Kevin Morris’ Post

Any document highlighting the importance of oracy (although they refuse to use the term) is vital to those championing the importance of talk rich curriculums. One day ‘spoken language’ will be the first section rather than third in line. Oracy is key to educating our successful, respectful and resilient future citizens. Children need their own voices to read and write. Children need their own voices to ‘learn more and remember more’. Children need to learn how to use their voices, how to listen and to be heard. ‘Spoken language’ is the foundation, not the third section!

Latest from FE News: Students Are Studying More Diverse Texts In English, But Over Half Of Teachers Want To Go Further: Almost 8 in 10 English teachers in secondary schools have diversified their texts in the past three years according to new research from digital media… Students Are Studying More Diverse Texts In English, But Over Half Of Teachers Want To Go Further was published on FE News by FE News Editor #Education #Socialimpact Read more here:

Ofsted’s report into the quality of English education in schools, published today. ✅ It’s pleasing to see the positive strides in the teaching of reading and explicit vocabulary instruction. 💡 Interesting finding that early test-based assessment preparation is unhelpful and even damaging to pupil learning. 🎯 Harnessing the power of oracy as a means to develop writing and composition skills, to improve reading attainment, and to improve pupil confidence is an exciting priority for any English curriculum. #oracy #englishteaching #curriculum

Today we’ve published our subject report on the quality of English education in schools. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eyB4wkPm    This is the latest in our series of subject reports, which follow on from our research reviews. You can find them all here: https://lnkd.in/eSYezHVc     We found that:    ❤️ English remains at the heart of the school curriculum and there is much to celebrate  📈 the teaching of reading has improved. Schools have invested in resources and training  📚 but, schools are less sure about building fluency and comprehension once pupils can read accurately  ⏩ sometimes secondary schools could do more to help weaker readers catch up   📑 curriculums for writing or spoken language are less well considered than reading  ❌ external assessments unhelpfully shape the curriculum. Tasks that replicate tests are introduced too soon and prevent pupils learning the underlying knowledge.   Overall, schools have made notable improvements to many aspects of the English curriculum and allocate a significant amount of time to the subject.     However, we did make some recommendations for improvements including:    🗣 make sure that the requirements for spoken language are translated into practice, so that pupils learn how to become competent speakers  🏗 make sure the curriculum takes full account of the foundational knowledge and skills that pupils need  📋 build pupils’ reading fluency and comprehension in a way that is not limited to exam-style tasks  📚 encourage pupils to read a wide range of books once they are fluent readers, and so build a reading habit  ⏩ help pupils who enter key stage 2 or 3 unable to read fluently to catch up quickly.   #Ofsted #Schools #English

Adding to my reading list!

Useful summary of Ofsted's English subject report from Schools Week. Lots of detail to unpack in the report itself, which covers a lot of ground. Influence of external assessment on how children learn English is a key theme.

Reading across Disciplines We gave proficiency exams to participants who were candidates to become university-level lecturers. The exam includes four major skills of the English language and each of them was given separately. Reading skill was one of the most complicated skills for participants and it challenged nearly all participants repeatedly. The text developers altered the reading passage question types from intensive to intermediate but the complication changed a little for the test takers. I believe reading passages in English is a challenge for Afghan students because they less emphasis on intensive and extensive reading during high school and college times. In addition, the shortage of academic vocabulary and reading strategies are the two other factors that deter students from compelling reading during the placement and proficiency exams. Share your perspectives regarding the following questions: ·      What are the major causes of reading skill complications in the EFL context according to some professional teachers? ·      How to promote the reading capacity of English for Academic Purposes students? ·      What will help multidisciplinary non-native English teachers read a passage for understanding?  

Reading across Disciplines We gave proficiency exams to participants who were candidates to become university-level lecturers. The exam includes four major skills of the English language and each of them was given separately. Reading skill was one of the most complicated skills for participants and it challenged nearly all participates repeatedly. The text developers altered the reading passage question types from intensive to intermediate but the complication changed a little for the test takers. I believe reading passages in English is a challenge for Afghan students because they less emphasis on intensive and extensive reading during high school and college times. In addition, the shortage of academic vocabulary and reading strategies are the two other factors that deter students from compelling reading during the placement and proficiency exams. Share your perspectives regarding the following questions: ·      What are the major causes of reading skill complications in the EFL context according to some professional teachers? ·      How to promote the reading capacity of English for Academic Purposes students? ·      What will help multidisciplinary non-native English teachers read a passage for understanding?  

English Grammar CPD courses are back! 🍂Upcoming dates this autumn: English Grammar for Teachers 🗓️15 Nov Teaching English Grammar in Context 🗓️22 Nov Details and more dates at the link: https://lnkd.in/eEPggASj #CPD #NCT #ECT #PGCE #English #Grammar #Literacy

We want to hear from you! Contribute to Idiom. The first 2024 edition of VATE's online member journal Idiom aims to tell the stories of English teachers about the challenges they’ve faced over the last few years. Prompted by the VATE research project ‘The sustainability of the English teaching profession/al’, this Idiom presents the stories and experiences of English teachers who have stayed in the profession, those who are on the edge, and those who have left. Through these stories the issue explores: English teaching during COVID-19 lockdowns and their aftermath, responses to curriculum change, the challenge of engaging students as readers, writers and meaning makers, the building of faculty cultures, severe teacher shortages and what it might mean for developing professionally in such an environment. Through these and other challenges, English teachers in Victoria have had to dig deep and extend themselves – sometimes to breaking point. This Idiom explores key findings from the research project and asks: What new practices have English teachers devised to respond to these challenges? How have English teachers collaborated and supported each other? What obstacles are there to English teaching being a sustainable profession? What might need to change to enable this? We want to hear from the English teaching community. Read more about this issue of Idiom and how you can contribute here: https://lnkd.in/eAiAJVHj