Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Book 1: Language Awareness

The first part of the innovative language course, Breakthrough to Learning by Mary Mason. In this first year, students examine grammar of the clause (nouns, verbs, adjectives etc.), the Latin and Greek roots of many academic words, interesting facts about language (e.g. languages of the world, different writing systems, dialect) and more.

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      string(5823) "focus of allwe do, by consulting with the foremost experts in the subject, by reading andby thinking.’‘Nobody thrives in an atmosphere of fear and if individuals live in fear, acommunity is doomed to fail. We do not want you to fear retribution for failure.We want you to learn from failure – or experience, as you may wish to call it!’I borrowed books from the staff library and began to understand the theoreticalfoundations for the impressive practice I had witnessed.5I observed several Breakthrough to Learning lessons and rejoiced to see howthe pupils, in accordance with the ethos of the school as a place for learning,were working through the materials in pairs or small groups with the teacher asfacilitator. The lesson in Year 7 was structured by the teacher in terms of whenthe learners moved on to the next exercise, but by Year 11, the learners wereused to working through the materials at their own pace. It was clear, fromchatting to them, that they felt responsible for their own learning.What is BtL?The full course is aimed at Years 7-9 and demands an hour a week for three years. It is self-access andpupils are encouraged to work through the course in pairs or small groups. The teachers’ role is that offacilitator. The course is comprised of:Book 1: Language Awareness – examines the grammar of the clause (nouns, verbs adjectives etc.),the Latin and Greek roots of many academic words, interesting facts about language (e.g. languages ofthe world, different writing systems, dialect …)Available to download from the TeachingTimes website here: library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbookoneBook 2: Reading for Learning – the tasks set in this book are reading tasks, but the real content of thebook is based on linguistic analysis, showing the student how abstract words (the key to academicthought) are made out of concrete words by nominalisation and/or metaphor.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbooktwoBook 3: Writing for Learning – the tasks in this book are writing tasks, but the substantive content ofthe book is linguistic, featuring the basic discourse structures of academic texts, namely, problem/solution, general/particular, compare/contrast, time and space ordering.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbookthreeStudents can also complete the ‘fast-track’ programme, a condensed one-year course designed for older(16+) students, cutting out most of Book 1.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/btl-fast-track-bookletnnnhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbookonehttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbookonehttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbooktwohttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/breakthroughtolearningbookthreehttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/btl-fast-track-booklet.htm43Volume4.4nCreativeTeaching&LearningCurriculumInnovationBreakthrough to Learning at MMHSBreakthrough to Learning fits into MMHS without friction. This is because theschool has developed its ethos as the community centre for learning over aperiod of 20 odd years.In the academic year of 2012/2013, Years 7-9 completed Book 1 of the courseand Year 10 completed the fast-track course. An experimental group in Year11 also completed the fast-track course, while another group – our controlgroup – completed the normalEnglish program for Year 11.MMHS made the coursetheir own – they appointed twofull-time research assistants,who spent a lot of time addingfun elements such as games,cartoons and jokes to thesober, workmanlike booksavailable for download frommy website. These have beenvery much appreciated by thelearners!It is a big job just to churnout sufficient copies for thewhole school and the BtLteam chose to do it in modulesof eight chapters. This hasthe advantage of makingthe learners feel a sense ofachievement as they finish a manageable section of the course. The learners’answers are written in the books, so the books belong to the pupils.What did staff and students think?It is typical of the academic approach of MMHS to innovation that, from thebeginning, they monitored the reactions of both pupils and staff to BtL. Hereare the general impressions gleaned from a sample survey of 36 students inYears 7-9:Many pupils found it fun, could see the link with other subjects in school andliked the games/puzzles element.Some thought it could be a little more interactive and weren’t that keen onthe amount of reading and writing involved.Learners most enjoyed the partnered element of BtL.Most thought it would help improve English language skills and their grammarand spelling.When asking what improvements could be made, learners suggested morephysical/practical tasks, more puzzles and games, more reflection at keymoments in the lesson, the use of ‘BtL Experts’ to help those struggling andmore time for each chapter.Some of their comments include:‘We are learning things we haven’t heard of before.’‘The tasks get your brain going!’‘Sometimes it’s frustrating because it’s hard.’‘It makes you think, as you have to understand the learning which expandsyour knowledge.’‘I’m not sure how relevant it is.’The school kept up a journal/diary as suggested and these are some of thereflections made throughout the year by staff:nnnnnnnnnnnCurriculumInnovation44Volume4.4nCreativeTeaching&Learning‘Learners seem to love the interactive game and liked doing it as a wholeclass with one leader, rather than in their pairs.’‘We let the learners"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

A great idea revived!

