YVONNE REED reviews English Matters Grade 7 by Dorothy Dyer et al (Cambridge University Press, R49,95), Communicating Today Grade 7 by Pippa Stein et al (Maskew Miller Longman, R39,95), and English in our Lives Grade 7, learners’ book by Shelley Angelil-Carter et al, teacher’s guide by Pamela Moeng (Heinemann, R39,95 for the learners’ book; R42,95 for the teacher’s guide)
THE June 1996 issue of The Teacher included an article on choosing textbooks. One of the criteria was ”If I were a learner again, I would like to learn from this book”. At present, we are all learners as we grapple with Curriculum 2005. The authors of all these books have provided guidance for educators and grade 7 learners.
I asked the following questions about each of the books:
Does the textbook engage learners, tap into their interests and extend their understanding in creative and critical ways?
Is it ”inclusive” in relation to language, culture, gender, social position, urban and rural contexts?
Does it include stories that learners will want to read?
Does it include a range of types of texts?
Is the material presented in a lively and appealing way, with good use of visuals?
Does the layout of each page help learners to use the book?
Does the textbook include a range of carefully developed activities?
Does it provide support for learning, through clearly presented information and helpful guidelines and examples?
Does it help learners to reflect on and assess their progress?
Does it assist teachers to implement Curriculum 2005 with reference to phase organisers, Learning Area organisers and programme organisers, learning outcomes and the assessment of these?
I decided I could answer ”yes” to all of my questions when considering the three components of the English Matters package. The anthology includes a wide range of texts: short stories, extracts from novels, poems, interviews, a comic, diary extracts and non-fiction articles. Some are by well-known authors, while others are written by learners. The language in the texts varies from simple and accessible to more complex and challenging. The writing is accompanied by colourful drawings or photographs which assist comprehension. Each of the texts in the anthology corresponds to a chapter in the learners’ book and one in the teacher’s guide.
The package was trialled by 18 teachers from urban, township and rural schools in which learners use English as a primary or as an additional language. These teachers and learners are profiled in the teacher’s guide and some of their comments and suggestions have been included. The teacher’s guide provides suggestions for activities, for promoting literacy, for developing links between school and home and for assessment. The guide clearly specifies phase organisers and links with other learning areas. There is a clear presentation of all the assessment criteria. There are also ideas for extension activities.
The learners’ book begins with checklists in relation to reading, writing, speaking and listening skills which learners can use to develop their personal learning goals. Many of the chapters include a short ”Check your progress” section which they can use for self-assessment. Some chapters include more demanding activities under the heading ”Try this!”.
For example, the third text in the anthology is a poem titled It’s a Mom’s Life! written by Mpho Mkosana and Anati Links. They write from a child’s point of view. The teacher’s guide lists the phase organiser as Communication, and suggests a link with Specific Outcome 2 for Life Orientation: Attitudes and values with regard to family relationships. The guide suggests that the purpose of the poem and activities is to encourage learners to consider different points of view.
Chapter three in the learners’ book begins with the heading ”Identify the point of view”, under which there is a drawing of a lion behind a fence and a bird perched on top of this fence. The learners’ task is to work in pairs to complete three sentences: ”The lion looks at the fence and wishes that …”, ”I look at the fence and think that …”, ”The bird thinks that the fence is …”
Next, learners are asked to read the poem It’s a Mom’s Life! and to discuss in groups questions on it. After this, they are invited to consider the poem from the point of view of a mother who may give commands to her children because she is tired or busy. Language study is linked to this activity: ”Choose at least five statements from the poem and write them down. Use the word ‘because’ and give a reason for each command. For example: Make me coffee because I am ironing your clothes.” The final activity asks learners to write their own poems using a format similar to the one they have read.
When I considered Communicating Today I could again answer ”yes” to all my questions. At present there is not a separate teacher’s guide, but the introduction to the learners’ book explains Curriculum 2005 terms and provides examples. The pages on assessment are excellent and include descriptions of how to implement different forms of assessment. The introduction concludes with an example of a learner’s assessment portfolio which educators are invited to photocopy and with suggestions for its use in the classroom. At several points in the book learners are guided through a range of self- and peer-assessment activities.
