Would u still do English (5 Viewers)

[Winn]

I am an SA student, and I don't have to do English. But I thought I did need to because I have always wanted to go interstate for uni.

Personally it would disadvantage me a lot if I had to count English as my best 4. Having said that though, I think it is important all high school students have the basic literacy and analytical skills which they will need in uni.

However, like many had pointed out already, the English courses now are entirely literature courses. Grammar, spelling, sentence structures, are not explicitly taught. I think that's more of a focus in ESL Studies.

So if this was a vote, I'd say, compulsory, yes, but not best 4. And while at it, I think they should make maths compulsory as well.

 

[cerys]

Yes.

Thank god maths isn't a compulsary subject though.

 

[IndyJ]

I agree that English should be more about grammar and spelling rather than literary techniques like metaphors and the like, leave that stuff for extension. I much prefer maths, physics and engineering studies because you only need to remember formulaes and you're all set. I spend too much of my time studying for english that could be spent remembering said formulaes. If english was all grammar and pronunciation based I'd do it because it would actually help in everyday life to stop me from sounding like an idiot.

So if english became non-compulsorary subject would I do it? Yes, but only if it were based on grammar and pronunciation.

 

[Joel8945]

Hey there students of NSW!

If english was a non compulsory subject would you still chose it?? Do you believe that learning about Hamlet and literary techniques will help u in your life?? This is just a curious question to see how everyone feels about English as a subject

OR!!! Should the english corse be reformed so that rather then all "Text apreciation as my teacher puts it" they should change it like maths and have the General corse for practical applications of English rather then text apreciation and have the Adv corse for the theoretical stuff

Even though I wasn't an HSC student (VCE), this question really appeals to me!

Hypothetically if english wasn't compulsory I would still do the subject because the BARE minimum for a university in english is some competence in english.

I don't think that is the right road for english (making it non-compulsory), but, the subject needs a HUGE reform! The subject is far too biased towards arts students and the bottom line is that Australia as a whole is developing a generation of illiterate students.

Me personally I hated english and I was rebellious to making any progress (I personally just studied what I could for the exam) in the subject and got a good enough mark to get me into uni (look down at the scores - 0 is basically worse than whole state who did VCE that year and 50 is the best that the whole state), but, it absolutely killed my ENTER (basically the equivalent to a UAI) for if it were not for english I could have sat on say 92, 93. But that was my bed I made and the students who basically just dealt with english got great scores.

If it were up to me though I would have english tailor made to suit people who are interested in the arts, commerce, science/engineering, etc. i.e. in engineering we don't have to develop a prose or analyse problems that characters face in a novel, we have to submit our information in either flyers, technical reports, etc. In which how we actually present our information varies depending on what we are doing. Physics we write practical experiment reports or for people who get an honours, masters or PhD, a paper is written.

Ultimately when it comes to english, the subject is lagging behind and people are paying for it. Why not with english teach students to use reference tools such as endnote or teach how to reference your work properly or even better why not get the students to do an official essay on a particular area that interests them, get them to research it properly and grade on how something like that is presented. The year 11-12 english should be trying to give students a transition into how things are done at university.

 

[Joel8945]

"english teaches reasoning and logic and critical thinking" (i think i read that of lyounamu somewhere, someting to that extent, sorry if it wasnt you namu or i got it totally wrong lol)

none the less i agree with that statement (even though it is also my worst subject and i wish it didnt count to atar calculation) because it teaches you important skills that you take into the real world with you, more so than most HSC maths

This is wrong for 2 reasons:

1.) English does not teach reasoning, logic or critical thinking. These are all values that we develop on the left side of the brain (Oh yes the side which is dominant for engineers, mathematicians, scientists, etc)

2.) With the level of maths at year 12 it is useful for the real world (very useful) if you are considering becoming a scientist, engineer, mathematician or any other profession which requires analytical thinking. On the other hand what is learned in english is useful to anyone wanting to do an arts degree. But there is one problem! Potential arts students can choose not to do maths, yet, potential science, maths or engineering students can NOT choose to not do english. Trust me if you could not do year 12 level maths, then, you wouldn't last a day studying any analytical subjects.

 

[Joel8945]

Its people like that who cannot manage money and get ripped off by other people because they cant do the simple calculations offered in general maths

I'm doing finance this semester coming up, it teaches us all about how interest rates work and stuff like that. Maths like this is very useful for real day things such as knowing how to put all finances in YOUR favour, now, what novel can teach you to do that!

 

[Rockyroad]

says the person that does extension 1 english

I knew someone would say that.
But hey if you have to do English and it has to count, and you want a good uai, you have to do advanced. As for ext, its the biggest bludge of the hsc.

