What is English?
Of course English is a language. Obviously. But what does it mean to take an English class if you “already know English”? In high school, studying English isn’t quite the same as studying a foreign language like Spanish or French, though there are some overlaps in these courses with the centralized aim of language education.
While English has grammar rules like all other languages, this English class is not merely about structure; but rather, about communication foremost. Because most young adult speakers of English in America tend to have a better grasp over these patterns of structure within the language, English in high school focuses more on the communication aspects of language as it is read, written, and spoken. Sometimes, though, it is important to talk about the structural aspects of the language since issues therein can impede clear communication. Technology increasingly helps people with the language structure formalities, however, which should make it easier for us in this class to focus on the idea content of what is being said when we write.
Certainly, there are many ways English language is used to communicate. Sometimes English doesn’t even sound like the same language that you thought you knew before you stepped into Mr. Sweeney's English classroom. One reason why this is, is because English as a study tends to look at literature. This is because within literature, language is very consciously and carefully chosen to communicate and express emotions, ideas and experiences. Often times when these emotions, ideas, and experiences are expressed through literature, they penetrate through the great ambiguity of our perspectives as humans in such as way that can help us gain access, if only momentary and fragmentary in nature, to the core of what it means to be human. This is why English, literature, is so beautiful that it is considered to be an art - it is a portrait of what it means to be human. If you don't understand it at first don't worry. Sometimes it is supposed to baffle you. Isn't being baffled part of the human experience? Sometimes literature defines humanity through a depiction of the great cruelty humans are capable of, which renders them inhumane (meaning “not like a human” ). Other times it defines humanity as human characters demonstrate compassion and love in such unique ways, which demonstrate how nothing but a human could be something so humane ("human-like").
English is more than just literature though and so is this class. This class could more appropriately be called “Literature and Communications”. Not everything we read in here will be fiction or even literary. Some texts will be significant for understanding science and history. One of the main aims of English is push ourselves to think critically, but also to tell how and why we believe what we do through strong support. The formation of convincing arguments, rhetoric, is one of the other essential areas of study in English.
Additionally, many of the texts will focus on understanding the diverse cultures that come into contact with English speakers and English language influence. English is made up from other languages. We’re going to learn about many of the Latin and Greek roots that influence English. That’s a simple fact necessary to understand in order to avoid the assumption that many English teachers make: that there is one or two proper ways to speak English. Instead of something so narrow minded, in this class we are on the search for nuance. While we will retain a critical perspective necessary for critical thinking, we will also be looking for the rhetorical merits of stylistic diversity that makes each writer's voice more distinct. Furthermore, we'll explore how voice (identity via language) can add rhetorical merit to language use to enhance persuasive purpose. We will do this as we study different types of English from looks into different author’s work in comparison with background research on their historical/social contexts. English takes what is learned from the past and applies it to contemporary issues.
Some people say "No, I don't like to read because I prefer to stay active." One of my favorite English teachers told me she asks these people, "Why don't you think reading is activity?" Her point is that reading is not passive. English is an experience. English is a dialogue. English is experimentation. English is art. English is battle and love. It's full of the everyday and the imaginary. Dare to discover language. Dare to explore English.It might feel like pulling teeth at times, but sometimes teeth need to be pulled to prevent the whole head from getting sick and rotten. Oftentimes English is as delightful as a minty fresh mouth before bed; refreshing like a stick of juicy pink bubble gum on a dry summer day. Check out some of the links below to learn about the relevance of English/Literature to you.
While English has grammar rules like all other languages, this English class is not merely about structure; but rather, about communication foremost. Because most young adult speakers of English in America tend to have a better grasp over these patterns of structure within the language, English in high school focuses more on the communication aspects of language as it is read, written, and spoken. Sometimes, though, it is important to talk about the structural aspects of the language since issues therein can impede clear communication. Technology increasingly helps people with the language structure formalities, however, which should make it easier for us in this class to focus on the idea content of what is being said when we write.
Certainly, there are many ways English language is used to communicate. Sometimes English doesn’t even sound like the same language that you thought you knew before you stepped into Mr. Sweeney's English classroom. One reason why this is, is because English as a study tends to look at literature. This is because within literature, language is very consciously and carefully chosen to communicate and express emotions, ideas and experiences. Often times when these emotions, ideas, and experiences are expressed through literature, they penetrate through the great ambiguity of our perspectives as humans in such as way that can help us gain access, if only momentary and fragmentary in nature, to the core of what it means to be human. This is why English, literature, is so beautiful that it is considered to be an art - it is a portrait of what it means to be human. If you don't understand it at first don't worry. Sometimes it is supposed to baffle you. Isn't being baffled part of the human experience? Sometimes literature defines humanity through a depiction of the great cruelty humans are capable of, which renders them inhumane (meaning “not like a human” ). Other times it defines humanity as human characters demonstrate compassion and love in such unique ways, which demonstrate how nothing but a human could be something so humane ("human-like").
