Literacy news
Pupils to study reality TV as part of new English GCSE
8 Jun 2010
A new English GCSE will encourage pupils to study contestant’s language and delivery style in reality TV programmes such as The Apprentice, Dragon’s Den and Britain’s Got Talent. The course is designed to boost pupils’ speaking and listening skills and aims to teach children how language can be adapted for the workplace and different social situations.
Units in the GCSE include analysing the language used in the boardroom of The Apprentice and assessing the different interviewing techniques of Jeremy Paxman and Michael Parkinson. Pupils are also required to present a product using the Dragon’s Den format and create a presentation of personal skills based on Britain’s Got Talent. Assessment includes a 1000 word essay and questions on speech style, body language and diction, looking at speakers such as Barack Obama, Eddie Izzard and Ronnie Corbett.
OCR, the exam board who have created the English Language GCSE, said pupils taking the course would “become more conscious of which registers are more appropriate in which scenarios, making them more likely to succeed when it comes to influencing and negotiating in everyday life, their education and the world of work”.
The new English Language GCSE will be available to teach for the new school year in September.
Read the full story in The Daily Telegraph here.
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