Download Volume III Issue 2 June 2011

Volume III
Issue 2
June 2011
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
TROPICAL ENGLISH TEACHER
Volume III
Issue 2
June 2011
Tropical English Teacher is a refereed journal publication sponsored by CfBT and circulated free
of charge for private educational purposes.
The views expressed herein are those of the respective authors of the articles and are not
necessarily those of the sponsoring organisation.
All effort has been made to acknowledge copyright where required of materials used in the
journal. If you believe, however, that copyrighted material has been unwittingly used to which
you have copyright entitlements, please contact the editor at [email protected] or [email protected]
or the Education Director at [email protected].
Requests for republication of materials should be addressed in the first instance to the editor.
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
Tropical English Teacher
[Contents]
Contents
Introduction
Editorial...........................................................................................................................page 6
Allan Birimac & Albert Polita
Letters ...........................................................................................................................page 9
Teaching Literature
So you want to be a literature teacher?..........................................................................page 10
Allan Birimac, CfBT, Maktab Science
Shakespeare in the Classroom........................................................................................page 17
Albert Polita, CfBT, Maktab Duli
A Portrait from the Prologue to The Twentieth Century Canterbury Tales…………………….page 26
Malcolm Orsborn, CfBT, SM Sayyidina Abu Bakar
Drama Activities for the Literature Classroom…………………………......................................page 28
Albert Polita, CfBT, Maktab Duli
Learning Literature
Favourite Opening Line of a Novel…………….....................................................................page 34
Shakespearean Quotes...................................................................................................page 37
Politics in Henry IV Part 1………………………………………………….............................................page 39
Allan Birimac, CfBT, Maktab Science
Student Essays………………………………………………………………….............................................page 45
Allan Birimac, CfBT, Maktab Science
Brunei Shakespeare Day..………………………………………………….............................................page 50
Albert Polita, CfBT, Maktab Duli
Worksheets for O level texts …………………………………………………………...................................page 58
Answers to ‘So You Want To Be a Literature Teacher?’ ………………………………………………..page 68
Answers to Favourite Opening Line of a novel……………………………………………………………...page 69
Answers to Shakespearean Quotes…………………………………………………………………………....…page 70
Conferences
Conference Reports………………………………......…………………………………………………………………page 71
Breda O’Hara Davies, CfBT, Maktab Duli and Jean Kiekopf, CfBT
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
Page 4
Tropical English Teacher
[Facebook]
CfBT is on Facebook
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
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Tropical English Teacher
[Editorial]
EDITORIAL
Allan Birimac and Albert Polita, CfBT, Editors
In this edition of Tropical English Teacher we have tried to include material to stimulate the
interest of readers, by providing several quizzes, practical classroom activities, as well as more
cerebral articles.
Literature teachers are often envied by colleagues, for reasons that vary from smaller classes to
“all you do is sit and talk…” Very well. Here is your chance to show the world what a literary
expert you are! Sit for the test on page 10 and let’s see how you get on. Or, if you see yourself as
not necessarily a student of literature, but simply a well read individual, tackle the “Opening line
of a novel” quiz on page 34. Done well? Now move on to “Shakespearean quotes” on page 37.
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
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Tropical English Teacher
[Editorial]
We have an article with ideas for student friendly activities based on Shakespeare for
junior/middle schools, which should dispel trepidations about tackling the Bard with younger
students. We also have a contribution outlining simple activities to enhance our Literature
classrooms and encourage student involvement in the texts being studied.
Malcolm Orsborn shows us how we can have fun with rewriting older texts, by joining the
students in the activity and perhaps enjoying it more than they do!
We have an article exploring the political context and issues pertaining to the ‘AS’ level
Shakespearean text Henry IV part 1, a must reading for anyone teaching the text or with an
interest in the Bard.
Allan Birimac also discusses literary compositions, using several examples from his own ‘O’ and
‘AS’ level students to illustrate the positives and negatives of this fundamental skill needed to
succeed in the discipline. The examples given constitute a valuable resource for us to use with
our own students.
Albert Polita gives the background to the conception and running of Shakespeare Day. The event
is becoming a regular feature in the Bruneian literature calendar and, from what is stated in the
article, will only become bigger in the future. The journal then includes some worksheets that
may help you with some of the current O level texts. Two conference updates round out our
offerings for this edition.
So here it is, the June 2011 edition of Tropical English Teacher. We hope it will be entertaining
and of benefit to you all. By keeping the focus as practical as possible we hope that somewhere
in these pages there will be ideas for use in our classrooms and be of assistance to our students.
Thank you to contributors of both articles and quizzes. Thanks also to Greg Keaney for the advice
and practical suggestions.
Allan Birimac & Albert Polita
June 2011
Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools.
The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.
Dr. Haim Ginott
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Tropical English Teacher
[Editorial]
Tropical English Teacher, including
all previous editions, can be found
on the CfBT Brunei website
TET!
At: http://brunei.cfbt.org/bn/
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Tropical English Teacher
[letters]
Letters
Send us
your letters,
comments,
feedback,
complaints,
mail,
correspondence,
suggestions,
post,
messages,
emails,
ideas, commentary,
remarks,
observations,
clarifications,
interpretations and
anything else you
have to say.
[email protected]
Dear READER,
We’d love to print your letter here...!
[email protected]
Dear Tropical English Teacher,
Congratulations on another excellent edition of 'Tropical
Teacher'. Each edition has something very worthwhile
that we can use immediately in the classroom. From this
edition I have taken on board the isometric exercises for
relaxation. I have taught all my Year 11 classes these
exercises and I hope that these sessions will give them
one more useful strategy to help them cope with the
stress of exams this year.
Kind regards
Robyn
Steve Wilkinson
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
So you want to be a literature teacher?
Allan Birimac, CfBT, Maktab Duli
For many of us it’s been a while since we’ve taught literature, and even longer since we
studied the subject at university or as far back as secondary school. As language teachers
we can tell a gerund from a genitive or spot an ellipsis from an elision, but just how much
do we recall about literary meta-language from those heady student days?
While it’s not entirely necessary for students to incorporate arcane literary jargon into their
essays, there’s little doubt that technical language used correctly and in moderation usually
serves to impress examiners. So, we’ve prepared a little quiz for you to check just what
you remember about literary terminology, incorporating some of the more common terms
and expressions (as well as a few not so common) we have found useful and relevant to our
own teaching of literature.
The quiz is divided according to terms relating to poetry, prose and drama, and most of the
literature samples used have been taken from currently prescribed ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels texts,
providing what we hope might be a brief insight into the qualities of a few of these works.
Good luck!
Answers on page 68
Poetry
1.
2.
3.
“Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me” (from ‘The Voice’ by Thomas
Hardy)
The rhythm of this line could be best described as:
a)
iambic pentameter
b)
trochaic pentameter
c)
iambic tetrameter
d)
dactylic tetrameter
In the same line of verse, much of its impact is achieved through
a)
assonance and repetition
b)
apostrophe and alliteration
c)
rhetorical question and caesura
d)
enjambment and onomatopoeia
“Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness” (from ‘To Autumn’ by John Keats)
The underlined syllables which do not follow the iambic pattern are:
a)
Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness
b)
Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness
c)
Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness
d)
Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
“A pail lifted, still and brimming - mirror
To tempt a first star to a tremor.” (from ‘Full Moon and Little Frieda’ by Ted Hughes)
4.
5.