21 May 2014

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      string(5702) "and Assessment Board: (N.E.A.B.)Southern Examining Board: (S.E.G.)BibliographyHOEY, Michael (1983): On the Surface of Discourse London, Allen and UnwinMASON, Mary (1986): The Deficit Hypothesis Revisited, Educational Studies,Vol.12, No.3.MASON, Mary (1987): The Linguistic Mechanisms of Abstract Thought, ITL Reviewof Applied Linguistics, 75, pp1-35MASON, Mary (1988): A Language Awareness Project in Wigan, in (ed.) Brumfit,Christopher Language in Teacher Education, National Congress on Languages inEducationHEAP, Brian (1988): Teach English Proper! Link (University of Lancaster Centre forEducational Research), Vol.9, No.1.HEAP, Brian (1989): Wigan Language Project: Evaluation of the LanguageAwareness Course Illuminating English, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan(unpublished)MASON, Mary (1990): Dancing on Air: An Analysis of a Passage from anEconomics Textbook in Tony Dudley-Evans & Willie Henderson (eds.) E.L.T.Documents 134, Modern English Publications and the British Council, pp16-28MASON, Mary MASON, Bob QUAYLE, Tony (1992): Illuminating English: howexplicit language teaching improved public examination results in a comprehensiveschool, Educational Studies, Vol. 18, No.3, 1992MASON, Mary(1995) Language for Learning at Bordesley Green Girls’ School inMulti-Cultural Education Review, Birmingham City Council Education DepartmentMASON, Mary and SANDLAND, Joan (1996): Breakthrough to Learning: aCourse in Language across the Curriculum in (ed.) ZORA, Subhi Bridging the Gapbetween Theory and Practice in teaching English as an Additional Language(papers from the first and second conferences on E.S.L. held at Small HeathSchool, Birmingham)MASON, Mary MASON, Bob (1997): Breakthrough to Learning: Linguistics inthe service of mainstream education Occasional Paper No.2 of the University ofCentral England Faculty of Education (obtainable from Trentham Books,Westview House, 734 London Road, Oakhill, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 5NP.)A N S W E R SChapter 1 –  Problem –  solutionPage Exercise2 23Stories: A, D, FB. Part of a story? C. DescriptionIntroduction to a story?E. Opinion?D. The slashes (/) show the divisions of the story.F. Situation: Amber’s father was away at the war.Problem: Amber missed him very much. The otherchildren were too little to remember him well, but Amberand her mother felt the house very empty without him.Solution: When the war ended, Amber’s father camehome.Outcome: All the family were overjoyed.A. 1, 4, 3, 2 B. 3, 1,4, 2 C. 1, 4, 3, 2For example:A. The little girls liked their brother helping them get readyfor the nursery, so they were quicker. Now Jamilasometimes got to school on time, but her brother wassometimes late.B. She went to karate classes and learned to defendherself.C. His parents could not afford lessons for him and they hadno musical instrument.1A N S W E R SChapter 2 –  ChainingPage10Exercise1 2, 4, 1, 3.12 3 For example:Problem: But George, the youngest child, always got sickwhen he rode pillion.Solution: Somebody told his mother that eating Chinese gingercured people of travel sickness. George tried out this idea,Outcome: and luckily it worked for him. That meant hecould take his turn as his father’s passenger.Chapter 3 –  Some variations of problem – solutionFor example:Jarama stumbled upon a cellar where a number of peoplewere sheltering. It was sealed against radiation. The peoplewelcomed Jarama and offered to share their food and waterwith her.For example:1. She missed her school dinners and got hungry.2. She missed her friends and felt lonely.3. After a while it got boring.Page Exercise16 12A N S W E R SPage Exercise19 319 3I put a new bulb in, when the light went out.Or….since/as/because the light had gone out. OR: The lighthaving gone out, I put in a new bulb. Or:I put a new bulb in. The reason was that the light had goneout. (etc. etc.)For example:I decided to stay in and write letters. The reason was thatthe weather was awful.Gordon goes shopping early, as he likes to avoid the crowds.The old man put his hand out to stop the bus.Hester wrote a letter to her friends in America, because shehad been thinking about them.I took on a paper round, since I needed the money.Chapter 4 –  No answers.Chapter 5 –  Point of view1.They spent the evening eating and drinking.2. You’d better go to the doctor with that cough.3. She’s very slim since she’s been dieting.4. He’s both firm and prudent.5. Bravely she jumped into the canal to save her friend.Page Exercise32 134A N S W E R SPage Exercise37  4 For example:Dear Anthea,Thank you for your last letter and the postal order. I shall getmyself some warm stockings to help my arthritis.I hope all my lovely grandchildren are well. Tell Cissie I hopeshe likes her new school.Those rude nosy children from up the lane got into mygarden again last week. They even had the cheek to get intothe shed where I keep the old paints and dry the herbs. Icrept up and locked them in! That scared them, I can tellyou. Of course, I only left them for a few minutes. Youshould have seen them scamper off! Perhaps they’ll leaveme alone for a while now.Timmy was off his food yesterday. I was very worried,because it’s not like him. Today he brought in a big blackbird,so I think he must be all right again.I miss you all very much. I wish you lived nearer, so that Icould see you more often. Anyway, I’m lucky to have such akind daughter. Thank you again for the money.God bless you all.Your loving mother^Chapter 6 –  Problem-solution>  *2®.*-, » ■"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Book 3: Writing for Learning

