Book review: Redefining English for the More Able: A Practical Guide

The aim of this text is to provide a practical guide offering English teachers a wide range of strategies to challenge their students.

Part 1 (Chapters1–5) analyses the background of teaching English with discussion of the challenging questions: How did English lose its way? What’s the point of teaching English? What barriers block the highest achievement? Why are ‘manageable gaps’ so important? What can current research add to our teaching?

Part 2 (Chapters 6–10) examines issues that relate directly to the classroom: taking learners (ages 8–11) into the art and craft of writing; using short stories to move learners (ages 11–14) into new territories; encouraging learners (ages 14–16) to extend their awareness of poetry; using drama with students (ages 14–16) to explore emotions and feelings; examining film with learners aged 16+.

The glossary clarifies literary terms and the index provides a thorough summary of the contents.

The text abounds with relevant quotes drawn from a wide range of publications that indicate the depth of research the authors have undertaken to give substance to their ideas. The lesson plans provide a rich resource of all genres of literature with specific examples of reflective questions and a wide range of activities that extend learners’ creative and critical thinking.

The authors declare their purpose as follows:

We believe that as English teachers we need to more fully engage with what Meyer and Land call ‘threshold concepts’, defined as critical points when students make ‘learning leaps’….

We need to be able to help our learners to challenge and develop complex ideas, to recognise and accept ambiguity, to explore authorial values and bias, and to attack texts from as many angles as possible. We need to support them to make connections and judgements within and between texts, and to understand how written language expresses meaning in powerful ways. (p. 3)

This text is inspirational and should be read by all educators and parents, not just teachers of English. The message running through the text applies to the whole curriculum: make learning alive, relate what you teach to the learners’ experience and extend their understanding.

I particularly like the analogy that extending learners’ thinking should be like adding Velcro to existing Velcro.