ESL: Module A: Experience Through Language – Australian Visions

Well really, I can be the only person out there who has no idea what the ESL Elective “Australian Visions” is on about…so here I will post up any developments I find.

As I saw on the ETA Bulletin Board, even teachers aren’t really sure what it is about!

Australian Visions is Elective 2 in Module A: Experience Through Language of the HSC ESL syllabus. To make this clearer: ESL > Module A: Experience Through Language > Elective 2: Australian Visions.

This is what the syllabus says:

Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women by Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

This is another of the old speeches from the pre-2009 syllabus for for Module B: Critical Study of Texts – Speeches.

Again,  there are a few notes already on Bored of Studies – not as much as the other speeches, but I’ve suggested some key notes/essay from their resources at the bottom of this page under Links.

This is one of the more difficult speeches to teach – I suggest you check out the Glossary below. It’s also not as “interesting” as the others.

Here are some things to consider:

1. How much of a “feminist” speech is this? Compare to Margaret Atwood’s “Spotty-Headed Villainesses”.
   
2. What values are evoked in this speech?
3. How has this speech been interpreted differently by Kyi’s national audience, international audience and today’s audience?
   

Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier by Hon P.J. Keating

Paul Keating

This is one of the old speeches from the pre-2009 syllabus for for Module B: Critical Study of Texts – Speeches.

So there are already a lot of notes about this speech on Bored of Studies – I’ve suggested some key notes/essay from their resources at the bottom of this page under Links.

I found that this is one of the easiest speeches to teach, so I often teach it first – it’s easy to understand and has some easily identifiable techniques.

In terms of what to consider here:

1. What is the purpose of Keating’s speech? Is it a merely a eulogy? Or is it more of a political speech?
2. What values are evoked in this speech?

These are some good starting points to start thinking about – the 1st question can be quite helpful in thinking about the speech from the Module’s critical perspective. You should also compare this speech to Pearson’s.

How to Tutor Biology with Religious Students

Photo by mmagallan at Stock XChng.

So I’m tutoring a Yr 11 Biology student and it’s turning out to be an interesting challenge. We’re up to Life on Earth at the moment and the student is quite a strong Christian.

As Biology tutors should know, Life on Earth covers things like the origin of life (early Earth and how organic molecules originated), the fossil records and the evolution of life. So last week, as I started going through the topic and discussing it, it was surprisingly difficult!

Not because the student didn’t understand. But because he reacted to everything by scoffing, rolling his eyes or with sarcasm.

I found this quite disconcerting – how am I supposed to tutor Biology, a subject that necessarily conflicts with ideas of Creationism, to a Christian student?

As an agnostic (a fence sitter when it comes to religion), this job is undoubtedly easier for me.

Book Review: Belonging 2 by Jane Curran, Lyndall Hough & Gillian Lovell

by Jane Curan, Lyndall Hough & Gillian Lovell

Publisher: The Learning Curve

Publication Date: 2008

Belonging 2 (The Guide to the HSC English Area of Study: Belonging) is a thorough guide through the HSC English Paper 1 (for Standard and Advanced English).

It discusses and provides useful exercises to the concept of belonging, brief guides to Section 1 (unseen belonging material) and Section 2 (creative writing).

The bulk of it is guides and activities for half of the Belonging prescribed texts (the other half can be found in Belonging 1 by the same publisher):

• The Joy Luck Club
• The Namesake
• Great Expectations
• Romulus, My Father
• The Crucible
• Rainbow’s End