The sound devices which help make these lines effective in creating a sense of nervous
movement and tension are:
a)
elision, alliteration and onomatopoeia
b)
assonance, onomatopoeia and consonance
c)
elision, consonance and assonance
d)
consonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia
“Though I am here all things my coming attend;
I am, you have heard it, the Beginning and the End.” (from ‘Time’ by Allen Curnow)
These lines effectively employ which of the following features to emphasise the power
of Time?
a)
personification, metaphor and literary allusion
b)
direct address, paradox and metonym
c)
paradox, personification and biblical allusion
d)
synecdoche, repetition and personification
6.
Petrarchan, Miltonic, Shakespearean and Spenserian are terms referring to variants of
which poetic form:
a)
the ode
b)
the sonnet
c)
the ballad
d)
the epic
7.
The sonnet is typically marked by which of the following formal features:
a)
octet, sestet and volta
b)
strophe, antistrophe and epode
c)
epithet, invocation and narrative
d)
quatrain, dialogue and iambic rhythm
“Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin” (from ‘Dover Beach’ by Matthew Arnold)
8.
The effective description of the waves is primarily owing to:
a)
consonance and assonance
b)
onomatopoeia and caesura
c)
neither of the above
d)
both of the above
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
“An hour he could be lost
in the walled anger of her quarried hurt
on turning, see cool water laughing where
the day before there were stones in her voice.” (from ‘Marrysong’ by Dennis Scott)
9.
The woman’s moods in these lines are effectively reflected through the poet’s use of:
a)
simile and metaphor
b)
personification and metaphor
c)
personification and allusion
d)
adjectives
"I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown,
And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!"
"My dear a raw country girl, such as you be,
Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she. (from ‘The Ruined Maid’ by Thomas
Hardy)
10. The ironic tone in these lines is principally achieved through the poet’s use of
a)
rhyming couplets of anapaestic tetrameter
b)
contrasting adjectives and colloquial language
c)
both a) and b)
d)
neither a) nor b)
Prose
1.
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s novel, Nervous Conditions, which concerns the transition of the
narrator, Tambu, from childhood to womanhood, can be classified as a:
a)
bildungsroman
b)
künstlerroman
c)
epistolary novel
d)
picaresque novel
2.
Ray Bradbury’s short story, ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’, is similar to Brave New World
in that it envisions a ___________________ future in order to warn readers about our
present conduct.
a)
utopian
b)
ecotopian
c)
dystopian
d)
myopian
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
3.
In Borden Deal’s short story, ‘The Taste of Watermelon’, the fruit is described as
“sweet”, “seizing”, “delicious” and “warm”, suggesting the author uses it as a
_________________ for
human desire and temptation.
a)
figure of speech
b)
metaphor
c)
simile
d)
symbol
4.
Because Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s psychologically disturbing 19th century story of a
woman trapped by marriage and social convention is told in the first person, the
narrator can be regarded as _________________________.
a)
omniscient
b)
unreliable
c)
imagined
d)
covert
5.
Words such as “pong”, “silvertails” and “bolted” in Tim Winton’s ‘On Her Knees’ help to
situate his story in a specifically Australian __________________ context.
a)
biographical
b)
historical
c)
social
d)
literary
6. Nervous Conditions, which explores issues of national and ethnic identity in preindependent Zimbabwe, can be classified as ____________________ literature.
a)
colonial
b)
post-colonial
c)
anti-colonial
d)
imperialist
7. The reference in Bernard MacLaverty’s story ‘Secrets’ to the Dickens character, Miss
Havisham, is an example of literary ________________________.
a)
allusion
b)
appropriation
c)
homage
d)
borrowing
8.
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Bronte’s Wuthering Heights share the feature of telling
the main story within a secondary story, a structural device otherwise known as a_____.
a)
dual narrative
b)
parallel narrative
c)
frame narrative
d)
second narrative
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
9. Pastiche, parody and adaptation are all forms of what has come to be termed ________.
a)
externalisation
b)
intertextuality
c)
invocation
d)
transformation
10. Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, whose exploration of relations between thoughts and
judgements on the one hand and feelings and emotions on the other, lends itself well to
a structuralist approach of its __________________________.
a)
parallelism
b)
artistic coherence
c)
hierarchical pluralities
d)
binary oppositions
Drama
1. Elysian Fields, the New Orleans suburb in which Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named
Desire is set, is an example of a _______________________.
a)
classical allusion
b)
thematic inference
c)
dramatic symbol
d)
poetic reference
2. When Prince Hal, alone on stage in Shakespeare’s Henry IV part 1, says to the audience,
“I know you all, and will awhile uphold / The unyoked humour of your idleness”, this
provides the play with one of its few
a)
dramatic monologues
b)
first person narrations
c)
blank verse soliloquies
d)
asides
3. One of the consistent features of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedies, such as As You Like
It, is
a)
an exploration of love in a rustic setting
b)
disguise and deception
c)
the preference of rural to urban life
d)
legitimacy and order in society
4. The structure of a “well-made play” – an example of which is Oscar Wilde’s The
Importance of Being Earnest – typically possesses a plot which
a)
depends on a “time bomb” from the past that disrupts social order
b)
progresses along the poetic lines observed in Greek drama
c)
reflect the unities of time, space action
d)
is complemented thematically by a significant sub-plot
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
5. When speaking at the Forum on the occasion of Caesar’s death in Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar, Antony’s repeated description of Brutus and the other conspirators as
“honourable men” is intended to
a)
calm the crowd
b)
defend Brutus
c)
placate the crowd
d)
antagonise the crowd
6. Shakespeare’s Richard III is unusual in that it
a)
combines action with comedy
b)
features a disfigured anti-hero as a lead character
c)
explores political themes that were sensitive to the Elizabethan authorities
d)
veers considerably from the historical record of that King’s reign
7. Still postures adopted by characters, such as the men playing cards at the end of A
Streetcar Named Desire or Prince Hal standing triumphantly over the slain Hotspur and
ostensibly dead Falstaff in Henry IV part 1, are examples where attitudes and themes are
conveyed through the use of
a)
dramatic foreshadowing
b)
tableau
c)
juxtaposition
d)
stasis
8. Aristotelian tragedy typically explores and develops the downfall of a protagonist
according to sequence of
a)
peripeteia - anagnorisis - hubris - hamartia - nemesis - catharsis
b)
hubris - hamartia - nemesis - catharsis - peripeteia - anagnorisis
c)
nemesis - catharsis - peripeteia - anagnorisis - hubris – hamartia
d)
hubris - hamartia - nemesis - peripeteia - anagnorisis - catharsis
9. When Beatrice, Shakespeare’s heroine in Much Ado About Nothing, cries “Oh God that I
were a man”, Elizabethan audiences might have appreciated the irony even more than
contemporary ones because
a)
she behaves in a more assertive fashion than her lover, Benedick
b)
she was indeed a man but was concealing the fact from others
c)
her character would have been played by a male actor
d)
all of the above
10. Brian Friel’s Translations, which features 19th century Irish characters who only speak
Gaelic yet whose dialogue is nevertheless conveyed in English, requires from the
audience a ____________________ to succeed dramatically.
a)
disassociation
b)
catharsis
c)
purgation of rationality
d)
suspension of disbelief
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Tropical English Teacher
[Teaching Literature]
Shakespeare in the Classroom
Ideas for fun activities with middle school students.
Albert Polita, CfBT, Maktab Duli
What follows is a summary of a Power Point presentation I gave a few years ago at a BELTA
conference. In the course of the talk, I showed examples of the activities I mentioned, as well as
presenting samples of students’ work.
If anyone reading this would like a copy of any such items, or of anything mentioned in this
article they can contact me and I would be more than glad to share what materials I have as well
as examples of work produced by my classes. The students involved were all in Year 10.
Although I must confess to a love of Shakespeare and things Shakespearean, introducing the
Bard to my students wasn’t an attempt to make them fall in love with the person or his works.
These were not Literature students, and included a wide range of academic ability. I was looking
for a Unit of work which would allow students to feel a sense of ownership whilst pursuing the
usual educational goals we need to do in our classrooms. I wanted my class to enjoy the
experience so that the mentioning of Shakespeare in the future would not fill them with dread
and negativity.
Before beginning, it is important for teachers to keep a few things in mind.

