Six years as a sub-examiner of both literature and written work made me aware of a personal dissatisfaction with the system of examining. This research examines in detail the use of the contextual question in examining Shakespeare's plays. The main concern has been to try to deduce what constitutes a good set of contextual questions. This area appears to have attracted little detailed research. However, there is much general writing on the teaching of literature. There is no major conclusion in the dissertation but rather a series of conclusions related to the concept of the contextual question. These are summarised towards the end of chapter three. Some general recommendations appear at the end of chapter three as a sub-heading. The findings of this investigation indicate a need for further research into the system of examining literature in the Cape. It is hoped that teachers and examiners reading this dissertation will be able to use the findings to provide a possible framework for the setting of sound contextual questions

This exploratory, qualitative research explored the extent that course syllabi in the Departments of English in 13 public and 9 private universities in Taiwan reflect the inclusion of syllabus components to promote learning as recommended in the literature in the United States. Research questions included: what components can be inferred from the literature in the U.S. for the recommended components of a course syllabus, for the components for a learning-centered syllabus, and for a model to analyze Bloom's cognitive level of learning? And when these are applied to analyze course syllabi in English courses, are syllabi in these universities congruent with the models? The research identified and analyzed 235 course syllabi from the core courses listed online at these universities. The findings indicated that these syllabi are highly congruent with the syllabus components template; 68% of the syllabi included seven or more of the ten components. Additionally, these syllabi reflect medium congruency with the learning-centered syllabus template. Verbs used in objectives and learning outcomes in different English courses indicate different levels of cognitive learning goals as identified by Bloom's cognitive domain. Additional findings indicate that there was no difference in inclusion of components based on where faculty earned their doctoral degree. This research assumed similarities between higher education in Taiwan and the U.S., conclusions indicate that the course syllabi in Departments of English in Taiwan are congruent with the models recommended in the literature in the U.S.

Poetry often exists as a neglected form within high school English Language Arts classrooms. Whether taught with trepidation or avoided with anxiety, few teachers feel adequately equipped to teach the reading and writing of poetry. This may feel obvious in an era fixed on quantification of one variety or another. How could poetry—that, allegedly, most luxurious of linguistic forms—flourish in the STEM-nutrient-rich soil of contemporary educational priorities? By first charting the historical precedent for today’s poetry pedagogy, then considering why teachers bother to incorporate the form, and, finally, framing the classroom as a site for communal practice and formation, this dissertation works to build a robust sense of poetry’s educational possibilities for student and teacher alike. Relying on qualitative interview conversations with three public high school English Language Arts teachers who lead poetry-rich classrooms, I draw from the fields of English education, practice theory, educational philosophy, and ritual studies to offer a rehabilitated, prismatic conception of the teaching of poetry. Further, this dissertation argues for a definition of poetry teaching as a particular practice that embodies a character of community, quality of inhabitance, and concern with meaning in ways essential for our contemporary educational moment.

The problem was to develop a concept of teaching English for the adult (24 years old or older) undergraduate. The purposes were to make a statement on teaching the adult, survey adults for their perceptions of their needs and the ways the courses met them, review findings of schools offering special adult degree programs, and develop a typology of the adult undergraduate in English with teaching implications. Chapter I states the problem, purposes, significance, and limitations of the study. Chapter II develops the historical background. Chapter III covers the survey and its implications. Chapter IV presents teachers' views of teaching English for adults. Chapter V summarizes the study and sets forth a conceptual structure for teaching the adult undergraduate in such courses.

Multicultural education has been mandated in the state of Florida as part of State Mandate 1003.42. In order for this mandate to be implemented, it is necessary for teachers to know what effective multicultural education is and how it is to be implemented. This study was designed to find out what English teachers know about the state mandate and multicultural education and how they use multicultural education in their classrooms. High school English teachers in one South Florida school district participated in an online survey, and 11 of those respondents also participated in a follow-up personal interview. According to multiple scholars, there are three categories for multicultural education: Recognition, Transformation, and Action, with Recognition serving to recognize and respect other cultures without any change to the mainstream curriculum and instruction, Transformation serving to transform the curriculum and instruction to reflect students and their various cultures while introducing them to others and meeting the various instructional needs of the students, and Action motivating students to take action to bring about social justice. Overall, high school English teachers’ understanding of effective multicultural education is on the Transformation level. The survey found that high school English teachers use multicultural education on the Action level; however, the follow-up interviews did not support that finding. Also based on the interviews, teachers are willing and eager to learn more and would like the district to implement their suggestions to help with their learning. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

U.B.C. as well as many secondary schools in Vancouver have invested in the potential of technology. Research reveals, however, that even when there is sufficient access, far too many English teachers are not effectively using technology as a learning &/ or teaching resource. Perhaps this is because they are not equipped with the necessary skills to effectively use technology in the classroom. This three month study explores how three English teachers at an urban secondary school in Vancouver are presently experiencing the use of technology in their classrooms. Qualitative methods were used to generate, analyze and report data. Data collection included formal and informal discussions, interviews, extensive field notes and the observation of classes. This study discloses the factors which have most significantly facilitated and inhibited the implementation of technology in these teachers' teaching contexts. This research also provides an account of these teachers' perspectives of how the B.Ed, program at U.B.C. can equip pre-service teachers for the challenges and potential of integrating technology into secondary English classrooms.