English is more than just literature though and so is this class. This class could more appropriately be called “Literature and Communications”. Not everything we read in here will be fiction or even literary. Some texts will be significant for understanding science and history. One of the main aims of English is push ourselves to think critically, but also to tell how and why we believe what we do through strong support. The formation of convincing arguments, rhetoric, is one of the other essential areas of study in English.
Additionally, many of the texts will focus on understanding the diverse cultures that come into contact with English speakers and English language influence. English is made up from other languages. We’re going to learn about many of the Latin and Greek roots that influence English. That’s a simple fact necessary to understand in order to avoid the assumption that many English teachers make: that there is one or two proper ways to speak English. Instead of something so narrow minded, in this class we are on the search for nuance. While we will retain a critical perspective necessary for critical thinking, we will also be looking for the rhetorical merits of stylistic diversity that makes each writer's voice more distinct. Furthermore, we'll explore how voice (identity via language) can add rhetorical merit to language use to enhance persuasive purpose. We will do this as we study different types of English from looks into different author’s work in comparison with background research on their historical/social contexts. English takes what is learned from the past and applies it to contemporary issues.
Some people say "No, I don't like to read because I prefer to stay active." One of my favorite English teachers told me she asks these people, "Why don't you think reading is activity?" Her point is that reading is not passive. English is an experience. English is a dialogue. English is experimentation. English is art. English is battle and love. It's full of the everyday and the imaginary. Dare to discover language. Dare to explore English.It might feel like pulling teeth at times, but sometimes teeth need to be pulled to prevent the whole head from getting sick and rotten. Oftentimes English is as delightful as a minty fresh mouth before bed; refreshing like a stick of juicy pink bubble gum on a dry summer day. Check out some of the links below to learn about the relevance of English/Literature to you.
This article supports the idea that there isn't one "proper" English.
What is literature and Why is it important?
This fun video can help you to appreciate the merits of literature.
Please don't be turned off by the initial image for this video. The image is only a small part about how literature can help people to gain insight into the perspective of people different from themselves. The image may be offensive to some people and is, therefore, a mistake on behalves of the makers of this clip. Yet, what this video says about literature, including what it intends to say through this image, has merit enough to keep it on my site, in spite of this distasteful mistake on the producers behalf. His index finger up like he's number one and the man is supposed to be a body builder. From the the message of this video about embracing kindness and diversity through literature it seems highly unlikely that the producer particularly meant to make an offensive statement about race with his choice of imagery here. Indeed, it is more likely that he/she wanted to simply choose people who very obviously have different perspectives from different life experiences, such as a child and a body builder would have.
BY NO MEANS DOES LITERATURE GIVE A PERSON LICENCE TO SAY THEY HAVE BEEN IN ANOTHER PERSON'S HEAD/LIFE EXPERIENCE. Claiming to share life experiences through literary representation is very different from claiming to know and feel how it is to be someone else. We can never "know" exactly how it is to be someone else. By no means will this course take such an insipidly pretentious approach to better understanding diverse peoples and their life ways through literature. But similar to how you might better understand and connect with a friend from listening to their experiences, literature can help you to better understand and connect with other people and cultures across time, space, and social boundaries.
Please don't be turned off by the initial image for this video. The image is only a small part about how literature can help people to gain insight into the perspective of people different from themselves. The image may be offensive to some people and is, therefore, a mistake on behalves of the makers of this clip. Yet, what this video says about literature, including what it intends to say through this image, has merit enough to keep it on my site, in spite of this distasteful mistake on the producers behalf. His index finger up like he's number one and the man is supposed to be a body builder. From the the message of this video about embracing kindness and diversity through literature it seems highly unlikely that the producer particularly meant to make an offensive statement about race with his choice of imagery here. Indeed, it is more likely that he/she wanted to simply choose people who very obviously have different perspectives from different life experiences, such as a child and a body builder would have.
BY NO MEANS DOES LITERATURE GIVE A PERSON LICENCE TO SAY THEY HAVE BEEN IN ANOTHER PERSON'S HEAD/LIFE EXPERIENCE. Claiming to share life experiences through literary representation is very different from claiming to know and feel how it is to be someone else. We can never "know" exactly how it is to be someone else. By no means will this course take such an insipidly pretentious approach to better understanding diverse peoples and their life ways through literature. But similar to how you might better understand and connect with a friend from listening to their experiences, literature can help you to better understand and connect with other people and cultures across time, space, and social boundaries.
Above is a TED talk by Cristina Domenech, an Argentinian poet who teaches writing in a men's prison. Listen to her talk to get a sense of what English as a class (note she is speaking Spanish) is truly about.