Secondary English in the common curriculum in Northern Ireland
An opportunity for excellence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12113044 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Seán Farren (University of Ulster, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 239-252 |
| Publication date | 1991-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language Culture and Curriculum (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0790-8318 • E-ISSN: 1747-7573 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/07908319109525107 |
| OpenAlex | W1992990207 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
The paper examines the position of English in the new Common Curriculum for Northern Ireland schools. The curriculum recognises six principal curricular areas, of which English, or mother tongue, is the first, and lists six educational themes (mutual understanding, cultural heritage, information technology, economic awareness, health, and careers education) that must be pursued in each area. It also specifies national assessment at the ages of 8, 11, 14 and 16. A distinctive feature of the English programme is its emphasis on speaking and listening skills. The programme also emphasises the heuristic function of the mother tongue, as a means of exploring the world, and its recursivestructure, whereby the same basic skills are recombined at higher levels of competence. Knowledge about language (KAL) is given prominence, as are drama and media studies. Of the cross‐cultural themes, cultural awareness, mutual understanding, and information technology will probably be the easiest to integrate into the English programme. The English programme has been generally welcomed, although concern has been expressed about the large number of sub‐themes it contains. The author does not accept the criticism that the programme is anti‐ humanistic or too concerned with the technical skills of English. However, the extent of the issue here will not be apparent until Government intentions on national assessment are clearer
Active listening · Competence (human resources · Criticism · Curriculum · Excellence · First language · Linguistics · National curriculum · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching · Social Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
|---|