One never finishes with Shakespeare. We must be willing to continue learning, even at
the most basic levels.

Fresh insights can come from active work: students can teach the teacher.

Always encourage students’ personal responses.

Teachers’ attitudes are crucial: enthusiasm is often contagious.

Avoid stressing how great Shakespeare was. Make him approachable.

Feel comfortable with saying, “I am not sure, what do you think?”
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[Teaching Literature]
RELEVANCE
The first thing I wanted to stress was the continual relevance of what the Bard wrote. This is a
list of some themes and human preoccupations expressed in Shakespeare's plays:
Love and hate
Evil
False appearances
Violence
War
Tyranny
Politics
Guilt
Power
Conscience
Forgiveness
Fate & free will
Ambition
Nature & nurture
Justice
Corruption
Time
Racism
You could ask the class if they can think of anything not covered by the list! How many of these
Revenge
Self-deception
themes are still relevant today? The question of relevance is of primary importance. I kept
Madness
Family feuds
stressing that by changing the language and costumes a Shakespearean play can easily apply to a
Supernatural
Jealousy
modern situation. In fact, if students were interested, they could do a quick search to find out
just how many plots from modern movies originated or were adapted from Shakespeare.
Some the activities planned in this Unit are meant to underline such relevance.
CONTEXT
What was Shakespeare world like? How did
people live? What food did they eat? What did
they learn at school? In order to answer these
questions, and to ensure that students feel this
Unit of work is not a top-down exercise, they will
work in groups to research Elizabethan England.
Their findings will be presented to the class in
whichever manner they feel appropriate.
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[Teaching Literature]
Having learnt from experience, I would strongly suggest giving each group one or two specific
topics, rather than encouraging them all to do a general research on say, 16 th century England.
Having to sit through 5 or 6 Power
Point presentations on Elizabethan
fashion can be quite painful! Whereas,
asking groups to gather information
and
pictures
on
schooling,
entertainment, major concerns, court
life vs average persons, food and
drinks, etc, will provide a wider and
more interesting overall picture of the
times. As always, encourage creativity.
We all know how technology savvy students can be, so don’t be surprised by what they could
present to the class. One group of relatively low academic standards used film clips from the
Pirates of the Caribbean movies to produce a 5 minutes clip on the problem of piracy for
Elizabethan sailors: appropriate and very entertaining!
For the more creative students, you can ask them to make a copy of an Elizabethan theatre.
There are two topics you should ensure will be covered. One is the most pertinent, William
Shakespeare himself. The second is the role of the theatre in Elizabethan England. How did they
work, who worked in them, who went to see them, what did they look like, etc..
INTRODUCING THE PLAY
I concentrated most of my activities on material from Romeo and Juliet. I felt this was a story
that my students, like teenagers worldwide could relate to, has universal themes and is readily
‘approachable’.
As I mentioned earlier, the idea of this Unit was not to study a Shakespearean play in detail. I
wanted students to experience aspects of the language and techniques used by Shakespeare,
but also to enjoy the experience and understand possible reasons for his popularity so long after
his death.
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[Teaching Literature]
Discuss the story and if possible show the class the animated version. Brainstorm on any issue
relating to R & J. When you feel the students are comfortable with the main aspects of the story
line, give them a copy of the Prologue:
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands
unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents'
strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd
love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought
could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
How much do they understand? Why would Shakespeare give away the plot at the start of the
play? Show the following modern ‘version’ of the prologue and ask students write their own
take:
"What's in a name huh?
You see there's this guy and he loves this girl right?
The girl, she loves the guy, okay?
You wid me so far? So far so rom-com, right?
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[Teaching Literature]
Wrong.
You see this guy's family and this girl's family don't get along, capiche?
I mean REALLY don't get along.
And when this guy's family and this girl's family find out what's going on, well...
Let's just say there's going to be A SITUATION."
Love huh? It'll kill you every time.
From here you can now branch out with many other writing based activities. Space does not
allow me to give specific details, but if interested, I can pass on worksheets for you to use.

Oxymorons – Romeo and Juliet is a play much concerned with oppositions and conflicts.
Montagues versus Capulets; love versus hate; life versus death; light versus dark, and so
on. Shakespeare reflects these oppositions in the language of the play, most obviously in
the use of oxymorons. Look at some examples and let students create their own.

This is what Juliet says she would rather do than marry Paris:
O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,
From off the battlements of yonder tower;
Or walk in thievish ways; or bid me lurk
Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears;
Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house,
O'er-cover'd quite with dead men's rattling bones,
With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls;
Or bid me go into a new-made grave
And hide me with a dead man in his shroud;
Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble;
And I will do it without fear or doubt,
To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love.
Ask the class to list things they would rather do than be forced to marry someone they
do not like.

Write a newspaper article on an incident from R & J.
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Tropical English Teacher

[Teaching Literature]
Hand out a copy of the Prince’s angry speech (Act I Scene 1). In a group, examine its
contents. Keep in mind the context where it is given: a public place; an excitable crowd;
bloodshed; a single message to communicate.
-
split the speech into its natural sections according to sense
-
decide the tone and mood. Which parts should be emphasized more than
others?
-
where will pauses be effective?
-
try delivering the speech to your group.
Try writing the speech as it would be given today, using modern English. Imagine a
situation where someone has to angrily stop the misbehaviour of some people. Use the
Prince’s words as guidelines, but make your speech as colourful (without swearing!) as
you like, using expressions and images common today.

After completing other activities, return to the Prologue by handing out an
incomplete copy.
Eg,
T_ _ h_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , b_ _ _ a_ _ _ _ i_ d_ _ _ _ _ _ ,
I_ f_ _ _ V_ _ _ _ _ , w_ _ _ _ w_ l_ _ o_ _ s_ _ _ _ ,
F_ _ _ a_ _ _ _ _ _ g_ _ _ _ _ b_ _ _ _ t_ n_ _ m_ _ _ _ _ ,
W_ _ _ _ c_ _ _ _ b_ _ _ _ m_ _ _ _ c_ _ _ _ h_ _ _ _ u_ _ _ _ _ _
F_ _ _ f_ _ _ _ t_ _ f_ _ _ _ l_ _ _ _ o_ t_ _ _ _ t_ _ f_ _ _ , ... etc etc
a/alike/ancient/and/attend/blood/both/break/bury/but/children's/civil/civil/continua
nce/could/death/mark'd/dignity/do/ears/end/fair/fatal/fearful/foes/forth/from/
from/grudge/hands/here/hours'
Students are to complete the missing words.
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[Teaching Literature]
NON WRITING ACTIVITIES
Let’s not forget the first fundamental rule of Shakespearean studies: the man wrote plays to be
performed, not texts to be studied ad infinitum. So here are some hands-on, fun activities my
students undertook successfully. I used them interdispersedly during the Unit, to keep the class
lively and interested. Once again, please contact me for further details.

Tableaux – Give students a list of some 10-12 quotations from the play which can be
used as a vague summary of the story. Eg.
1.
Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!
2. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
3. Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
4. A plague on both your houses!
5. And fire-fury be my conduct now! (they fight, Tybalt falls)
6. Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!
7. Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink – I drink to thee. (she falls upon her bed)
8. Here’s to my love! (Drinks). Thus with a kiss I die. (Dies)
9. Happy dagger! This is thy sheath; (stabs herself)
There rest and let me die (falls on Romeo’s body and dies)
10. For never was a story of more woe,
Than that of Juliet and her Romeo
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A Plague on both your houses!
Students are to create a tableau for
each of the lines. If the class is
particularly
confident
and
comfortable with the text, they can
choose their own lines, create the
tableau and ask the rest of the class
to
guess
what
they
are
representing.

Friar Lawrence’s speech, (Act V Scene 3). This speech is famous for its use of pronouns.
Hand out a copy and ask groups of students to form a circle with each student being a
character from the play. Whoever plays the role of Friar Lawrence will point to the
appropriate person as he/she reads the script.
I will be brief, for my short date of breath
Is not so long as is a tedious tale.
Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet;
And she, there dead, that Romeo's faithful wife:
I married them; and their stol'n marriage-day
Was Tybalt's dooms-day, whose untimely death… etc etc

New script. Ask the class to write and perform their own version of how the feud
between Capulets and Montegue started.

Choral verse. Choose a dialogue between Romeo and Juliet, with the class divided along
gender. Each group will read their lines, accentuating parts they feel significant.

