I was given the opportunity to go for school visits here in Scotland which was an invaluable experience.
I managed to witness something interesting in a French class – the teacher was asking the students which subjects they dislike the most and the answer: English Language.
I was moderately surprise.
I can only hazard one guess – why do I need to study English when I am already speaking the language?
I asked a sixth former on learning grammar and he told me they just picked it up though they were exposed to it when they were in primary school. In secondary school – English mainly focuses on literature.
So it is not easy learning English in a native country.
I guess kids nowadays are more into Playstation or Wii and OK! Magazine rather than sticking their noses into Hamlet or Pride and Prejudice.
So they would most find it quite intolerable to sit through an hour of discussing Mr Darcy’s character.
Back home – Literature is part of the secondary school English Language curriculum which I felt is cumbersome for the students. I would not discuss here about the demerits of introducing Literature in the curriculum rather I would like to highlight another reason why learning English has been a great turn off for the kids.
Despite all the support the teacher gives during English Language classes, once the students hear that it’s Literature period – I think they have directed their minds to something more worthwhile like how to solve the mathematical problem in the first period or what snacks to have during break.
Personally, I didn’t have to go through this system but if I had to I would probably despise it as well. And if I was one of the many students facing language problems, I think I would probably do something fruitious, e.g. finishing next period’s homework, to ensure I don’t waste 40 minutes of my lesson time. My motivation for this would probably be in the negative zone despite having to sit exams for this topic. There would not be enough M-factor for me to pull my attention to the teacher droning on and on about what are protagonist and onomatopoeia or the rhythm of this poem.
Would Literature improve my language – indefinitely.
Would Literature motivate me to learn the language – most probably not.
