ENGLISH

HOME LANGUAGE

- ENGLISH-

English is a fundamental tool for thought and communication, enabling learners to acquire knowledge, express their identity, feelings, and ideas, interact with others, and manage their world. At Jeppe High School for Boys, the English Department aims to develop learners' proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. By engaging with a wide variety of texts and literature, both locally and globally, students enhance their cognitive and academic skills, literary appreciation, and imaginative abilities.

The curriculum emphasises cultural diversity, social relations, and intellectual curiosity, preparing students to be critical and articulate citizens. Reading is central to academic success, and boys are required to complete a range of set works each year, including classics and contemporary titles, while also being encouraged to read for pleasure. This approach fosters fluency, comprehension, and well-rounded personal development.

1. Department and Contact Information

Subject Head: Ms Sharon Doubell
Contact Information: sdoubell@jeppeboys.co.za

2. Subject Status

Compulsory: Yes
APS Contribution: Yes, full points awarded. (At some institutions bonus points are awarded for a mark above 60%.)

3. Relevance for Further Studies

Required for Further Study: An English Home Language pass is required for a matric certificate. All universities, colleges and technicons will require a pass in a mother tongue language, most commonly English.
Useful For: All learners who wish to study at a university, as it is the basis for the study for all subjects and fields. More specifically, it is useful for the field of Humanities: Psychology, Law, Drama, Arts, Journalism, Teaching, Sociology, International Relations, Politics, Media Studies, etc.

4. Course Content and Learning Outcomes

Curriculum Summary:

Practical Component: None, except Speeches.

5. Skills and Qualities Required

Recommended Aptitudes: Home Language English is at a much higher level than simply being able to speak the language. Reading underpins every academic success. Boys at Jeppe are required to complete a number of set works over the course of an academic year which cover the classics as well as more contemporary titles. The boys are also encouraged to read for pleasure. This not only contributes to their fluency and comprehension of the language but assists them in becoming well-rounded individuals.
Student Attributes: Analytical and creative skills of expression, together with a strong work ethic. (Students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia need to have been identified and tested for by Grade 8, in order that compensatory strategies can be implemented to assist them early on.)

6. Special Requirements/Recommendations

Materials and Resources: English at Jeppe is taught using Google Classroom as the repository of resources and weekly work plans, so it helps if boys have access to Google Classroom.
Prerequisites: Read novels/news reports/magazines/graphic novels etc to improve analytic, grammar and comprehension skills, as well as the appreciation of literary devices in story-telling, poetry and lyrics.

7. Teaching Methods and Learning Strategies

Instructional Approaches: Multi-faceted and deeply embedded in the use and analysis of media applications.
Study Tips: Treat English as a learning subject if you want to do well.

8. Relevance and Application

Real-World Connections: Language is a tool for thought and communication. It is also a cultural and aesthetic means commonly shared among a people to make better sense of the world they live in. Learning to use language effectively enables learners to acquire knowledge, to express their identity, feelings and ideas, to interact with others, and to manage their world. It also provides learners with a rich, powerful and deeply rooted set of images and ideas that can be used to make their world other than it is; better and clearer than it is. It is through language that cultural diversity and social relations are expressed and constructed, and it is through language that such constructions can be altered, broadened and refined.
Ethical and Moral Considerations: English encourages conversations about situations and ethics represented in real world media.

9. Career Opportunities

Potential Careers & Industry Relevance: Most careers require and reward strong expressive Home Language abilities, if only for formal written business communications, such as reports and emails.

10. Curriculum Summary and Assessment

Typical Assessment Structure

School-Based Assessment:

- Non Exam Assessments:
  - 4 Orals
  - 1 Language and 1 Literature Cycle Test
  - 1 Transactional and 1 Creative Writing Cycle Test
- Mid & End of the year examinations/Prelims
  - Paper 1 –Language in context – 70 Marks – 2 hours
    - Comprehension (3)
    - Summary (10)
    - Advertisement (10)
    - Cartoon (10)
    - Prose/textual Editing (10)
  - Paper 2 –Literature – 80 Marks - 2 1⁄2 hours
    - Seen Poetry (20)
    - Unseen Poetry (10)
    - Drama (Essay) (25)
    - Drama (Contextual question) (25)
  - Paper 3 – Writing – 100 Marks – 3 hours end of year/Prelims only
    - Essay (50)
    - Transactional Texts (2 x 25 = 50)

Key Learning Outcomes: The aim of the English Department at Jeppe High School for Boys is to provide learners with the skills and insights needed to engage with and interpret a wide variety of texts; to introduce learners to the rich diversity of literature written in English, both locally and globally; to develop an awareness of, and sensitivity to, the English language (appropriate grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation) and its uses; to promote discussion and debate, stimulate intellectual curiosity; to be accessible to boys from all cultural backgrounds; and to equip learners with the tools to participate as critical and articulate citizens in a cosmopolitan South Africa.

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