Performances. Choose a scene with many characters and ask students to walk it through
reading the lines. They will need to choreograph the movements, keeping in mind who
or what they want to emphasise. Act I Scene V, Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting, is a
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good example of a scene providing lots of scope for artistic interpretation and involving
10 speaking parts.
INTERPRETATIONS
To emphasise the versatility in interpretations of Shakespearean plays, I like to show my classes
different versions of particular scenes. This requires some preparation, as you will need to find
two or three movies of whichever play you are studying. For the Romeo and Juliet Unit, we have
3 great examples of how directors have used the same material to produce vastly different
outcomes: the BBC version is mostly true to the original and is the most theatrical. The 1968
Zeffirelli movie is famous for its romanticism and settings. And finally, the 1996 Luhrmann
spectacular film modernises the play into an action packed, colourful event.
I like to introduce the movies early into the Unit to emphasise to students that there is no right
or wrong way of ‘doing Shakespeare’.
I encourage the class to feel free to be creative and explore artistic possibilities. I encourage
discussions on the perceived merits of each version, as well as exploring reasons for choices
made by directors.
When introducing some of the activities mentioned above, I show the relevant scene to the
class. For example, the Prologue: we have the traditional rendition by John Gielgud as opposed
to the television news by Luhrmann. I show both to the class and let them discuss which they
prefer. I will then continue with the writing exercise.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This Unit of work can be easily adapted to other Shakespearean plays, providing you with the
freedom to adapt, extend and emphasise one aspect over another. I have found it invaluable
during the post exams period late in the school year, when keeping students entertained and
busy becomes difficult.
Shakespeare can provide non literature students with variety, excitement, freedom of
interpretation and enjoyment if presented in a non-strictly-academic manner. If you haven’t
tried him yet, go ahead! I am convinced neither you nor your students will not be disappointed.
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A Portrait from the Prologue to The
Twentieth Century Canterbury Tales.
Malcolm Orsborn, CfBT, SM Sayyidina Abu Bakar
(In its original Middle English.)
A Gamme Shoowe Hooste ther was, a man ful meke
Who questioned lowly pesaunts once a weeke
Sharpe tonged and shrewed he was and used his stealthe
To mak his fools crave golde eke sundry wealthe.
If answers goode they yeve to his sly tonge
(assuming that they weren’t entirely wronge)
He yaf them weekendes at a fine heelth ferme
Eke hooly dayes in sonny Benidorme.
On ITV he shewes his mirie arte
For prysys on the Beebe nat worth a farte.
Golfe he played, and many drolle experiaunce
Shered he ful often with his audience.
Eke of his showbiz chummes on the tee
Who didde their worthy worke for charitee.
A ploughed face hadde he and fulsome chinne
And on his mouthe he bar a toothsomme grinne.
Wel coulde he singen, jape, telle jokes, eke daunce
(In sooth he wered a rugge upon his bonce).
Ful ofte he carped, ay moore than once or twice,
“Is nice to seyen ye, to seyen ye nice.”
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I wrote the above parody of Chaucer one evening when I was teaching A level literature students
Chaucer’s General Prologue in England several years ago. I was doing what I had asked my
students to do, namely, to write a piece in the style of the author. It was an exercise I used to do
in class quite regularly, that I, and the students, found enjoyable, challenging and extremely
useful.
It’s a useful way of getting inside the text, both for the students and the teacher. In this case, by
writing in Middle English, an attempt was made to be as accurate as far as possible in recreating
the tone and mood of The Prologue, as well as the structure.
By replicating the meter, iambic pentameter, and using rhyming couplets, the poetic structure is
rebuilt using the parodist’s own vocabulary. This imbues, I believe, an added dimension of
understanding and appreciation of the original writer. Trying to remain faithful to Chaucer’s
subtle understated humour was another challenge. His apparently gentle, but quite scathing
tone of voice was attempted here. It was a challenge to replicate his tone, while maintaining an
underlying subtext of scorn.
It’s a short, simple exercise that a teacher can give his students, but an extremely enjoyable one
to undertake: and useful, to boot.
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DRAMA ACTIVITIES IN THE
LITERATURE CLASSROOM
One of the major task of the Literature teacher, is to direct the students into understanding &
developing an insight into the life and human nature of the characters being studied. Drama
activities can assist in this process, by compelling us to immerse ourselves into the character to
gain his/her perspective on the situation. However, Drama is not a panacea which will solve all
our teaching problems. It is merely one of the many tools available to us to help facilitate the
development of an idea or issue. Furthermore, as we all know, any single approach to Literature
is self defeating. So, drama must be accompanied by a reflection on the exercises undertaken.
Students performing drama activities need to:
• Analyse
• Understand
• Interpret
• Respond
What this means is that whilst we should allow students to express their interpretations freely,
they must realize that the activity is not an end in itself. They must also be challenged into
explanations for their choices of expression.
Some years ago, I was asked to present a short paper on Drama in the Classroom. I decided to
ask colleagues for practical ideas, to see and learn from what was happening in their classrooms.
Several of the activities I will mention later in this article emanated from those days. However, I
was surprised to discover that in many cases, poetry and prose were almost completely
neglected: the truism of “Drama is meant to performed” seemed to imply an exclusion of other
genre from the same treatment. Reasons given included poetry is not visual enough, is too
internalized, too complex. Prose is too prescribed, there is too much/not enough happening.
These views are very limiting. It can easily be argued that in all literature the writer is creating
visual images in our minds which can be recreated at the very least in tableaux form. Some
poetry is extremely theatrical. Let us take as an obvious example Thomas Hardy’s The Ruined
Maid.
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"O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown!
Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?
And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty?""O didn't you know I'd been ruined?" said she…….
……"I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown,
And a delicate face, and could strut about Town""My dear – a raw country girl, such as you be,
Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she.
The poem is very visual. It lends itself to be acted. However, it also allows freedom of
interpretation: is the unruined girl being sarcastic, jealous, accusing? And what about Melia?
Students need to decide how the roles should be played by studying the language and tone
closely and respond accordingly.
It is true that some poems are much more internalized, concentrating on the state of mind
rather than external action. We can also add Shakespeare’s soliloquies to this list. In such cases
we can agree that the visual aspect of the speech is secondary to the power of expression and
dramatic mood it creates. The activities can now be adjusted to exploring how the anxieties are
expressed. What are the key words? What devices does the author use? A simple but effective
exercise is as follows:
1. Students stand and form a large circle. They will read the soliloquy/poem around the circle,
stopping and changing readers at every punctuation mark.
Discuss: What do you notice about the pattern of the lines?
2. As before, but they turn left or right at each punctuation mark.
The many turns will give ss insight into the character’s state of mind and intensity of feeling. If
space is an issue, I ask 2 or 3 students to draw lines on the board turning right or left. Make sure
they all start in the same direction and then compare results.
3. As before, but they turn 90 degrees at the end of each unit of speech that makes the most
sense to them.
Different students can (and will) prefer smaller or larger units, and all will be correct.
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If the text being studied is from Shakespeare, we could also ask the students to read around the
circle again, but this time, tell them to read it line by line, forcing the iambic pentameter rhythm.
Discuss: Where was the meter off? Why would this be so?
CHARACTERISATION
As I stated earlier, a study of Literature implies analyzing the life and human nature of the
characters being studied. By asking students to step into the shoes of these people, they are
forced to examine the personality traits which compel them to behave in particular ways. We
start by keeping the characters within the environment of their textual reality. Student will
reenact episodes/scenes but will need to keep 4 questions in mind:
1. Who am I? (usually factual answer, identifying character)
2. What am I saying?
(brief statement of meaning)
3. Why am I saying it
(ss should be encouraged to speculate freely about motivation, feelings
and thoughts)
Because I want ….
Because I think ….
Because I feel ….
Because this is what I am like ….
4. How do I say it?
(style, tone, emphases, speed, pauses, gestures, movements, facial
expressions.
Remember the 5 Ms: meaning, mind, mood, motivation and method
The role playing will be straight, keeping character within familiar territory, following the script.
Students need to decide how to play role and which aspects will be highlighted.
Eg Eddie Carbone, (A View from the Bridge): hardworking, blue collar, friendly, stubborn, ‘loving’,
intense….
Mr Rochester, (Jane Eyre): stubborn, loving, scheming, short fused, caring, socially aware…
Hamlet: ultimate procrastinator, brave, depressed, disillusioned, harsh, hesitant, cruel, mad,
sarcastic…
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Alfred J Prufrock, (The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock): procrastinator, timid, deprived, socially
inept, frustrated with own inability to connect with people, …..
We can the progress to a cross genre activity, one which my students always find enjoyable and
is very effective as a revision tool. The idea is to place such characters in a completely new
situation and see how they respond. We could have Mr Rochester,( Jane Eyre), in a job interview
to work as a librarian; Lady Macbeth applying for job as social worker; Hamlet making scrambled
eggs; Juliet shopping at SupaSave; Alfred J Prufrock giving a press conference, and so on.
We can then mix them in other environments, Macbeth, Eddie Carbone & Mr. Brocklehurst
watching a football match; Jane Eyre, Ophelia & Ruth, (The Homecoming), having coffee &
biscuits at Coffee Zone, etc.
The students must stay in character at all times. They will need to keep in mind the personality
traits from the previous activity.
As always, a thorough feedback session is necessary, where students discuss any issues arising
from the activities.
DRAMATIC EFFECT
Many dramatic effects are language and/or visually based. Ss need to understand that speeches
are made up of thoughts, each making a unit of sense on its own. This can apply to long
speeches in Shakespeare or short phrases in Pinter, (although for the latter other techniques are
also used, especially pauses). Likewise, how we visualize a scene can also determine what mood
is created.
It then follows that by simply asking someone to reenact an episode from a text we are asking
them to think about how they perceive the creation of dramatic effects.
Ask students to act the opening scene to Hamlet. We can then ask the following questions,
• What will be the first thing the audience sees?
• Is Francisco on sentry duty, patrolling the stage, before the first members of the
audience enter?
• How long a pause before Barnardo speaks his first words?
• Why does Barnardo, the newcomer, challenge Francisco, contrary to military
practice? (Francisco should challenge him.)
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• How might you convince the audience that the night is bitterly cold?
• What accent or speech-style does each character use?
• In Shakespeare's time, the play would have been staged in broad daylight. Which
words or phrases help create the impression of night and darkness?
• What do the very short sentences suggest about the atmosphere?
By analysing closely a simple activity students are forced to explore their interpretation of the
text in great detail.
We can follow this up by telling the class how in different versions the opening sequence from
Hamlet has been shown as
•
battle scenes between Denmark and Norway, and Hamlet's father wounded
•
Hamlet's funeral procession
•
flags unfurling on the walls of Elsinore castle to signify old King Hamlet's death
•
a chef peeping around a curtain to see if the next course can be served at an Elsinore
banquet (to signify the theme of spying)
•
Queen Gertrude weeping over the tomb of King Hamlet.
Ask students to create a tableau for each. Which works better for them? Which has the major
dramatic impact?
Lines can have an intense high charge of dramatic potential because every character on stage
has a particular interest in them. They need to respond to them, even if the response is quiet or
meant to conceal the true feelings.
In Macbeth, after Duncan has been found murdered, Macbeth tells that he has killed the two
bodyguards. Macduff asks, “Wherefore did you so?” This is an electric moment. How does
Macduff speak?

