Module A Experience Through Language (1 Viewer)

barbaryp

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Hi Standard English Students and Teachers!

I'd like to open some discussion on an aspect of the new HSC English syllabus. In Standard English, Module A, Experience Through Language, there are two new electives. The first is called Distinctive Voices and the second, Distinctively Visual. As a retired English teacher, now tutoring HSC students, I am inviting the ideas of other teachers or students on this topic.

The wording of the new module is the same as it was in the old syllabus. Depending on which elective you got, you had to focus on written, spoken or visual language. However, in the new syllabus, even though it's implied that you're still dealing with three types of language, there are only two electives. This is only a guess, but I think that in the first elective, Distinctive Voices, you have to focus on spoken language, and in the second, Distinctively Visual, you have to focus on written and visual language. This seems to be borne out when you look at the text list too.

The texts in Distinctive Voices seem to have conversational or spoken threads running through them, which are quite clearly being referred to as voices. The second elective, Distinctively Visual, however, is not as straight forward to interpret. What exactly is meant by “the images we see and/or visualize”? Again, I'm guessing, but this seems to suggest the images which we visualize directly, using eyesight, as well as the images we visualize in our minds. Moreover, the "and/or" provides a lot of scope, intentionally I suppose, and I would say that this comes from the need which past markers felt for students to differentiate between poetic images, or imagery, and the visual images of visual media. According to past markers' notes, many students in the past mixed these up, and consequently lost marks. My guess is that this was a deciding factor when the new syllabus was being dreamt up. In the new module therefore, through their choice of related texts, students will be expected to show that they understand this difference. This too, seems to be borne out, somewhat, by glancing at the texts themselves, which range from poetry, which uses mental images, to films, which use the visual sense. The pivotal word is visual, which is being used ambiguously to mean either visually visual or mentally visual.

But this is just supposition. As a full time teacher I could chew such things over at lunchtime or nut it out at meeting. Nowadays I depend on cyberspace, so I would appreciate some feedback from anyone with similar concerns about this module's unclearness.

Paul
MrPBarbary.com
 
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loren.boren

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Any one studying Shoehorn Sonata as their distinctively visual book?
 

smartie511

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We chose to teach this module first up. A very interesting growth process as we went along. You are right, the ambiguity certainly allows for a broad interpretation but, personally, I have found the topic quite enjoyable as we explored the breadth and depth of possibilities. Both Lawson and the related texts have had a flow which the previous prescription did not. The visual context seems more accessible to students and the narrow 'distinctively' definition seems, strangely, to fit together quite nicely. The whole thing feels comfortable and at last, allows the student a range of responses outside the seriously small box previously allowed by the BOS shackles.
 

jayem

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We will be using the speeches as our text but our preparation is severely hampered by a lack of resources. If anyone can steer me in the right direction then my students and I will be very grateful.
 

walkabout

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We have decided to do Banjo Paterson - distinctive voices. I am having quite a bit of trouble finding any resources on the specific poems, especially the less well known, such as "In defence of the bush" and "Old pardon son of reprieve" and Saltbush Bill J.P. Has anyone got any ideas or sites that they think might be helpful? Also any ideas for related material.
 

hsc100

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I dont get module A its just so confusing. Im doing Peter Skrzyneckis poems and for my first task we did a radio interview incorperating three poems with stimulus material.Do you recommend me using it as my notes or what am i supposed to do to prepare for the hsc :confused: ???????
 
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Personally, I recommend the Shoe Horn Sonata. This is for the reason there are many techniques you can use and relate back to the impact of language and so forth. In fact, there is a technique in every page of the book. There are some great scences and you can just write a whole essay on one scence. If you have a good teacher thats will really help.
 

breannah01

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does any one have any study notes or just notes on henry lawsons short stories ?
 

Power of One

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Hello, I am an English teacher and I could not agree with you more. There is also a question I would like to ask you. I have been asked to write a listening task assessment for the Merchant of Venice with questions (of course) and a marking criteria. Anything I have offered has been rejected. Now, I have suggested that if the students listen to Act 1 Scenes i-ii and answer questions that this may siffice. My Head of Department is not so sure, the students will have only just commenced reading the play. Do you thinks this is at all feasible? I am not a "new' teacher by any stretch of the imagination however there are some "new' ideas out there.

This is the first time I have ever been "stumped" to suppply an answer. The Head of the English Department is 30 years my Junior so you may see the difficulty I have. My students have always received excellent HSC and SC results. Sorry for the "rambling" but I needed to tell someone. Is what I have suggested enough do you think? Would value your answer. Us oldies take a bit of a beating these days (so to speak) and my confidence has been rocked.

Many thanks
 

walkabout

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Can I suggest that you show them this scene using the Al Pacino movie. The students can listen to the dialogue for tone of voice. level of language and watch the characters mannerisms, gestures ect. They could then answer questions on distincitve voices and dialogue in the scene. They would not have to be that familiar with the play.
Hope this helps.
 

jayem

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For our listening task we used episode 1 of the first series of Kath and Kim. The students did not see the show but we played it through the audio.

Questions we used steered the students to identify all the usual suspects of language techniques including tone, idiom, alliteration, repetition, etc and also asked for demonstration of a deeper understanding including what these techniques revealed about the characters and relationships.

We then asked them to make connections with the set texts (speeches) through techniques and possible ideas.

I hope you can find a text that works for your co-ordinator.
 

barry92

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does anyone have any notes on how "The divine wind" by Gary Disher is distinctively visual.
thanks in advance
 

Xyou know whoX

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Hey guys and teachers... I'm in the middle of my essay for MODULE A - EXPERIENCE THROUGH LANGUAGE... So we are doing Pygmalion.. I need 2 related materials...i just dunno.... please any suggestions?? I thought of doing American Idiot by Green Day...
 

DiZe

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I'm doing Run, Lola, Run. I need a Related text please, it can be anything that is using image to represent something like an idea, please help, like and add i can write a whole lot of crap about camera angles, colour etc. ty
 

Syljack

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Does anyone have distinctly visual notes on shoe horn sonata on certain scenes?

Peace.:shy:
 

Nick112

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Hi Standard English Students and Teachers!

"but I think that in the first elective, Distinctive Voices, you have to focus on spoken language"

actually we are not supposed to focus on the voice at all, we focus on whats written (for example in a speech) and focus on why the 'voice' (or whats been written) is distinctive.
 

beanari

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needing shore horn notes too.... timeline of the women's relationship in terms of who is in power when. and need some related texts.


(it says i did my hsc in 2007, cos i did, but then i stopped and im finishing it off this year)
 

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