Communicating Today is divided into eight substantial units, each one developed around a theme. Each theme begins with information for the educator about phase organiser, programme organiser and specific outcomes for Language, Literacy and Communication and for the other Learning Areas with which the learning in the unit can be integrated. The performance indicators listed at the beginning of each unit are addressed to learners. All units end with a brief summary and a concluding text under the heading ”Good Reads”.
Communicating Today is likely to appeal to learners because it includes a range of texts and activities that are both challenging and accessible. One of its many strengths is the use throughout the book of photographs and drawings of South African teenagers with whom learners can identify. Topics important to young people are introduced and developed with great sensitivity. This is particularly the case in the excellent unit titled ”Breaking the silence” which tackles issues of children’s rights and child abuse. Texts in this unit include an extract from Soul City’s Workbook on Child Abuse, a poem titled Talking to People Who Care, and an extract from Bethel and the Bad Thing, a story about a girl who is sexually abused by a relative. In one of the concluding activities, learners are encouraged to work in groups to draw up a ”10 point kids protection plan”, using what has been learnt from the unit about rights and about the importance of talking and listening.
The final unit, ”A short story”, provides a bridge to the more formalised study of literature that is part of secondary school curricula. Learners are offered guidance about the structure of a short story and about how to read such stories. Langston Hughes’s story Thank You M’am is introduced with the observation that this American story ”has important messages for us here in South Africa”. I agree with them and find it an excellent choice with which to conclude.
The learners’ book for English in Our Lives includes information for educators in the introductory section, which is headed ”To the teacher and the learner”. This heading is somewhat misleading as what follows is addressed to educators. An unusual feature of the learners’ book is that task instructions addressed to learners sometimes include directives to teachers, and perhaps this is one of the ways in which the writers chose to build ”method” into the textbook. Here are two examples:
(i) Discuss the answers in groups. Your teacher will then write them in a table on the board.
(ii) Your teacher will ask three people to read the formal telephone conversation on the next page. While some educators may appreciate this guidance, others may find it unnecessarily prescriptive and a source of potential conflict between themselves and learners who expect them to follow the book.
Another unusual feature of the learners’ book is the inclusion of tasks labelled ”Homework”. In some instances, these give learners an opportunity to revise or summarise what they have been working on in the unit and in others to tackle extension tasks, such as consulting reference books or community members for further information on a topic.
English in Our Lives, learners’ book, consists of eight units organised around themes and two revision units. While there are many activities in each unit, there is one that is listed as ”the main task” for the unit and, for this, the authors provide a ”Marking scheme” which suggests to learners and educators possible criteria for the assessment of the task. For some of the other activities, there are useful guidelines to assist learners with self- and peer-assessment. At the back of the book there is a table which informs educators of the phase organiser, programme organiser and specific outcomes addressed in each unit.
The writers have chosen themes that are likely to be of interest to learners (for example, fashion) and some of the themes and learning activities can be linked to other Learning Areas. The book includes a range of interesting photographs and drawings that relate to the themes and activities. However, while learners may enjoy using English in Our Lives, it is possible that some of them could find it a little difficult to work with because of some of its design features. There is very little white space in this book. The margins of every page are filled with either abstract or representational drawings, and many of the pages are crowded with print.
The teacher’s book for English in Our Lives begins with a brief discussion of the ideas on which the course is based and develops some very useful guidelines for conducting and recording assessment. For each activity in each unit of the learners’ book, the writers suggest teaching ”methods” and they also provide an answer key for many activities.
One of the positive features of each of the books is the recognition that the writers give to all the languages that learners know. Each book includes activities that encourage learners to compare words and expressions across languages and to make use of their primary languages in discussions when they are exploring ideas. This is done while keeping in focus the goal of developing competence in speaking, reading and writing in English.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, June 21, 2000.
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