Words full of suspicion?

Do they arouse suspicion in others?

Do the other thanes look at Macbeth?

How do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth respond?

Does Macbeth somehow express guilt?
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
[Learning Literature]
Does Lady Macbeth look terrified that her plot is about to be uncovered, or is she
composed?
We could just discuss possible answers or we can be inventive. Ask students to act the scene.
We can then interview each character asking them to explain their behaviour, especially the
minor roles. Often, we tend to concentrate our responses only on the main protagonists,
forgetting that everybody in our visual plane contributes to the drama.
This activity does not limit itself to one genre. I asked my class to act this excerpt from T S Eliot’s
poem The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock. What to some appears as an incomprehensible,
modernistic, meandering monologue, proved to be a source of great creativity for our class.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—
*They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”+
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
*They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”+
Do I dare disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
The follow up activity once again is the most productive part of the exercise. Students need to
look closely at what state of mind Eliot is conveying in the imagery and behaviour not only of
Prufrock, but of the women and others.
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TABLEAUX
I have already mentioned tableaux in passing. However, given the major role they can play in our
classrooms it is worth devoting a small discussion to them. They can be a very powerful tool, yet
simple to organise and present. We can use them to summarise a scene, poem, or story. The
narrower the scope the more students need to focus on the immediate issues. By taking a key
moment from the text and having the student freezing it visually, we can get the rest of the class
move around the freezed frame and question the characters about what is happening, why and
how they are feeling at that moment. Such physical activities can imprint language and story
firmly in mind.
Conversely, we can ask groups of students to summarise a longer passage by choosing key
moments/dialogue and create a succession of images. Choices can then be investigated: why
were those moments chosen? How is the mood created?
How is power/importance
represented? How do characters relate to each other? Etc.
IN CONCLUSION
What I am hoping comes across this article is how simple it is to conduct activities in our
Literature classrooms which will enhance our teaching and develop awareness and analytical
skills for our students. Such activities can be immediate and not particularly time consuming,
enabling the class to experience a more personal approach to the text. They can be applied to all
genres and easily adapted to the situation. I hope you will find them useful.
Learn more about the use of drama in the classroom. Here’s some feedback from teachers
who joined the Drama Activities Workshop held in the KB Education Centre on 6 July 2011.
"Fun with opportunities to be creative. Lots of laughter. Practical teachniques…Lots to try - I
can't wait. Been grumpy all week! This should help to repair some damage!...Good to learn
some new ways of effective learning away from the pen and paper. Think it would be great if we
could do some team teaching...Interesting hand's on workshop! I love using drama even if it is
just for setting a positive tone or for drawing quiet students out of their shell...Definitely some
great new ideas - not sure what I will be using yet - but will be using plenty...Very practical...to
get students learning language in the classroom... Practical, fun, interactive activities for all
levels...very uplifting...Thank you!...A wonderful refresher to use Drama in the English classroom
and not only in the CCA...An energising session. Full of practical and rich activities. Will use the
punctuation actions tomorrow..."
COMING SOON TO AN EDUCATION CENTRE NEAR YOU…
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FAVOURITE OPENING LINE OF A NOVEL
This certainly proved to be a popular initiative! Entries varied from the sublime to the more
obscure, leaving us wondering if the remainder of the novel could possibly live up to the high
standard set by the opening line. Some openings have become rather popular, (1); one was so
bad that a special prize was set up to recognise the worst examples of similar styles of writing,
(2); and at least one went on to help its writer become a Nobel laureate, (30). By the way, the
most popular entry was 18.
Do you consider yourself to be well read? Do you know your Charles Dickens from your Emily
Dickinson? Well, here is your opportunity to confirm such literary estimations! Give yourself a
pat on the back if you can pick the title. If you can also name the writer give yourself ten out of
ten and a koala stamp, (as they say down under), and an automatic entry to that much aspiredto classification of a true book worm!!
Thank you to all who contributed!
Here goes. You can check your answers at page 69
1.
Once upon a time...
2.
It was a dark and stormy night.
3.
I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The equator runs across these highlands, a
hundred miles to the North, and the farm lay at an altitude of over six thousand feet. In the daytime you felt that you had got high up, near to the sun, but the early mornings and evenings
were limpid and restful, and the nights were cold.
4.
It was love at first sight.
5.
It was the day my grandmother exploded.
6.
When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had 2 things
on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.
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7.
[Learning Literature]
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must
be in want of a wife.
8.
The moment one learns English, the complications set in.
9.
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
10. Last night I dreamt I went to Mandalay again.
11. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
12. My name is Odd Thomas, through the years in this age when fame is the altar at which most
people worship, I am not sure why you should care who I am or that I exist.
13. First the colours. Then the humans. That’s usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try.
14. I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.
15. There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.
16. The morning express bloated with passengers slowed to a crawl, then lurched forward suddenly,
as though to resume full speed. The train's brief deception jolted its riders. The bulge of humans
hanging out of the doorway distended perilously, like a soap bubble at its limit.
17. All this happened, more or less.
18. I wish either my father or my mother, or indeed both of them, as they were in duty both equally
bound to it, had minded what they were about when they begot me.
19. The 'Nellie', a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of sails, and was at rest.
20. My name is Howard W. Campbell, Jr. I am an American by birth, a Nazi by reputation, and a
nationless person by inclination.
21. This is the MALE EDITION of the Dictionary. The FEMALE edition is almost identical. But NOT
quite. Be warned that ONE paragraph is crucially different. The choice is yours.
22. I have been accused of being anal retentive, an over-achiever and a compulsive perfectionist like
those are bad things.
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23. There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and
rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it.
24. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be
in want of a wife.
25. Marley was dead, to begin with.
26. When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is
something seriously wrong somewhere.
27. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
28. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
29. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that
distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
30. Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I've come to learn, is women.
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SHAKEASPEREAN QUOTES
This section didn’t attract as many contributions as the opening lines to novels. Too cerebral
perhaps? Some of the quotes are very well known, (1,10,12); one, whilst not strictly a quote, is
deserving of inclusion in this pantheon, (13); one sounds like a personal confession…(2) and
one is obviously a contribution from someone pining for the green, green grass of home, (11).
Thank you to all who contributed!
Start guessing!
Answers on Page 70
1. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears: I’ve come to bury Caesar, not to praise
him.....
2. All lovers swear more performance than they are able.
3. "The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils."
4. I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
