English in the News
Below is a selection of articles which are archived online and may be of interest to NATE members. If you know of others please let us know. Keep up to date with our Twitter feed, too.
- God save the Queen's English: Our language is under threat .... - The Independent, Thursday October 7, 2010
Far from being outmoded, the correct use of our language is more important than ever, argues Bernard Lamb, president of the Queen's English Society
Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - The other half of the literary canon - The Guardian, Saturday October 16, 2010
In Gove's list of nine writers only Austen (I'm assuming he means Percy Bysshe, not Mary) flies the flag for the other 50-plus percent of the population...Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Humanities to lose English universities teaching grant - BBC, Tuesday October 26, 2010
Teaching grants for degree courses in arts, humanities and social sciences at England's universities are likely to be phased out under government plans.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Sense, sensibility ... and the truth about an author named Jane - The Guardian, Thursday November 4, 2010
No Austen scholar is of the opinion that 'everything came finished from her pen'Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Class blogs: a better way to teach? - The Guardian, Thursday November 4, 2010
We look at one teacher who's using blogging as a creative way of showcasing pupils' workLink broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Should under-fives be taught to read and write? - The Independent, Thursday November 4, 2010
'Learning through play' has long been the key phrase in nursery education. Now, there's concern that a government review could see children pushed into formal lessons too soon.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Michael Gove orders Sats inquiry - The Guardian, Friday November 5, 2010
Ministers want to find out whether primary schools are drilling rather than teaching pupils. Tests for 11-year-olds could be scrapped as a result.... It emerged yesterday that schools made almost 23,500 appeals against this year's English and maths Sats results.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Gove orders review of primary school exams - Daily Telegraph, Friday November 5, 2010
Primary school exams face a major overhaul amid Government claims that teachers are spending hours “drilling” pupils to pass.
Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Pupils to face new progression measures - BBC, Monday November 8, 2010
Three new measures of pupils' progress are to be introduced to hold head teachers and ministers to account.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - School visits by authors boost children's writing confidence - The Guardian, Tuesday November 9, 2010
An author visit to a school may seem an extravagance, but it can do wonders for children's writing confidence
Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Boys lag behind girls after two school years - The Independent, Thursday November 11, 2010
Boys are lagging behind girls in the basics after just two years at school, official figures showed today. Fewer seven-year-old boys reached the standard expected of them in reading, writing, maths and science than girls of the same age.
Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - 'Technology trumps books' - Times Educational Supplement, Friday November 12, 2010
55% of survey respondents say no internet at home puts pupils at a ‘serious’ disadvantageLink broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Ofsted inspectors say literacy standards 'fall short' - BBC, Sunday November 14, 2010
Too many children leave primary school unable to read or write well enough, England's chief schools inspector says.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Penelope Keith bemoans poor use of English language - Daily Telegraph, Sunday November 14, 2010
Penelope Keith, the star of The Good Life, has expressed her exasperation about the poor use of the English language in modern Britain.
Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Children unable to speak properly when they start nursery school - Daily Telegraph, Sunday November 14, 2010
Young children unable to speak and listen properly when they start nursery school because of continuous noise and poor conversation at home, according to a new Ofstead report.
Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Is Spider-Girl the new Spider-Man? - BBC, Wednesday November 17, 2010
A new comic series has just hit the stands starring a female version of Spider-Man. Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Nick Hornby opens Ministry of Stories to get Britain's kids writing again - The Guardian, Thursday November 18, 2010
Children will be lured in by 'monster supply shop' – and volunteer teachers including Zadie Smith and Roddy DoyleLink broken or innaccurate? Please report here - 'Writing really can change lives' - The Independent, Thursday November 18, 2010
A project that brings authors into inner-city schools, inspired by the novelist Dave Eggers, is empowering young people – and writers themselves – in ways they never expected.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Does reading a book make us happier? - BBC, Friday November 19, 2010
Public libraries face an uncertain future but the value of reading is irreplaceable, says Joan Bakewell in her A Point of View column.Link broken or innaccurate? Please report here - Read our lips, says Ofsted: phonics is not a panacea - Times Educational Supplement, Friday November 19, 2010
'Pick-and-mix' approach praised in reportLink broken or innaccurate? Please report here