Tying it all together

In this blog, I set out to illustrate the interconnectedness of the three modes of communication in English; reading and viewing, writing and representing and speaking and listening. Through an exploration of literacy theory, the Tasmanian English-literacy curriculum and my own teaching strategy, I have demonstrated that the three modes are equally important for English teachers and students. Likewise, I have shown that each mode of communication must be used to support teaching of the other modes. An example of this was the activity from the text Once by Morris Gleitzman. Although the activity was primarily a writing task, reading and comprehension, as well as speaking and listening through reading aloud and discussion, were essential to its successful completion. Finally, a brief reflection on my own pedagogy has led to the conclusion that an effective English curriculum must contain all three modes of communication.