As an immigrant child in late 1960s multicultural Britain, I loved the shapes and sounds of the English language. Even at the time, I thought the vernacular and its patterns had some kind of social/cultural currency. The point was clearly evident in politics and the media – especially current affairs and news broadcasts – where received pronunciation (RP) was often given prominence.
One of the cultural landmarks that made an impression on me was in 1969 when, in one of the first-ever royal documentaries, we saw the Windsors being an "ordinary" family. I heard the Queen's English – particular speech patterns that consisted of royal pronouns, elevated enunciation and a strange pronunciation of words.
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Accents and dialects
In contrast, I noticed that my teachers' regional accents – and, occasionally, their dialect – varied from one to another. I sensed somehow that many were not speaking "proper" English.
Now obviously I was mistaken and fell for the snobbery some people attach to the way we perceive certain accents and dialectical forms. Unlike a primary school in the West Midlands that tried to ban the Black Country dialect in 2013, I believe it’s important to celebrate lingual diversity in all its forms.
However, our speech – whether we like it or not – does denote a range of personal characteristics including background, character and education. This is transmitted and, often, received unconsciously – impacting both opportunities and social mobility. Rightly or wrongly, people make up their minds about others they have just met by the way they sound.
Not unlike clothing and one's physical characteristics, speech and behaviour make significant impressions on the listener. For that reason, I believe speaking and listening (S/L) should not only be taught but should be prioritised and given an integral place in the GCSE syllabus.
Instead, in the past few years – and despite the overwhelming objection from teachers – the English GCSE course has undergone a drastic overhaul in terms of subject contents and emphasis, which, together, have undermined S/L.
Readers of a certain age will know that this process started in the second half of the 1980s when our government did away with 100 per cent written examination (an aspect associated with traditional O Levels). They replaced it with 50/50 examination and coursework. The new model gave some autonomy and responsibility to the teacher for the dissemination and marking of coursework assignments. And for the first time, S/L was also introduced as an integral assessment component.
This change to the syllabus was also an attempt to create an equilibrium because it was felt that the old model gave boys an unfair advantage. For instance, there was criticism of the 100 per cent exam model as some reports suggested that boys worked better under exam conditions whereas girls tended to perform well in coursework assignments. Although some disputed the validity of such a claim, the inclusion of S/L component certainly widened the scope of pupils' experience of English.
However, at the turn of the 21st century, assessment was adjusted to 60 per cent examination and 40 per cent coursework (the latter having been split equally between written and S/L components). Eventually, in 2013, written coursework was removed altogether while S/L was relegated as an appendix, a subsidiary component that today has no bearing on the overall grade. Naturally, it has altered the power dynamics between the education centre and the examining body.
One of the problems that Ofqual tried to address in revamping the assessment framework was that since the introduction of coursework, teachers had been overly generous in their marking and grading. Coupled with the discernible discrepancies between one centre and another – especially in the interpretation of the skills descriptors – it was clear, to some, that the course contents, structure and assessment framework needed a rethink. Others, however, argued that a more satisfactory solution was a combination of better governance, effective management systems and regular, up-to-date staff training.
Today, there’s no doubt that GCSE English marking is rigorous and consistent while its technical skill set is a lot more challenging than it’s been for more than 30 years.
However, in light of our government’s concern to make education and qualifications fit for the world of work, does the GCSE syllabus and our undermining of S/L tally with the changing demands of a new globalised economy?
It is curious how the S/L component has been demoted because its skills are invaluable in the ever-burgeoning world of mass media and its face-to-face reliance on interactive communication. Our engagement with reading and writing – particularly the latter – only accounts for a fraction of what we do at work. Yet, our government and Ofqual have virtually side-lined this component into obscurity. As such, there is no need for teachers to spend time on developing pupils’ oral and aural skills or their awareness of differing registers, styles and modes of speech.
While independent school pupils are given tuition in elocution, encouraged to take part in formal debates and provided experience in – and training for – public speaking (the so-called "polish"), such opportunities for state-school pupils are conveniently defined as unimportant. In effect, they are denied such social enhancement and are, potentially, robbed of the chance to do well in job interviews, presentations and speaking in meetings.
Up until 2018, learners were given S/L practice in a range of contexts and modes. They were taught presentational and discursive skills, asked to prepare for formal and informal tasks – in which they had to demonstrate competence in individual and group work activities – while being taught preparatory skills on how to conduct research, collate information and extrapolate and synthesise key ideas. Such skills honed in on developing pupils' confidence enabling them to focus on their articulation and organisational skills.
As adults, we know that one’s confidence in being able to adapt to differing situations and settings is one of the keys to getting on well in life. The way we speak and how we carry ourselves matter in the world of work because people are influenced by how we sound rather than by what we say. Presentation and packaging of ideas and thoughts make a difference to the way we navigate in business and in society at large.
All that is absent in the current syllabus and, as a result, pupils experience of English is much more limited than it has been in recent past. For that reason, I believe that S/L component needs to be brought back into the core of GCSE English assessment and not just a grade in the parenthesis.