 

[Uncle]

wouldnt choose english if it were compulsory but in the end i would probably regret it.

says the person that does extension 1 english

hahahahaha.

There i disagree i believe that HSC maths is more important because it is a logical thinking subject that deals alot with problem solving. English doesn't seem to deal much with logic, its more interpritations and meaning that the teachers "find" in the text that the original composer hadn't even intended.

Maths on the other hand deals with real life problems that u will encounter, and example is the other day a girl in year 11 aproaced me with a problem she had sighned her self up to a bank accound and thought that she was about to double her money in interst. Its people like that who cannot manage money and get ripped off by other people because they cant do the simple calculations offered in general maths

this is true.
another reason why to make maths compulsory.

 

[emcfarlane]

English is an important aspect of life. Everyone needs a way to express themselves and english is that primary outlet. If one was not to do english they would be unable to approach areas in their life where communication skills are imperative. Without those skills you will ultimately be judged due to lack of knowledge. I know it must be hard for those that are struggling in english but the truth is people will judge you. It doesn't matter if you can do a maths equation, when it comes down to interacting with other people, you're not going to write them a formula. You're going to speak to them. If you wish to portray yourself in a way that is detrimental to your reputation, go ahead. However, you will regret it.

The world is a horrible place and I know I judge others. So, beware. You will be judged, and so in the meantime, why not perfect such skills in english.

You owe it to yourself to have people see the real you, and the only way you can easily do that is with words. Actions come later, they will judge you on face and verbal value first and foremost.

English also teaches you about the world. You may not realise it, but everything you learn in english links to what you will learn later on in life. Belonging, I understand, is a tiresome subject but when you look closely at what the course is trying to teach you, who knows, you may actually get some very valuable advice about life.

I would choose english. I am doing 4 units of english and I can tell you it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Many are bound to disagree with me, but I just hope you understand where I am coming from before you go ahead and make up your mind.

Hope you are all having a great final year.

 

[Joel8945]

English is an important aspect of life. Everyone needs a way to express themselves and english is that primary outlet. If one was not to do english they would be unable to approach areas in their life where communication skills are imperative. Without those skills you will ultimately be judged due to lack of knowledge. I know it must be hard for those that are struggling in english but the truth is people will judge you. It doesn't matter if you can do a maths equation, when it comes down to interacting with other people, you're not going to write them a formula. You're going to speak to them. If you wish to portray yourself in a way that is detrimental to your reputation, go ahead. However, you will regret it.

The world is a horrible place and I know I judge others. So, beware. You will be judged, and so in the meantime, why not perfect such skills in english.

You owe it to yourself to have people see the real you, and the only way you can easily do that is with words. Actions come later, they will judge you on face and verbal value first and foremost.

English also teaches you about the world. You may not realise it, but everything you learn in english links to what you will learn later on in life. Belonging, I understand, is a tiresome subject but when you look closely at what the course is trying to teach you, who knows, you may actually get some very valuable advice about life.

I would choose english. I am doing 4 units of english and I can tell you it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Many are bound to disagree with me, but I just hope you understand where I am coming from before you go ahead and make up your mind.

Hope you are all having a great final year.

I agree with this.

Now my point of view is that english should be compulsory, but, it should not be forced to be placed in your top subjects!

When I did year 12 last year I was cut that one of my best subjects would amount to a very insignificant portion of my score.

The problem with year 12 is that students don't learn the content for the sake of learning it, they learn the content so they can beat the other guy and once that is done why remember any of that content (ok maybe a very small minority are learning the content for the sake of learning it) afterwards.

I stand exactly where I started and that is that english should appeal to EVERYONE and maybe even go back to basics so our nation's literacy can be improved.

 

[katemcginness]

I know for sure that I wouldn't do it. I don't need to in the career I wish to persue, so what is the use of it? I'm never ever going to think about the themes represented through texts such as FRANKENSTEIN so I just don't get it. Ahhh well. Not trying to complain. Just giving my opinion.

 

[daveeheng]

I would. I think English is compulsory and everyone should do it. It improves your grammar and speech.

And English is one of the most spoken language in the world. If you know how to speak it, you can do alot of stuff with it. It's important.

 

[Nake]

I hate English with a passion.
If it were not compulsory I would not choose it. Ever.

I do believe it is beneficial to people in their lives though. Not so much finding out what some dude was thinking when he wrote something but a growing vocabulary and an ability to communicate with the world around you couldn't be to harmful right?

 

[Nake]

English is an important aspect of life. Everyone needs a way to express themselves and english is that primary outlet. If one was not to do english they would be unable to approach areas in their life where communication skills are imperative. Without those skills you will ultimately be judged due to lack of knowledge. I know it must be hard for those that are struggling in english but the truth is people will judge you. It doesn't matter if you can do a maths equation, when it comes down to interacting with other people, you're not going to write them a formula. You're going to speak to them.

