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1
English or Portuguese: language or literature?
Richard Hudson
Lisbon, May 2007
2
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
3
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
4
Language history
• Ancient written language– complex spelling
• Massive overseas expansion– emigration– world language
• Relative wealth– recent immigration, bringing other languages– literary heritage
5
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
6
What is ‘English’?
• I speak English.– ‘English’ = a language
• The two core school subjects are mathematics and English– ‘English’ = a language because literacy is core.
• I am studying English at university.– ‘English’ = literature (written in English?)
7
Confusion!
• English is obligatory for all because writing and reading are important.– but includes literature.
• English teachers are graduates in literature.– but teach language more than literature.
• Similarly, French teachers are graduates of literature– but teach language more than literature.
8
The old solution
• Teach language through literature• Argument: children learn to write well by
reading good literature.– Some children do learn this way.
• Counter-argument: most children do not learn like this.– 1999: 20% of adults in Britain cannot find a
plumber in the phone book
9
The romantic view of language
• Children are natural language learners.– They learn their first language without help.– Instruction is just a waste of time.– All they need is experience.– So: the same is true of all language learning.
• Research support:– Some literature experts (e.g. Leavis in UK)– Noam Chomsky and many linguists.
10
But …
• Is this view true?
• Why do so many children fail to learn by exposure?
• Why do we need language teachers if we can leave it all to nature?
• Nature alone is not enough – we need to do better than that!
11
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
12
The new solution in England
• Teach language directly.• Argument: children need help when
learning language.– They may not notice new patterns.– They may not understand new patterns.
• This is true of all language learning:– advanced first language– elementary second language
13
Language includes …
• grammar
• vocabulary
• pronunciation
• variation– regional– ‘stylistic’– historical
14
The realistic view of language
• Children are natural learners
• But language is hard to learn because new words and patterns are not:– obvious, so it is easy not to notice them.– self-explanatory, so it is easy to misunderstand
them.
• And schools add extra problems.
15
English: language or literature?
• School English must include direct teaching of language.
• So English teachers must know about language.
• But: they must also know about– literature– media studies (film, TV)– drama
16
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
17
The death of grammar
• 1900-1960: no study of grammar at university– so no grammar for ‘English’ undergraduates– so grammar at school was not based on research
• 1960-90: grammar disappears from school– so young English teachers know no grammar– very little grammar in foreign-language
teaching
18
A problem for the new approach
• Language should be taught directly.– Official government policy in L1 and L2
• But most teachers know very little about grammar and other structural matters.
• So how can they teach directly?• How to break the cycle?
– Teachers have just one post-graduate year of training with little time for ‘subject knowledge’
19
The future
• Maybe teachers will gradually learn about grammar.
• Especially if they help to teach ‘Advanced-level English language’– Years 12, 13 – Very popular (20,000 pupils each year)
• But it will take a generation to retrain teachers.
20
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
21
What about literature?
• Literature is one of the many uses of language.– So it is studied as such.
• But it is also part of the ‘national heritage’– So it has a very special status.– But what is the heritage of a multi-cultural
nation in a multi-national world?– And what is literature?
22
In defence of the status quo
• English (including literature) is the most popular school subject– well taught– using age-appropriate texts– with discussion and interaction– by well-informed and enthusiastic teachers
• But foreign languages are the least popular.
23
Literature in language teaching
• Literature is:– well written– enjoyable to some readers – especially girls!
• So it’s a good model for language teaching, provided that:– students notice and understand new patterns– understand differences between genres
24
Plan
• Similarities between Portugal and Britain
• English: language or literature?
• A new approach to language teaching
• Grammar in Britain
• The place of literature
• Some lessons for Portugal?
25
Lessons for Portugal?
• Don’t let grammar die.
• Respect literature – as an important model of language– as part of your national heritage– but maybe not central to language teaching?
• Accept direct teaching of language.
• Make sure that teachers can teach directly.
26
Obrigado!
• This slideshow can be found at:www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/talks/lisbon.ppt