The nature of english higher as a secondary school subject in the Transvaal 1942-1972

• Main Author: Jenkins, Elwyn Rought
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/18141

D issertation subm itted to the Faculty o f E ducation University o f the Witwate.-irand, Johannesburg for the Degiee of Master o f Education Pretoria 1973 === An investigation was made in to w hat constituted the subject o f English as first language in the Transvaal at w xtr.dary school level over a period o f thirty years, from 1942 to 1972, a period which was bounded by im portant changes o f syllabus. Inform ation for the study was obtained from official publications 0 1 the Transvaal Education D epartm ent during that period: syllabuses, Language R eports to the A dm inistrator, the Annual Reports, public exam ination papers and exam iners’ reports, and reports o f the Education Bureau. T he titles of the prescribed w orks for the period were collated and analysed. Som e o f the language tex t books in use in the Trans 'I at various times were analysed A sample o f internal exam ination papers in C om position and Com prehension for Std 8, set by Transvaal teachers at the end o f 1973, com pleted the source material. The study outlines different concepts o f the nature o f English as a school subject. Present and projected trends in English teaching in m ajor English speaking countries are described, as a background against which to interpret the changes noted in the teaching o f the subject in the Transvaal over the given period, and in order to throw light on possible future developm ents in the province. The source m aterials are analysed in chapters on Syllabuses, Prescribed Works, Public E xam inations and Internal E xam inations The analysis deals w ith aims, subject m atter, the ethos o f the subject, and the assum ption:, b o th explicit and implicit, o f the education authorities and the teachers. Ti e s.udy describes how changes have occurred in every aspect o f the subject over the thirty year period. Language teaching has changed from instruction in formal Latinate gramm ar, through a period o f rigorously proscriptive and prescriptive teaching, to a concern with ability to com m unicate in given circum stances and with the use of language in m odem society. Spoken Engl.sh has also developed from being confined chiefi.1 t j proscriptive speech training, to playing a bigger role in all English teaching Written English has changed slowly from form al essay and letter w riting to w ritten com m unication o f various kinds In the prescription o f set w orks there has been a shift away from the classics o f previous centuries to the work o f tw entieth century writers. These changes have been accom panied by a change in the subject m atter and ethos of English. T he language which pupils in the nineteen seventies are expected to study and produce no longer conform s to a V ictorian model, as it did thirty years ago. The subject m atter is no longer literary and dom inated by the British way o f life I he shill to subject n a tte r which i« o f interest to the contem porary child coincides with a shift in aims. Instead o f presenting the child w ith a culture which he must be able to reproduce, the teacher reeks to draw the child out. Personal developm ent and self-confidence in the use o f language are given priority. The investigation has shown the need for close co-ordination am ong the various authorities directing the subject, the exam iners and the teachers. There has been a lack o f com m on policy and sense o f direction, which is shown particularly by inconsistencies and fluctuations o f standard in the selection o f prescribed works, but is also apparent in 'h e erratic developm ent o f the subject over a wide front. Recom m endations for future curriculum developm ent in English are made.