This is true.

Studying a text book about how billy fit in a train with old bill etc etc

That doesn't help you communicate at all. Myself, my teacher is a fucking Nazi and won't let the class participate in discussions or express our points of view, So really our only speaking practice has been 4 or 5 speeches in high school.

The only way to get better / more confident at communication with others is to get out there and DO it.

And with expression, there is probably more people in the world that would use music / art as a way of expression than English.

/thread

 

[Alex-Cap]

I would do it in yr 11 but drop it for year 12. I personally am SICK SICK SICK of language analysis. I can do essays at an A standard, but they annoy me!

 

[Thecorey0]

I recently heard off my teacher that in the near future, a new English course will be introduced that is below standard, where it will remain compulsory, but will not be automatically counted towards one's UAI. Supposedly my school will be one of the trial schools. It will hopefully separate the standard class into those that want to do it, and those who don't want to, yet are still above the life-skills level of English.

Not sure if it's the truth though.

 

[ninetypercent]

In a materialistic world, English and humanities are the only subjects left that makes us "human". (that is, knowing how to communicate effectively) This is important as materialism is making us more robotic as time goes by. If the world is limited to Maths and Sciences, how are we going to interact with each other? How are we to express our feelings effectively?
As much as I hate English, I do have to agree that the study of English is substantial for people in our age. Why are you going to employ people really good at Maths when they can't speak properly!!!

I would also like to remind some of you that the reasons for making English compulsory are not related to hating Maths.

Would I still to English if I had the choice? Despite my appalling marks in Standard English and the likelihood of English dragging my ATAR down, I would still opt to study English because I am human NOT robot!

 

[Riffy Raffy]

I still would. But clearly you wouldn't. Way to pose a biased question.

Not as biased question at all.

 

[electrolysis]

i still wouldve done it, sure i bitch about it pretty much every day at school, but meh, i HAVE learnt something from it that i feel would be beneficial later on. for instance, just last week i found a year 10 essay i wrote for commerce, and while i was reading it i was like OMG im a fcking idiot/dropkick/fool/etc.. at all the grammar mistakes, punctuation errors, no flow, 10 line sentences, a paragraph every 2 pages lol, the point im getting to is that if i compared that to, lets say my hamlet essay i did this year, theres a MEGA EPIC MASSIVE difference. lets face it, if i didnt do english in years 11/12 i wouldnt have been bothered to practice essays, write creative pieces and improve my writing in general, my writing and speech wouldve been the same as 2 years ago. english isnt like phys or chem or whatever, where you just learn and memorise for the hsc to get good marks to get a good ATAR to get into a good uni and blah blah blah, its a LIFE SKILL that will be used for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not.

thanks for reading my epic rant ^.^

 

[Uncle]

In a materialistic world, English and humanities are the only subjects left that makes us "human". (that is, knowing how to communicate effectively) This is important as materialism is making us more robotic as time goes by. If the world is limited to Maths and Sciences, how are we going to interact with each other? How are we to express our feelings effectively?
As much as I hate English, I do have to agree that the study of English is substantial for people in our age. Why are you going to employ people really good at Maths when they can't speak properly!!!

I would also like to remind some of you that the reasons for making English compulsory are not related to hating Maths.

Would I still to English if I had the choice? Despite my appalling marks in Standard English and the likelihood of English dragging my ATAR down, I would still opt to study English because I am human NOT robot!

In the real world, science is capable of allowing us to survive against nuclear warfare and actually provide something for materialistic drones to take for granted.
English is too narrow, there is a subject beyond the HSC called linguistics.
Linguistics is true expression.

i still wouldve done it, sure i bitch about it pretty much every day at school, but meh, i HAVE learnt something from it that i feel would be beneficial later on. for instance, just last week i found a year 10 essay i wrote for commerce, and while i was reading it i was like OMG im a fcking idiot/dropkick/fool/etc.. at all the grammar mistakes, punctuation errors, no flow, 10 line sentences, a paragraph every 2 pages lol, the point im getting to is that if i compared that to, lets say my hamlet essay i did this year, theres a MEGA EPIC MASSIVE difference. lets face it, if i didnt do english in years 11/12 i wouldnt have been bothered to practice essays, write creative pieces and improve my writing in general, my writing and speech wouldve been the same as 2 years ago. english isnt like phys or chem or whatever, where you just learn and memorise for the hsc to get good marks to get a good ATAR to get into a good uni and blah blah blah, its a LIFE SKILL that will be used for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not.

thanks for reading my epic rant ^.^

holy crap my thoughts exactly !!!!