Category: English
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Celebrating the anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with our favourite quotes
To celebrate the birth of Jane Austen on this day (December 16) in 1775, here are some of our favourite quotes from her novels. “Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” Mansfield Park “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel,…
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English teacher and author reveals his top 5 books of all time
English teachers spend the day sharing their love of literature and helping students get the most out of texts. But what books are they influenced by? We asked one of the authors of English for Queensland , Lindsay Williams, for a list of his favourite books. Here they are, in no particular order: Mullumbimby by…
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What makes a literate nation?
An excerpt from Australian Literature for Young People by Rosemary Ross Johnston The arts – literature in all its forms, theatre and cinema, dance, music, drawing, painting and sculpture – both sustain and create literate nations. They are not an extra-curricular frill, but an integral part of communal and personal lives; they arm for the…
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There are many reasons to love libraries
Modern libraries can take the form of a local book exchange to a huge community centre, complete with roof gardens and cafes. The reasons why Australians love them are just as diverse. From the smell of books to the friendly librarian, there are plenty of reasons to visit, and to love, our libraries. To mark…
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More than Mercutio – English teaching for the future
By Michael Horne Discussion of what teachers and educational leaders really want students to get out of their schooling has recently shifted to the types of skills that they will need in the 21st century. In the face of a paradigm that still emphasises knowledge retention and memorisation, and when viewed in combination with the…
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Comprehension is an essential part of the literacy equation
By Annie Facchinetti Imagine that you were lost in Turkey and the only directions you had were written in Turkish. You could probably read them out loud with reasonable accuracy, even though your phonological awareness of the language may not be perfect, but unless you can speak Turkish, your understanding would be limited. Reading the…
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Catering for mixed abilities in the English classroom
The term ‘mixed ability class’ is one that teachers often react to with an inward groan, but it’s a reality in most Australian classrooms. When I consider my Year 8 English class, there is a gap of around three years between the highest and lowest performing students, and I’m sure that this isn’t too unusual…
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Horace Hart: the fascinating creator of an Oxford classic
Shortly after I became Editorial Assistant at OUP, my manager lent me a book called New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors. It’s a useful and interesting book for an editor, as it tells you: to avoid the greengrocer’s apostrophe (e.g. lettuces instead of lettuce’s) the correct way to indicate stammering,…