5. Who is it that can tell me who I am?
6. I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing.
7. Defy the foul fiend.
8. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
9. "This above all: to thine own self be true,
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and it must follow, as the night the day,
thou cans't not be false to any man"
10. ...when I was at home, I was in a better place:
but travellers must be content.
11. What’s in a name? That which we call a rose,
By any other name would smell as sweet."
12. Exit pursued by a bear
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POLITICS IN HENRY IV PART 1
A perusal of past thematic questions on
Shakespeare’s Henry IV part 1 reveals, not
surprisingly, a correspondence between the
examination questions and the conventional
concerns claimed to be the most prevalent in the
play. Questions referring to ‘honour and valour’
direct the student to consider an idealisation of
human behaviour somehow present in the person
of a leader, while the question of how the
‘education of a future king’ is achieved assumes the
presence of an established progression towards
leadership where certain obstacles are necessarily
encountered and overcome. ‘Father/son’ questions
invoke comparisons with the archetype of the
prodigal son but also interestingly imply an affinity
between the realms of state and family. Yet even
more directly concerned with history – and with
politics – are the ‘state of England’ questions. Such
questions are potentially beguiling to the student as
they permit a discussion of the play as dramatised history as well as political propaganda, for
Shakespeare’s audience would have been just as concerned with the state of their England - with
its ageing monarch, religious conflict and north-south division - as in the reading of history being
offered on stage. Hence, to complement the abovementioned thematic perspectives of the play
and to provide students with further scope to challenge critically these characteristic viewpoints,
it becomes helpful to consider the play in political terms, both in regard to its interpretation of
political history as well as its prescription for post-Tudor political leadership in England.
Part of the tension in Henry IV Part 1 emerges from two contending political forces: the old
feudal order presuming the divine sanction of a monarch’s rule, and a more modern order
marked by an increased imperative for a greater social and national consensus in the
establishment of legitimate government. For Henry, the moral guilt he feels at the play’s outset
is the result of political decisions he has made that are the cause of England’s instability. In
other words, how Henry became King provides him with his current quandary of how to
establish and maintain effective rule. However, it is not Henry but his apparently wayward son,
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Hal, who is presented by Shakespeare as the forger of a new political legitimacy that is
dependent more on popular support than on the notion of divine sanction.
Although the Prince’s emergence as a political leader is the driving force of the play’s plot, the
central event which gives rise to the conflict between the King’s Lancastrian branch of the
Plantagenet dynasty on the one hand, and the Percy and Mortimer strands on the other, is
Henry’s usurpation of Richard II. Henry’s tetchiness with this topic is revealed early in the play
following Worcester’s back-handed compliment to the King concerning “that same greatness too
which our own hands / Have holp to make so portly” (I, iii 10-13). Henry’s testy response - “…get
thee gone, for I do see / Danger and disobedience in thine eye” (I, iii 15-16) seems authoritative
but belies his essential insecurity. This same personal moral morass almost had Henry commit
to a crusade at the play’s beginning in order to expedite his penance for his political sin against a
political order that hitherto been regarded as divinely sanctioned. Later in this same scene
Henry Percy uses his somewhat hackneyed and overblown metaphors to refer to the usurpation
which “put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose, / And plant*ed+ this thorn, this canker,
Bolingbroke” (I, iii 175-76).
The irony that the play’s main political event falls outside of the play’s action is underscored by
Shakespeare’s clear regard for the significance of the usurpation as the source of conflict
between the characters. As the play nears is climax, the Battle of Shrewsbury, Shakespeare
twice in quick succession - Hotspur to Blount (IV, iii 52-105) and then Worcester to Henry (V, i
30-71) - relates to the audience the history of the usurpation as well as Henry’s history of
ingratitude and broken oaths to the Percies. Moreover, in what is regarded as one of the play’s
finest scenes, the play-within-the-play in Act II scene iv, Falstaff’s cheeky and potential
dangerous rejoinder of “Depose me?” to Hal’s suggestion that they change roles in their playacting emphasises the serious undertone which belies the comedic façade of this and all the
Eastcheap scenes; that is, that the political and social landscapes of England have been
irrevocably altered as a result of Henry’s usurpation of his predecessor, Richard II.
Shakespeare’s characterisation of Henry draws attention to a ruler who more befits a
contemporary politician than a dynast secure in the knowledge that he was born to rule.
Hotspur describes him contrarily in Act I, iii as “subtle”, “vile politician”, “king of smiles” and
possibly worst of all, a “proud king, who studies”, the implication being that Henry is devious,
untrustworthy and unworthy as he needs to work at being a leader as he has no right to
presume the kingship as his own. Hotspur’s faint praise of the King during negotiations with
Blount further attenuates any claim by Henry to authority over all his subjects: “The king is kind;
and well we know the king / Knows at what time to promise, when to pay” (IV, iii 52-3).
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Such an unflattering depiction of the King is, however, established through indirect
characterisation from his rival, and any attempt by the audience to consider Henry more
generally necessitates a broader consideration of his qualities. That he is devious is reflected by
his astute yet under-handed battlefield strategy of deploying “Hydra-head” (V, iv 24) tactics in
having “many marching in … *the King’s+ coats” (V, iii 25). That Henry is fundamentally
motivated by a sense of guilt and political necessity is evident in both the procrastination and
prevarication of his half-hearted commitment to a crusade whose “purpose now is twelve
month old” (I, i 28). As for choosing between the political necessity of bringing Hotspur to heel
in regard to the issue of the latter’s prisoners, or the penance the King feels he needs to pay for
his deposition of Richard II, it is the latter which Henry chooses to “Brake off”(I, i 48) as a cause
“we must neglect” (I, i 100). Henry, clearly to us if not to himself, is a political creature first and
foremost, and Shakespeare characterisation of him suggests the necessity of possessing an
expedient will to survive and thrive in contemporary times. Rarely intimate with others, let
alone the audience, Henry does on one occasion speak revealingly to his son, Hal, in a manner
that implies ironic self-identification with the rebel, Hotspur: “For all the world / As thou art to
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this hour was Richard then / When I from France set foot at Ravenspurgh, / And even as I was
then is Percy now” (III, ii 93-96).
Shakespeare’s implication to us, then, is that the political stage of England has changed, and that
Henry – reluctantly – and Hotspur – unknowingly – are actors on this stage, with each out to
better the other. Henry has undermined the old order but craves the divine sanction of its
monarchs, and resorts to employing modern Machiavellian political tactics to retain power. On
the other hand, the Percies have similarly served to undermine the old order but now desire a
return to that order based ostensibly on an honour code but in reality on what is simply a better
deal for themselves. The political quandary with which the play deals then is this: having
usurped the sanctioned monarch, what then becomes the basis for legitimacy for Henry & his
heirs and/or successors?
A possible answer to this last question is constituted in the character of the King’s son, Prince
Henry, or affectionately Hal to his Eastcheap acquaintances. Through him, over the course of
this play and its chronological successors, Henry IV Part 2 and King Henry V, Shakespeare
dramatises not just English history but possibly also a contemporary political desire for i) a
movement from a feudal to national political order, ii) a political legitimacy based not just on
birthright but also consensus, and iii) a consensus drawn from commoners as well as the
nobility.
With this political perspective on the play, it becomes imperative to view the Eastcheap and
