifying
text construction.
Recognise
differences in the way language is applied according to changes
in field and tenor.
Recognise
variation in spoken and written text developed for different purposes.
Analyse
text for effectiveness, complexity and possible difficulty for
students.
For a given piece of text:
1. Identify the probable intended audience,
communication mode, field and tenor of the text. Indicate how
you made these decisions
2. Analyse the text to identify traditional
grammatical structures displayed by the text.
3. Analyse the text to identify functional
grammatical structures of the text in the social context you have
established for it [in 1].
4. Discuss the relative value of 2 and
3 in developing an understanding of the meaning of the text.
Assessment task 2:
The intended outcomes to be assessed in task
2 are:
Establish
principles for text suitability for use within the secondary classroom.
Recognise
the potential of text to create multiple readings.
Identify
paratextual features that complicate the reading of a simple text.
Using the text provided for Assessment task
1:
1. Identify features of the text that facilitate
its use in a secondary English classroom.
2. Indicate the features of the text that
you have used to determine its year level suitability and discuss
how these affect your decision.
3. Outline a list of class activities you
might use to introduce this text with your chosen class.
4. Discuss the textual and paratextual
features that might complicate the meaning in this text for particular
students.
Assessment task 3:
The intended outcomes to be assessed in task
3 are:
Create
texts to exemplify the range of language use in changing social
contexts.
Apply
strategies for the editing of self-authored text.
Utilise
knowledge about language to interpret knowledge presented through
language.
Analyse
meaning through the application of critical reading principles.
Synthesise
texts from a variety of sources to create more effective texts.
Generate
teaching contexts involving a range of communication tasks from
a single text.
Explore
strategies for increasing awareness of the constructedness of
every text .
Demonstrate
an expanded understanding of the role of language structure in
effective oral, written and visual communication.
Select a literary text that you are very likely
to use in one of your classes.
1. Briefly identify the class by year level,
language competence and interests.
2. Outline the grammatical features of
the text that make it an ideal text for your class.
3. Rewrite the text for a particular classroom
purpose.
4. Discuss the effect of the changes you
have made on the effectiveness of the original text.
5. Contextualise your chosen text as a
sequence from a movie and write a screenplay for the sequence.
6. Suggest how the introduction of visual
and spoken elements alter the interpretation of your text.
Required Texts
Emmitt, M. & Pollock, J. (2000) Language
and Learning: An Introduction for Teaching, 2nd
Edition. Melbourne: Oxford University
Press
Bechervaise, Neil E. (1996) Language, Power
and the Press. Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman
Supporting Reading
Collerson, J. (1994) English Grammar: a Functional
Approach. Sydney: Primary English Teaching Association
Leech, G. & Svartik, J. (1994) A Communicative
Grammar of English, 2nd
Edition. England: Longman
McConnell, R. (19xx) Our Own Voice: Canadian
English and How It Should Be Studied.
Websites
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