.School of English

Language and Identity in the National Curriculum: A Scheme of Work

Devised by Emma Moore (University of Sheffield), in collaboration with the Five Islands School (Isles of Scilly)

Introduction

English at Key Stages 3 and 4 places much emphasis on speaking and listening activities. 33% of teaching time and 20% of assessment is devoted to speaking and listening activities, yet few resources exist to facilitate this. Despite recent calls from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority that schools focus on “authentic situations” of language use, and on-going interest in the role of linguistics in education (see, for instance, the Committee for Linguistics in Education – www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/ec/clietop.htm), there have been few collaborative projects between linguists and schools.

The scheme of work in this pack was devised in 2007 via a collaboration between Emma Moore (a sociolinguist at the University of Sheffield) and the Five Island School on the Isles of Scilly. The work was successfully piloted with Year 10 pupils at the school and used in their GCSE assessment.

The work has been adapted so that it can be used in any school to meet the demands of the National Curriculum for speaking and listening in English at Key Stages 3 and 4. It has been set out as 12 classes and it is anticipated that teachers and pupils will work through all 12 classes. At the end of these classes, pupils will have all the resources necessary to produce a report or presentation on Language and Identity in their own community. This report/presentation can then be assessed as part of their coursework.

What does the scheme of work contain?

• This introductory document.
• 12 class files, each containing a powerpoint presentation to be used in class. Some classes also have accompanying handouts or electronic files. Detailed information on the contents of each class is given below.
• A list of acknowledgements which outlines the source of all materials used in this scheme of work.

Who owns this scheme of work?

Copyright for this scheme of work resides with Emma Moore at the University of Sheffield. All resources from elsewhere are referenced in the list of acknowledgements and carry their own copyright. Whilst this work is freely available to anyone who wants to make use of it, please acknowledge its provenance. Any questions about this work should be addressed to Emma Moore at the University of Sheffield (e.moore@sheffield.ac.uk).