Gad’s Hill episodes as more than just comic relief from the main action but rather a discourse on
that action. The Gad’s Hill episode is an allegory of the deposition itself: the ‘Crowns’ are stolen
by thieves (Falstaff – who later plays the King) who are themselves robbed by ‘pretend’ thieves
(Hal and Poins). The analogy drawn by Shakespeare here implies that Henry was a thief, and the
Percies are little different. But the Gad’s Hill episode is more than just allegorical in value; it
lends dramatic unity to the play and demands that a broader social perspective be considered
regarding the issue of what constitutes political legitimacy in England. The implication is that
any new political legitimacy requires consideration for social class beyond the level of the
nobility. The Prince, who ultimately prevails in this changing political scenery, declares his
intention to “command all the good lads in Eastcheap” (II, iv 13-14). In doing so, Hal here
demonstrates the perception and cunning which would possibly be the envy of his father if he
were not quite so engrossed with his own guilt over the usurpation and murder of Richard II.
The Prince’s comparatively egalitarian affinity with the commoners is his distinguishing feature
in the play. His ability to straddle social class leads to disdain from his rival, Hotspur, who refers
disparagingly to Hal as “that same sword-and-buckler Prince of Wales”, the connotation here
being that Hal’s dress sense implies the lack of social distinction required of a noble. Indeed,
Hotspur’s own sense of privileged social position could be inferred through the double meaning
evident when describing his enterprise a “noble plot” (I, iii). Moreover, the Prince, unlike other
characters, is adaptable in using language: he has not only learnt to “drink with any tinker in his
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own language” (II, iv 18) but shows that he is also mindful of language register when instructing
Falstaff about the right way to speak at court: “Dost thou speak like a king? Do thou stand for
me, and I’ll play my father” (II, iv 425-6). Hal’s aptitude for knowing how to speak in various
circumstances is augmented by being able to distinguish – unlike Falstaff – when it is appropriate
to speak and when it is required to act. His rebuke to his friend on the battlefield is succinct and
effective: “What, is it a time to jest and dally now?” (V, iii 56).
In establishing political consensus based on more than just birthright requires ability with
language, and the Prince’s political rival in the play, Hotspur, compares poorly in this regard. Of
himself, he says he has: “not the gift of tongue” (V, ii), “cannot flatter” (IV, i) and is scornful of
“holiday and lady terms” (I, iii). Worcester also highlights Hotspur’s pragmatic difficulty with
conversation, stating that he “apprehends a world of figures here / but not the form of what he
should attend” (I, iii 208-9). Hotspur betrays his narrow class allegiance through an aristocratic
scorn of middle-class vernacular, demonstrated when rebuking his wife: “you swear like a
comfitmaker’s wife … Swear me, Kate, like a lady as thou art (and not like) Sunday citizens” (III, I
244-52). Worse still, perhaps, for a potential crown whose subjects are not just the English, he
reveals impatience with the Welshman Glendower, an important ally, whose talk he describes as
“skimble skamble stuff” (III, I 150), as well as being flagrantly insensitive to the Welsh: “Now I
perceive the devil understands Welsh, / An ‘tis no marvel he is so humorous” (III, I 226-27).
Hotspur clearly talks and behaves as if power over his subjects – women and Welshmen - were a
natural prerogative rather than an entrusted responsibility.
Other representational features of Shakespeare’s play, namely the military images of horse and
infantry (equivalent respectively to nobility and commoner), are used through to imbue the
drama with social depth and contrast, and as with language use it is the Prince whose is most
comfortable in both of these social strata. Hal values the common soldier, describing Petro’s
infantry role as “honourable” (II, iv 531), but he is also revealed by an admiring Vernon as a
master horseman: “I saw young Harry … turn and wind a fiery Pegasus / And witch the world
with noble horsemanship” (IV, I 103-9). However, audiences in Shakespeare’s day as well as in
ours might fight greatest resonance not in Hal’s merits as a rider or political leader but rather in
another factor which many would regard as constant as conflict itself – the manipulation of the
commons by their rulers. Falstaff, whose corporeal bearing is symbolic of a common humanity,
cynically implies such a sentiment in reference to his rag-tag foot soldiers being “…food for
powder. They’ll fill a pit as well as better.” (IV, ii 65). Though Falstaff’s “charge of foot” is
decimated, it is the infantry that prevails at Shrewsbury, not the cavalry of the nobles, marking a
shift in the respective political influence of the nobility and common classes.
Despite social differences, common humanity suffers similarly in conflict, indicated through the
parallelism used to compare Falstaff’s ragamuffins as “food for powder”, and Hotspur food “For
worms” (V, iv 85-6). The latter’s death represents the play’s climax, dramatised in the tableau of
the Prince standing triumphant over the bodies of both Percy and Falstaff, eulogising both in
turn. In Hal’s victory, a new political nationalism is forged, drawing from feudal nobility and the
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support of a new and increasingly literate, knowledgeable and mercantile class. However, it is
worth remembering that Falstaff’s death is not permanent. To what must be the exultation of
the audience, he rises once more (in another sense, he never goes away), and for good measure
stabs Hotspur’s corpse. His is, undoubtedly, the victory and the limelight.
For Shakespeare’s audience, this dramatic experience is perhaps less of a history lesson
concerning the succession of dynasties from the Plantagenets to the Lancasters than it is an
articulation of social voice and political will. That the English parliament saw fit to execute the
English monarch some 50 years later reminds us terribly this voice is not always listened to, nor
is the will necessarily considered.
References:
Berkeley, D. & Eidson, D. (1968). The Theme of Henry IV, Part 1. In Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol.
19(1), pp. 25-31. Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington
University(http://www.jstor.org/stable/2867838 accessed 17/04/2011)
Fehrenbach, R.R. (1979). The Characterization of the King in 1 Henry IV. In Shakespeare
Quarterly, Vol. 30(1), pp.42-50. Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George
Washington University(http://www.jstor.org/stable/2869660 accessed 17/04/2011)
Kastan, D.S. (ed.) (2002). King Henry IV Part 1. Arden Shakespeare: London
McGuire, R.L. (1967). The Play-within-the Play in 1 Henry IV. In Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol.
18(1), pp. 47-52. Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington
University(http://www.jstor.org/stable/2868062 accessed 17/04/2011)
Stone, W.B. (1972). Literature and Class Ideology: Henry IV, Part One. In College English, Vol.
33(8), pp.891-900. National Council of Teachers of English (http://www.jstor.org/stable/374929
accessed 17/04/2011)
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STUDENT LITERATURE ESSAYS
On the following pages is a collection of essays written by students from Maktabs Sains who are
currently preparing for their ‘O’ & ‘AS’ level literature exams. The essays were written in
response to assignments and tests questions, and most are quite good - but not perfect - yet
still manage to place across the higher band levels of the respective Cambridge mark schemes
for ‘O’ & ‘AS’ level literature.
As you will notice, many of the essays feature the infelicities in style and expression common to
many student essays, yet it is worth bearing in mind the significance of the achievement of these
students in producing work of such calibre within a year or two of commencing their study of
English literature. Moreover, thanks to the generosity of these students in permitting their
essays to be published and shared amongst other teachers and students of English literature in
other schools, we now have a valuable resource that could be used in several ways to augment
the teaching and learning in this subject in Brunei.
Clearly, many of the essays refer to texts which several of us are teaching or may be planning to
teach – the poetry of Thomas Hardy, King Henry IV, Part 1, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s novel Nervous
Conditions, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and selections of poems and short stories
prescribed for ‘O’-level from the Cambridge anthologies. The essays on these texts may serve
as models for teaching purposes, or at the least might help to consolidate students’ knowledge
in the revision period leading to Qualifying and End-of-Year examinations. Language awareness
