Open letter to English Language primary school teachers

26 Jul, 2019 - 00:07 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Morris Mtisi Education Correspondent
Dear Primary School teachers of English. Catch them young! There is no better maxim. This is a best-practice.

The best way to inculcate skills in writing, reading and speaking English is to provide for young learners activities that allow for mastery of fundamentals (basics) in learning. This simply means that primary school must cultivate a sound scope of learning, including syntax development (correct grammatical sequences and figurative verbal cultures) and semantics development (word power /vocabulary). Often times Secondary School teachers stressfully struggle to teach simple English fundamentals that were not taught . . . or not taught well at Primary level.

The primary school content (syllabus) must develop in young English language learners’ skills that will make learning at secondary school easy and enjoyable. If the learners by Grade 4, 5 and 6 have not mastered simple basics like correct spelling of simple specific word regimes and simple subject and verb agreements (tenses), such learners are not only unprepared for the Grade 7 final examinations. They are going to find the challenge of more teachers and subject areas in Form 1 and 2 extremely tough.

Their general level of comprehension, verbal communication in speech and writing is going to be heavily compromised. At Form 3 and 4 such learners are already struggling and only very few are ever eligible for ‘A’ Level, at least to face serious academic challenges. That is now an open secret.

This scenario is a pity because it is here that a disastrous and wasteful bottleneck is created. Only between twenty percent and twenty five percent ‘O’ level students are ever eligible for ‘A’ level education every year and this is a serious waste of prospective human capital or resources. All because of English Language! Well, our curriculum too, which is strictly academic cannot be spared the blame! But never underplay the role English plays in the actualisation of these dismal pass rates we are now too familiar with, especially at ‘O’ level.

If Primary school aimed at a higher standard of English language development, not just rot learning for examinations, all learning would become easier at higher grades of learning. This is common sense.

No one must be a language scientist to understand this. English language is the learning tool in the Zimbabwean system of education.

Not only is it a major tool for learning! It is also a tool for teaching, for expression and comprehension.

Form 1 and 2 are too late to be the stages to sharpen this tool, let alone Form 3 and 4. If the English for Primary schools programme of learning is stepped up beyond final examinations, to deliberately prepare a crop of learners ready for secondary school challenges, it is my submission that  not only would we have far less failures at Form 4 but far more passes eligible for ‘A’ level studies.

A best-practice system of education and best practice curriculum is one which tightens and strengthens the learning foundation. No strong building stands on a weak foundation.

Let me suggest something: It does not matter if it happens in Grade 4, 5 or 6, but all smart pupils must be able to spell the following simple words before Grade 7 final examinations: Form 1 and 2 is certainly too late, let alone Form 3 and 4!

Writing/ modern/ language/ comprehension/ energy/ queue/ except/ accept/ bicycle/ beautiful / believe / business/ daughter / disappear/ disappoint / forty/ interesting/ knowledge / marriage / murmur / handkerchief/ Saturday / soldier/ skilful /success / tomorrow/ weird / receive / receipt/ fierce / jealous / jealousy/ advise / advice / temperature / thermometer/ circle / sincere / cabbage / luggage / baggage / colleagues/ college/.

These are not the only words that are often spelt wrongly, not because they are big words, but because they are tricky or confusing. I know quite many learned adults, some teachers and lecturers who still find some of these words, and more, difficult to spell.

I don’t apologise for saying this truth. I never. Every day I meet with these embarrassing spelling errors in what I read from friends, colleagues and loved ones, not because they are conforming to WhatsApp lingo, but because they genuinely do not know the correct spelling.

If you think Grade 4, 5 and 6 pupils cannot learn to use the word ‘‘hideous’’ to describe a very ugly woman or man, you foolishly underestimate their keenness and ability to learn. They can easily learn to say or write, “A furious Mr Dube” avoiding “An angry Mr Dube” because ‘‘furious’’ is a stronger adjective than ‘‘angry.’’ They can easily learn ‘‘gaunt / skeletal/ scrawny/ bony/ ‘‘are stronger adjectives than ‘very thin.’ They can easily learn ‘‘heart-broken / dejected / upset / downcast’ are stronger adjectives than ‘very sad’’. They can easily learn that ‘it is better to say or write, ‘‘keep the kettle boiling’’ or ‘‘keep the ball rolling’’ than simply saying, ‘‘keep things going.’’ They cannot find it difficult to express themselves in the following ways: ‘‘‘clear the air’’ and avoid ‘remove doubts or difficulties/ ‘‘develop cold feet’’ and avoid ‘‘anxious or uncertain about doing something’’ / ‘‘the black sheep of the family’’ and avoid ‘‘one odd member of the family who brings disgrace to it’’ / ‘‘throw in the towel’’ and avoid ‘‘admit defeat or give up’’ / ‘‘putting cards on the table’’ and avoid ‘‘being honest and frank’’/ ‘‘a wild goose chase’’ and avoid ‘‘a plan or scheme with no possibility of success.’’

These little learners can learn all these language flavours, or levels, easily. The younger you catch them, the better. Do not wait until they discover good diction in some difficult comprehension passage or some Ezra Pound or Chaucer masterpiece. There is no need to shock or frighten pupils with strong verbs and adjectives late in their English learning. They can learn them very easily as early as Grade 4, 5 or 6 and by the time they are in 7, Form 1 or 2, they are masters of their English and already enjoy a high command of the language. It is possible  . . . very possible and that is what so-called good schools, very good schools, aim at. Catching them young! Exposing them to syntactical and semantic challenges at an early age, to make them speak, read, understand and write freely, comfortably and flavoursomely in the Queen’s language without being scared or intimidated by it!

I will give you more language fundamentals that can be taught and learnt very early in the pupils’ English learning (Grade 4, 5, 6,7) to avoid unnecessary struggling with the language later on in their studies.

Keep on watching this space! Far too often, teachers cook pupils for examinations and if they do well, think they have mastered English enough to face all challenges awaiting them in this English-driven global education system. What a clever mistake!

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