23 Feb 2012

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      string(5655) "Oxford University Press, 1974Oxford Geography Project 7 – Contrasts in Development, Oxford University Press, 1975Physics for You, Keith Johnson, Hutchinson, 1978 Sport Examined, Paul Beashel and JohnTaylor, Macmillan, 1986 University of London Examinations and Assessment Council(U.L.E.A.C.) Midland Examining Group (M.E.G.)Northern Examinations and Assessment Board (N.E.A.B.)Southern Examining Group (S.E.G.)Sport Examined, P Beashal and J Taylor, Thomas Nelson & Sons LimitedIndustrial Britain, Christine Counsell and Christopher Steer, Cambridge University PressBibliographyMASON, Mary (1986): The Deficit Hypothesis Revisited, Educational Studies. Vol. 12, No.3.MASON, Mary (1987): The Linguistic Mechanisms of Abstract Thought, ITL Review ofApplied Linguistics, 75, pp1-35MASON, Mary (1988): A Language Awareness Project in Wigan, in (ed.) Brumfit,ChristopherLanguage in Teacher Education, National Congress on Languages in EducationHEAP, Brian (1988): Teach English Proper! Link (University of Lancaster Centre forEducational Research), Vol.9, No.1.HEAP, Brian (1989): Wigan Language Project: Evaluation of the Language AwarenessCourse Illuminating English, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan (unpublished)MASON, Mary (1990): Dancing on Air: An Analysis of a Passage from an EconomicsTextbook in Tony Dudley-Evans & Willie Henderson (eds.) E.L.T. Documents 134, ModernEnglish Publications and the British Council, pp16-28MASON, Mary MASON, Bob QUAYLE, Tony (1992): Illuminating English: how explicitlanguage teaching improved public examination results in a comprehensive school,Educational Studies, Vol. 18, No.3,1992MASON, Mary(1995):Language for Learning at Bordesley Green Girls’ School in Multi-Cultural Education Review, Birmingham City Council Education DepartmentMASON, Mary and SANDLAND, Joan (1996): Breakthrough to Learning: a Course inLanguage across the Curriculum in (ed.) ZORA, Subhi Bridging the Gap between Theory andPractice in teaching English as an Additional Language (papers from the first and secondconferences on E.S.L. held at Small Heath School, Birmingham)MASON, Mary MASON, Bob (1996): Breakthrough to Learning: Linguistics in the service ofmainstream education Occasional Paper No.2 of the University of Central England Facultyof Education (obtainable from the Research Administrator, U.C.E. Faculty of Education,Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3TN)GlossaryNotes:(1) A b b re v ia t io n s(a.) adjective(n.) noun(v.) verblit. literalmet. metaphoric(2) The words in CAPITALS are the technical words which define the key languageforms and ideas that form the syllabus of this book For example:H NM Hiia3Uiufl existing only as an ideaab- o r a-(prefix)Latin: away, from ad in fin itu