Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Living languageTeaching beyond the test

Dr Jon Berry University of Hertfordshire

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Who are ya?

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

How do I make my teaching, and students’ learning, lively, enjoyable and, occasionally, creative when I live in a world of high-stakes testing and measurable outcomes?

Could I possibly have the best of both worlds?

The dilemma of the 21st century teacher in England (and some other parts of the world)

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

The diary of Usain Bolt Today I trained to win the

100m. Got up. Had breakfast. Ran 100

metres. Had a break and ran 100

metres. Rested for a bit and then ran

100 metres. Had my tea and ran 100

metres…

…you get the picture.

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

The bad guys

A toxic mixture of nostalgia, populism and ideology – with a tinge of racism

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Uphold standards -and demand proof that they have been attained

Insist on rigour Stand up for common sense and decency Understand the needs of ordinary people Remind us of the need for value for money Uphold the notion of a meritocracy Defend us from lunacy in whatever guise it comes to

threaten us

What the bad guys do

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

OFSTED League tables Performance-related pay Over-zealous internal scrutiny and observation A discourse of catastrophe

And so the notion of accountability manifests itself in:

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

The good guys

(NB – bad guys and good guys do come in other colours and genders)

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Attempt to provide a sense of perspective

Use research and scholarship to do the above

So, with thanks to all of these three good guys, let’s look at some examples of how they do this:

What the good guys do

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Q 16. Complete the sentence below:The sun shone_______________ in the sky.The mark scheme reads ‘Accept any adverb, e.g. brightly, beautifully’.

The sun shone bright in the sky Right/Wrong?Wrong. Because…….……..bright ‘is not an adverb’.

Key Stage 2 grammar test

So Shakespeare was wrong, then?

She doth teach the torches to burn bright. Romeo

The moon shines bright. Lorenzo (Merchant of Venice)

I say it is the sun that shines so bright. Kate. (Taming of the Shrew)

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Much to be deprecated is the growing notion that every monosyllabic adjective, if an adverb is to be made of it, must have a –ly clapped on it to proclaim the fact.

1926!

(And what about dutifully as an answer to the question?)And, yes, I know that I’ve now started two sentences with ‘and’.

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Grammar. A set of rules or patterns to shape meaning?

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

A ghost says…..I walk through a wall. A dancer says….

I walk through my routine .(What’s ‘walk through’? A verb and a preposition?)It’s a phrasal verb when the dancer uses it.

You can replace a noun with a pronoun. Rule.

So the ghost and the dancer can say:I walk through it.But only the dancer can say….I walk it through.

What use is a ‘rule’ here?

There are nouns and verbs and pronouns and prepositions. What could be simpler?

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

The government are doing a rotten job? The government is doing a rotten job?

Too many cards in my wallet makes me worry. Too many cards in my wallet make me worry.

Jalfrezi is completely different to Madras. Jalfrezi is completely different from Madras.

Hopefully we’ll be going there tomorrow. I hope we’ll be going there tomorrow.

There’s a Standard English answer to all of the above – but does it matter?

Quiz time!

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Great Britain hopes to medal in five events.

I medalled in my main event.

medal – vb.

And just one more for the moment……

medal – n.I AM OUTRAGED!!

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

We know that learners learn through active engagement with what they are doing.

Learning grammar as rules rather than structures that have contextual meaning militates against this.

Becoming an active agent in language use gives a learner a better chance of understanding different language use in different contexts (including tests and exams).

Which is exactly why Russell Brand and Dizzee Rascal – players with language - are important additions to the curriculum.

Most teachers become constructivists , even if by default

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Let’s start with what the research shows: Contextualized grammar teaching can improve the

writing of some students – particularly more able writers.

The greatest areas of improvement were made in Composition and Effect….

‘…suggesting that the impact of grammar teaching was not simply at the syntactical level of the sentence but had an effect on overall effectiveness’ (Jones et al, 2013).

But how does that really help me with results?

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

The use of the meta-language of grammar is a barrier rather than a support for many learners.

Teachers’ subject knowledge and understanding of grammar is uneven – although not necessarily age-related!

Teachers using ‘learnt’ grammar can lead to the perpetuation of myth and ignorance.

Other observations from the research

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

There’s an accepted way of doing things. (Our way). There’s an acceptable body of knowledge. (Validated

by us). Practise (vb) makes perfect. That they believe in ‘strong doses of English grammar

as a cure for… educational ills’ (Elley et al, 1975:3). Deliver the goods or face the consequences.

What the bad guys appear to be saying is….

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Don’t accept notions of a golden age. Contextualized, constructivist teaching of grammar –

and most other things- has a more beneficial effect than exercises, drills and prescriptive notions of grammar.

And the good guys say……

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

What appears to characterise (satisfactory) lessons ….is an emphasis on the GCSE skills of analysis at the expense of personal response even in the early stages of Key Stage 3. Inspectors noted little attempt in these lessons to encourage an exchange of views about ideas in the text or to explore students’ reaction to what they had read. Strategies that seek to engage students with the text were neglected in favour of approaches that were directly aimed at developing those skills needed for the type of analytical, literary-critical essay required in the GCSE examination. Inspectors believe that teachers often try to teach these skills before students have had the opportunity to become confident, independent and mature readers. Inevitably, this leads to learning that is heavily reliant on the authoritative, teacher view.

But wait! Rejoice at the redemption of a sinner. What Ofsted says (sic) ….if we choose to believe it.

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

‘teachers’ assumptions – frequently mistaken – about what inspectors “want” to see in a lesson or what constitutes effective teaching’. Along with:

Confusing pace with speed Too many activities Over detailed lesson plans Inflexibility within lessons Constant review of learning Ofsted: Moving English Forward

And they criticise:

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

When we work in a system dominated by ‘the fallacy of universally measurable performance ….the logic of punitive quantification’ (Collini, 2013)…… Can we afford to abandon practice and rehearsal? Can we take our eye off Assessment Objectives? Can we afford to make leaps of faith?

Implications

Jon Berry. University of Hertfordshire. 2014

Collini, S.(2013) Sold Out. London Review of Books. Vol.35:20 pp 3-12 Crystal, D. (2013) Blogspot. Available at : http://david-crystal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/on-not-very-bright-grammar-test.html Elley, W., Barnham, I., Lamb, H. and Wylie. M. (1975) The role of grammar in a secondary curriculum. Educational Research Series, No. 60. Wellington. New Zealand. Fowler, H. (1926) A dictionary of modern English usage. Oxford. Jones, S., Myhill, D. and Bailey, T. (2013) Grammar for writing? An investigation of the effects of contextualized grammar teaching on students’ writing. Available at: https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10036/4481/2012GrammarforWritingReadingWriting.pdf?sequence=5

OFSTED (2012) Moving English Forward: actions to raise standards in English Rosen. M (2012). Blogspot. Available at: http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/grammar.html

References