This project arises from recent initiatives aimed at transforming Shakespeare studies in South African high schools, so as to make those studies more learner-centred and interactive, as well as a more useful communicative language-learning experience for second-language (L2) students. It is this interactive methodology that the present project seeks to extend to the relatively neglected area of Shakespeare's figurative language. Drawing on schema theory and response-based approaches to literature teaching, the project shows that figurative language is especially conducive to interactive treatment, whereby students might be encouraged to make sense of metaphors and similes out of their "background knowledge". Guidelines are indicated for putting this into practice in the L2 classroom; and on the basis of these guidelines, materials are developed for an interactive approach to Shakespeare's figurative language. The central phase in this development process involves trying out the materials in five African high schools and then analysing the data collected from them. The classroom try-outs were profitable in so far as they raised issues that had been overlooked in the earlier, theoretical, stage of the development process. A good overall response to the materials' learner-centred approach was indicated, although students experienced difficulties with certain essential tasks. Most seriously, while the materials were successful in accessing students' background knowledge in the form of associations, they were less successful in getting students to use this knowiedge in interpreting metaphors for themselves. Reasons for this feature, and others, are considered and solutions posited. Recommendations for implementing the materials in a larger teaching programme are made.

The enjoyment of any form of literature presupposes, in the reader, an understanding of the subject matter and a fundamental inclination to identify with the characters, to empathize with them and to appreciate varying perspectives. It follows that the choice of text is an important consideration especially, when the reader is not reading in the mother tongue. The choice of novel prescribed by the DET for Second Language, non-White, non-English-speaking, Ciskeian pupils poses many problems which lead to poor examination results. The increasing unpopularity of English Literature among Ciskeian pupils and teachers appears to stem largely from the predominance of works selected from the Great Tradition. To determine how far the choice of texts is responsible for the lack of success of literature teaching in Ciskei is the aim of this investigation. The DET syllabus for Black schools and the set books prescribed for Stds. 9 and 10 between 1980 and 1990 are examined to expose their Euro-centric focus. The effects of the DET examinations on literature study in Ciskei are also considered to show how examinations complicate the situation further. The aims of teaching literature to Second Language pupils are reviewed. Literary merit, relevance, aesthetic value and scope for moral seriousness, skill development are suggested as criteria suitable for an appropriate choice of literary texts for Second Language pupils. A comparative study of the prescribed novel, Silas Marner and an alternative African novel in English, Things Fall Apart has been attempted to find out whether Things Fall Apart is of equal literary value to Silas Marner and, perhaps, more relevant than Silas Marner to the experience of Black pupils. Six teachers have been interviewed for their opinions of the books prescribed. A miniature survey also has been conducted among pupils of Stds. 9 and 10 from selected schools to verify general attitudes to the study of literature. The findings indicate a dire need to make the syllabus more flexible and more open to include good African writing in English, such as Things Fall Apart.

U.B.C. as well as many secondary schools in Vancouver have invested in the potential of technology. Research reveals, however, that even when there is sufficient access, far too many English teachers are not effectively using technology as a learning &/ or teaching resource. Perhaps this is because they are not equipped with the necessary skills to effectively use technology in the classroom. This three month study explores how three English teachers at an urban secondary school in Vancouver are presently experiencing the use of technology in their classrooms. Qualitative methods were used to generate, analyze and report data. Data collection included formal and informal discussions, interviews, extensive field notes and the observation of classes. This study discloses the factors which have most significantly facilitated and inhibited the implementation of technology in these teachers' teaching contexts. This research also provides an account of these teachers' perspectives of how the B.Ed, program at U.B.C. can equip pre-service teachers for the challenges and potential of integrating technology into secondary English classrooms. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

“Under Wendy Bishop’s Eye” examines the teaching, learning, and social environment of a graduate student in an American creative writing MFA program in the early years of the 21st century. This dissertation is a work of autofiction; it is both an autoethnography and a fictionalized story written in the form of a novel. The project uses the scholarship of writing studies’ leader Wendy Bishop to discuss and analyze the dynamics of graduate student learning in creative writing courses, undergraduate learning in creative writing courses, graduate student teaching in creative writing courses, and graduate student teaching in expository writing or first-year composition courses at a four-year college. The project addresses the limitations of the “workshop method” for teaching creative writing, while supporting the benefits of writing pedagogy that includes cross-genre writing exercises in all university-level writing courses, specifically bringing “personal writing” and creative non-fiction into both creative writing and first-year composition course.