mIn.)Latin: to infinityabsorb(v.)to swallow,to take inLatin: ab = from; sorbere,sorptum = to suck inA D JE C TIV E Grammar: a part of speech: aword which describes a noun(Chapters 5, 8)a b s tra c t(v.)to draw away; to summarise (takeout the main points)Latin: ab.abs = from, away from;trahere, tractum = to draw or pulladm ission(n.)athe act of admitting,acknowledgingLatin: ad = to;mittere, missum = sendA B S TR A C T(a.)existing only as an idea ad m it(V.)to let in; to acknowledgeacad em yIn.)Plato’s school of philosophy; ahigher or specialised school oruniversityGreek: Akademia, the gardennear Athens where Plato taughta d m itta n c eIn.)the act of letting in or being let inad nauseam(n.)Latin: to the point of being sickA C A D E M ICla.)dealing with ideas; theoretical ad van tageIn.)gain or benefitac c e le ra te(v.)to increase the speed ofLatin: ad = to; celer = swifta ffe c t(v.)to make a difference toLatin: ad –  to; facere,fectum –  to makeA C T IV E(v.)Grammar: when a verb is in theActive Voice, the subject is thedoer of the action (As distinctfrom PASSIVE –  Chapter 6)a ffe c tio nIn.)fondness, likingfond, lovingad- o r ac- e tc .(prefix)Latin: to, at (a.)state of being wealthyLatin: ad = towards;fluere = to flowadd(v.to put together, to compute thesum ofLatin: ab –  to; dare –  to give, put(n.)a fflu e n t(a.)inflowing; wealthya d d itio n(v.)the act of putting together,computing the sum ofA G E N T Grammar: the doer of an action.It may be the subject of theactive sentence (e.g. “Thefarmer grew the wheat.”) orbe added to the passivesentence with “by”(e.g. “The wheat was grown bythe farmer.”)Latin: agere = to doa g ric u ltu re  (n.)■cultivating the landLatin: ager = a field; cultivare,cultivatum = to till, make growa la ca rte according to the menu (choosingand paying for each itemseparately)French: carte = menua lk a lin e  (a.) being alkali (chemical = oppositeof acid)Arabic: alqality = calcined ashes)a lle y  (n.) a narrow lane or streeta lm a  m a te r (one’s school or university)Latin: kind mothera .m . Latin: ante meridiem = beforenoonam end  (v.) to improveLatin: e(x) = out of, mendum = afaultam endm ent (n.) improvementam m o n ia  (n.) a compound of nitrogen andhydrogenGreek: Ammon = the Egyptiangod Amun, near whose temple inLibya ammonia was distilled fromcamel-dungam m oniacal (a.) of ammoniaan – a  –  (prefix) Greek: up, backA N A L O G Y  (n.) an agreement between thingsotherwise different; a consciouslyused comparisonGreek: ana = according to;logos = ratioA N A L Y S E to separate something into itspartsGreek: ana = up, lyein = to loosea p ic u ltu re  (n.) the art of bee-keepingLatin: apis = a bee; cultivare,cultivatum = to cultivateaqua v ita e Latin: water of life (brandy)aqueous (a.) of"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Book 2: Reading for Learning

