Primary English Audit and Test

Sue Reid, Angela Sawyer, Mary Bennett-Hartley

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781446298190
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Teaching Methods for Reading

This popular, widely recommended, text supports trainees on primary initial teacher training courses where a secure knowledge and understanding of English is required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). A rigorous and focused test enables trainees to identify their strengths and weaknesses in English. This test can be revisited at key stages in their course as a tool to monitor and evaluate progress. The fourth edition has been updated in line with the new National Curriculum, includes more information on expanding and developing a knowledge of English and is linked to the 2012 Teachers' Standards.

Part 1: Reflection on English: your experiences so far

Provide as many background details as you can. Don’t worry if it looks blank in places; however, don’t undersell yourself – although of course your English qualifications are important, many wider aspects of your education and life may be relevant. For example, familiarity with other languages, or a job that involves a lot of reading and writing, is bound to enhance your knowledge of how the English language is used.

  English qualifications and experience

GCSE/O level (equivalent)

Date taken

Grade(s)

GCE A level (equivalent)

Date taken

Grade(s)

English degree

Year of graduation

Class of degree

Other English courses

 

  other relevant qualifications (e.g. TEFL)

 

  other relevant experience (e.g. work-related)

Task box

Before you proceed, keep a diary of everything that you have read during one week. Include everything, such as newspapers, text messages and texts on digital readers. Now do the same for writing; again you should include everything you have written over the week. Your list may range from shopping lists to emails and letters.

Part 2: Reflection on English: your perceptions

How you feel about English will influence how you choose to develop your subject knowledge, and also the effectiveness of your teaching. An enthusiastic teacher who communicates his or her own enjoyment of language and literature to pupils will go a long way towards inspiring them to be lovers of language and literature. You may not at the present moment be an English enthusiast, even if you’re an expert user of the language! However, it is important to take an objective look at your attitudes. You may also find it useful to try to work out the reasons for the way you feel – for example, why do you think you enjoy reading but hate writing? Does this stem from your experiences at school, or elsewhere? Have your interests changed over time? Tick the appropriate columns:

Overall, what do your responses tell you? If you’ve marked mostly 1s and 2s, that’s an excellent start. 3s are encouraging, and even if you have some 4s, don’t worry – everyone’s different, and perhaps you’ll come to feel more positive towards English as you progress through your ITT course. Reflect critically on your attitude towards English, using the space below to comment further. Can you identify the experiences which gave rise to your interest, or lack of it?

experiences statement

Use the following questions as a starting point to support you in your reflection of your English subject knowledge:

What is your level of qualification in English?

Why did you continue to study or stop studying English?

How do you feel about writing?

Do you enjoy reading?

Part 3: Perceived competence and confidence in English

Competence is not the same as confidence – you may find, as you work through the following sections, that you feel very competent in certain areas of English, but currently don’t feel confident about teaching it. By the end of your training, you will feel much stronger in both aspects.

If you use pencil in the sections that follow, you will be able to revisit the audit and test at a later date to assess your progress.

Competence

Use the key below to summarise how you perceive your own competence in relation to different aspects...