ENGLISH
English - S

The study of English in school is really the study of how our own native language can best be used as a means of self-expression and communication. In S1 and S2 this study is largely a practical matter: written and spoken language is used in a range of contexts and for various different purposes. The intention is that every pupil's level of skill will be enhanced by guided practice in anguage use, for example, by story-writing, preparing and giving a talk to a group in the class, answering questions on passages that have been read, and so on. A feature of the courses in S1 and S2 English is several units of novel-based work.

The same approach continues in S3, but to it is added a growing analytical element. Whereas in S1 ij and S2, books, plays and poems will generally be read for pleasure and to lead into the pupil's own writing or oral work, in S3 the study of literature - or the analysis of the writer's craft - emerges as a definite part of the English course

The function of a school English course IS not Just to prepare pupils for external examination, however. Skill and confidence in use of spoken and written English are important in all sorts of situations, from, for example, writing of 'thank- you' letters at Christmas time to answering questions in an interview room. As a result, the English course in S3 and S4 continues to give pupils the opportunity to use language in a wide variety of different ways, and to think self-critically about their use of language.

In the Standard Grade Course attention is given to the conscious development of competence in talk which will be assessed by the school and moderated by external examiners. Each pupil will maintain a folio of coursework, from which five selected pieces will be submitted to the Scottish Qualifications Authority. An external examination will also be taken by each pupil in reading and writing.

Content

course content is best defined as a series of activities. Prominent among these are:

1. writing imaginative, reflective, personal, discursive, transactional; back-up work in the 'technicalities' of written English (grammar,spelling, punctuation, presentation).

2. reading close reading of a wide variety of texts with study of purpose, meaning, inference, use of language, tone style; reading of literary texts including plays, poems, short stories and novels; library reading.

3. talking participation in group discussion, script-writing and performance, interviewing, preparation and presentation of talk; practice in assimilating and responding to visual and/ or aural stimuli.