23 Feb 2012

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      string(5797) "my work. The cost of the materialsand of seconding one of the teachers to systematically testthe scheme was borne by the Wigan Education Authority,which was one of the most enterprising and forward-looking in the country. The Chief Education Officer andsome of the senior advisers were excited by the projectand backed it financially. This amounted over the eight-year-period to some thousands of pounds. It is now clearto me that no project is taken seriously that does not costmillions (preferably of taxpayers’ money).7. Custom and practice v. scienceThe experience of the Wigan Language Project shows thatit takes more than scientific proof to shake the inertia thatsupports the continuance of the status quo. Geoff Petty’sbook Evidence Based Teaching 11 gives many examples ofinnovatory schemes which actually save time and make theteachers’ job easier but which are not widely used.It is worth quoting here his introduction:‘Some medieval farmers used to sprinkle ox blood ontheir fields at full moon, in the mistaken belief it increasedsoil fertility. What made them think it would work? If youhad asked them they would have said, ‘Everyone does it!’People often mistake common practice for best practice,and seem to prefer the comfort of the crowd to thinkingfor themselves using hard evidence.Research34 Creative Teaching & Learning n Volume 2.4Medicine was once the same: doctors bled patientssuffering from anaemia, and administered bee stings toarthritic joints. Why? Because everyone else did, and allthose doctors couldn’t be wrong – could they?Medicine and agriculture are now both ‘evidence-based’,and it is time for education to follow their example. It is noshame to follow them; it is easier to work out how a liverworks or how a plant grows than how a person learns. Butwe do know a great deal about how people learn now, andwe need to change our practice accordingly.’Free websitesThere have been many changes in education in the lasttwenty years but none of them challenge the status quo.The soul-destroying round of streaming and testingcontinues to shore up an exhausting and wasteful system.However, there are signs of change. For instance, in manysecondary schools ‘excellent teachers’ are being appointedto raise standards throughout the school. In the hope thatsome of these splendid people may pick up and use ourexperience on the Wigan Language Project, I am having thethree books of Breakthrough to Learning and the Fasttrackmade freely available on a website:www.breakthrough-to-learning.co.ukIn addition a book commissioned by UCE Faculty ofEducation to meet the demands of teachers in training forKnowledge About Language will be available on the samewebsite. This gives teachers the knowledge they need tohelp their pupils write formal English accurately. Like theother books it is self-access.Already freely available is the interactive short course inabstract language and discourse structures commissionedby UCE for post 16 students:www.languageofideas.co.ukLet us hope it will not take another twenty years for allchildren, irrespective of their home background, to beempowered by the choices opened up by an academiceducation.Mary Mason gained a degree in English Languageand Literature from London University in 1951followed by a PGCE from the London Institute ofEducation, which led the movement for creativewriting in English teaching. She taught English ingrammar schools for seven years before spendingfive years in Bulgaria teaching English as a ForeignLanguage. On returning to Birmingham she taughtEnglish and General Studies at Matthew BoultonTechnical College before moving into teachertraining at the college, which is now the Faculty ofEducation at Birmingham City University.In 1975-6 she was seconded to the University ofEssex to get an MA in Applied Linguistics.Her linguistic skills enabled her to analysesystematically the particular features of AcademicEnglish, and her TEFL experience of materialswriting enabled her to write the three books ofBreakthrough to Learning, which were used in theWigan Language Project (1983-91).Knowledge TrailsMind your Language – Mary Mason’s first article on her Breakthrough to Learning programme.http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/ctl_2_1_mind_your_language.htmReferences(1) For example, SILVERMAN, DAVID and TORODE, BRIAN (1980) The Material Word RKP(2) MASON, M., MASON, B., and QUAYLE, T.(1992) Illuminating English: how explicit language teaching improved publicexamination results in a comprehensive school (Educational Studies, Vol, 18, No. 3, 1992MASON, MARY and BOB MASON (1997) Breakthrough to Learning: Linguistics in the service of Mainstream Education(University of Central England Faculty of Education papers, Issues in Education Series: No. 2)(3) HOEY, MICHAEL (1983) On the Surface of Discourse, Allen and Unwin(4) For example, FLYNN, JAMES (2007) What Is Intelligence? Beyond The Flynn Effect, Cambridge University PressSTORFER, MILES DAVID (1999) Intelligence and the expanding Human Neocortex in International Journal of Neuroscience(5) MIGHTON, JOHN (2010)(6) SHENK, DAVID (2010) The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Genes, Talent and Intelligence isWrong(7) SHARRON, HOWARD and MARTHA COULTER (1994) Changing Children’s Minds, Imaginative Minds(8) For example, DAMASIO, ANTONIO (2010): Self Come to Mind: constructing the conscious mind (Heinemann)(9) BERNSTEIN, BASIL (1957) “A public language: some sociological implications of a linguistic form”, British Journal ofSociology, 10,pp 311-26(10) LABOV, WILLIAM"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Death of a great idea

2 Mar 2012