Do We Still Speak The Queen's English?

The English language being an amalgam of many other languages is possibly the most adaptive in the world. With complex and changing content the tricks you can play with English has made it one of the best games in education. But although the constantly changing “rules” refreshes the fun it can trip the unwary and make examination success hazardous.

Many parents, keen to provide active support in their child’s schooling are concerned this may be problematic; citing changes in teaching techniques that may leave them exposed or detract from their child’s progress. Clearly teaching techniques must evolve else we will fail to benefit from progress, but what if the subject matter, English, is evolving at such a rate that can see significant changes occurring during the schooling journey of a child.

English, as any language is the basic structure behind communication. Yet the world of communication is changing fast. The internet has seen exponential growth in speed, usage and range of access to information on a global basis. An historic search for information probably involved a dictionary, thesaurus or encyclopaedia to check spelling, meaning, and synonym or to learn facts. Inevitably during the searching process other words, meanings, interpretations and facts would be revealed across the page which broadened our knowledge base. But has the internet changed the process? Spelling is less critical. even in a search using Google – the system itself suggests “did you mean” corrections to spelling. The resultant search, being computer driven, can be extraordinary rapid and far more targeted, but are we missing the opportunity to absorb knowledge from a ramble through additional facts.

The evolution of the English language has developed at a greater pace over the past ten years. The spread of English, fuelled by the internet, cinema, DVD and TV has established a global first language in communications. The arbitrators in education need to be equally dynamic. Spelling games and exams must be a nightmare for teachers and examiners as the content and rules change. To see the full article take a look here