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framework for assessing what is needed to improve performance,
for recording pupils' progress, and for reporting to parents.
Aims of English language learning and teaching
There are three broad aims. Schools should:
develop pupils' skills and knowledge so that they
can realize to the full their ability to understand English
and use it accurately;
support pupils' personal development through language
and literature, including intellectual, emotional, aesthetic,
social and moral development;
develop in all pupils a range of positive attitudes
towards their own and each other's language development,
including concern for tolerance, enjoyment, co-operation
and sharing.
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In order to realize these aims, all teachers will:
provide experiences for developing pupils'
capacities to communicate, think, feel and make through language;
introduce pupils to books and literature, including
Scottish materials, as sources of these experiences;
through these experiences extend pupils' understanding
of the nature, structures and conventions of language;
help pupils to develop confidence and pleasure
in their own use of language;
make all pupils aware of the importance of
language;
take full advantage of dialects, ethnic diversity
and bilingualism, in teaching cultural tolerance and knowledge
about language;
take advantage of the rich contexts for language
development provided by the mass media, computers and drama.
Time allocation for English language
Guidance concerning the minimum time allocation for English language
recognizes that it exists both as a discrete area and as a permeating
element across the curriculum. In Curriculum and Assessment
in Scotland, The Balance of the Primary Curriculum (1989),
The Scottish Office Education Department suggested a minimum time
allocation in the primary school of 15% for language. in Curriculum
Design for the Secondary Stages (1989), the Scottish Consultative
Council on the Curriculum proposed a minimum time allocation of
20% for language and communication (including a second language)
over Sl and S2. Both documents identify an additional 20% of class
time available to all curricular areas and modes for enrichment
and pupil choice.
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