tasks could also be devised from these essays, particularly in regard to cohesion and coherence,
but also to specific technical challenges in writing about literature, such as the incorporation of
quotes and technical jargon in the discussion of texts.
Beyond utility in the classroom, these essays may also help our teaching practice, especially in
how we apply the CIE marking criteria in our assessment of student writing. Two teachers have
already taken the time to comment insightfully on the merits of some of the essays, namely Joy
Hooi Narimas at SM Sayyidina Ali, and Jenny White at SM Perdana Wazir. Moderating
experience can provide guidance for our classroom practice, so in the absence of any provision
of examination board moderating opportunities perhaps it is incumbent on the few teachers of
literature present here in Brunei to follow the lead of Joy and Jenny by sharing evaluations of
students’ literature essays.
However you may use these essays, please do so with recognition of their writers. The freshness
of their insightful responses to literature about deserves reward and acknowledgement.
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Explore how Shakespeare presents Beatrice as an admirable hero in the play.
Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a play ultimately centered around deception and
what we perceive. Though the play begins with an almost comical and lighthearted deceit, it
then progresses to a more tragic and darker deception that stem from jealousy and malicious
intent. Beatrice is one of the characters in the story who is victim to one of the many deceits in
the play. Shakespeare makes Beatrice an admirable hero in the eyes of the audience through his
use of character foils, puns and extended metaphors.
One of the key elements in the play is the patriarchal society of male honor and women’s purity
as means of her value and their expectations in regard to behavior. It is therefore both intriguing
and shocking for the audience to discover that Beatrice had no intention whatsoever to bow
down to those gender expectations. From the very first scene, Beatrice is shown as outspoken,
calling Benedick, ‘Signor Mountanto’ or someone who is huge. She outwardly insults him by
calling him materialistic and is subject to the whims of trendy fashion by saying that Benedick
‘wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat, it ever changes with the next block.’ The
messenger, who falls victim to Beatrice’s sharp tongue, is evidently flummoxed. It is obvious
here that the messenger had not expected Beatrice, a woman, to have such wit. This reinforces
the idea that Beatrice defies all gender expectations of the patriarchal society, making her a
unique and therefore admirable hero in the eyes of the audience.
To further strengthen Beatrice’s differences to other women in the play, Shakespeare makes use
of Hero, a character foil who is the exact opposite of the bold and witty Beatrice. The first scene
shows Beatrice as being bold and intelligent. Her many lines throughout the scene implied she
had much to say and was very talkative, almost to the point where we have forgotten that there
is another woman in the scene, Hero who had only one line throughout. Already from the very
beginning we see that Beatrice is unlike any other woman. While Hero submits to the men in her
life – from being wooed and won by Don Pedro and then passed on to Claudio- Beatrice defies
them, even contemplating killing Claudio to avenge her cousin ‘if *she+ were a man.’ Through
this, Shakespeare again establishes Beatrice as being different to Hero, a woman who obeys the
social expectations. It is therefore ironic that Hero should be the one wrongfully accused. This
reinforces the idea that Beatrice is an admirable character not only in the play but to the
patriarchal society.
In the Elizabethan era, wit was a common foundation in conversations. Beatrice makes use of
puns and extended metaphors to show such wit. She replies to the guffawed messenger when
he says Benedick is a ‘good soldier, lady’ that ‘he is a good soldier to a lady but what is he to a
lord?’ Showing her quick wit and her ability to answer in an intelligent way. This strengthens the
idea that Beatrice is both witty and intelligent and again, an admirable character.
Shakespeare makes use of character foil, puns and extended metaphor which aid in conveying
the idea that Beatrice is witty, intelligent, defiant of gender expectations and is therefore
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different than any other women, and thus makes her an admirable character not only in the play
but the Elizabethan era in general.
Written by Nur Afiqah Binti Arifin
Year 10
Maktab Sains PSBS
How does Shakespeare make this scene ironic? (Act 4, scene 1)
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a ‘tragicomedy’ written by William Shakespeare. A play written in
the Elizabethan era, it follows the lives of two pairs of lovers; on tricked into confessing their
love for each other, by means of deception and one a sweet young couple, which is later broken,
also by means of deception. However, towards the end, a constable who is a master of
malapropisms saves the day by uncovering the evil trickery of the villain. The play is written in
prose and blank verse and features several language features that enhances the play’s plot, like
metaphors, song and alliteration, to name a few. Being the scene where Claudio rejects Hero at
the altar, it is ironic because things, that are not expected to happen, do happen.
One of the ways in which this scene is ironic, is in the way Friar Francis comes up with a plan to
help Hero, and it is Beatrice that acts manly and insists on full-frontal, physical revenge on
Claudio. As Leonato declares his disgust for his daughter, the Friar, a man, steps in and states
that he has been observing Hero and ‘*saw+ her begin to blush. . . only to watch those blushes
disappear. . . and an innocent paleness take over her face.’ This suggests that he didn’t believe
the accusations made by Claudio and suggests a plan; to pretend that Hero is indeed dead and
for Leonato to ‘maintain a mourning ostentation’. The expected outcome of his plan is for
Claudio to ‘change slander to remorse’ and for Hero to ‘be lamented, pitied and excused of
every hearer’ of the morbid accusations Made by Claudio. On the other hand, Beatrice, a quite
courageous woman, asks her lover, Benedick, to kill Claudio. She persuades Benedick to do so by
making remarks of how Benedick doesn’t love her enough and a lovesick Benedick ends up
succumbing to the request made by Beatrice to ‘fight *her+ enemy’. This just goes to show that
the gender of a person doesn’t determine how he or she will react to a situation.
Friar Francis’ way of solving the deception made by Claudio concerning Hero’s chastity with
another deception is another thing that makes this scene very ironic. Prior to the scene, Claudio
hears and sees Hero talking to a man at her window and how the man confessed that he has
come to her bedroom ‘a thousand times in secret’. Little does he know that the man is Borachio
and the woman that he saw was not Hero, but her lady-in-waiting, Margaret. This was a
deception planned by Don John to ruin Claudio and Hero’s happiness as a married couple. As
Claudio rejects Hero as a result, the Friar suggests that Leonato pretends that Hero is indeed
dead and for him to ‘maintain a mourning ostentation’. The outcome of this deceptive plan is for
Claudio to feel remorse over her, to see whether he indeed loves her or not, as well as to gain
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the pity of the villagers. Out of deception comes many problems, but the fact that it can also be
the solution to the very problem caused by it cannot be denied.
Another way in which Shakespeare makes this scene a very ironic scene is in the way Leonato
quickly believes what is said by Claudio, rather than what his daughter says. Leonato swears his
disgust for Hero, as she ‘*has+ fall’n into a pit of ink, that the wide sea hath drops too few to
wash her clean again and salt too little which may season to her foul tainted flesh’. This shows
how Leonato values his reputation more as he wishes that fate does ‘take not away thy heavy
hand’ as ‘death is the fairest cover for her shame’. A women’s reputation is always equivalent to
a family’s honour, but even though the woman has ruined the family’s reputation, it still an
unwise thing to treat her in the way Leonato has.
How a man reacts like a woman while a woman reacts like a man, the use of deception to solve
deception and a father valuing his reputation more than his daughter, among many others, are
several ways in which Shakespeare makes this scene ironic.
Written by Amirah Fikriyah Binti Haji Yakob
Year 10
Maktab Sains PSBS
With close reference to language and action, discuss the characterisation of Hotspur
in this scene (Act 1, scene 3, 187-236).
This scene focuses more on Hotspur's interaction with the people around him. This scene shows
the start of Hotspur's oncoming rebellion towards King Henry IV. Here, we can explore Hotspur's
character through his usage of language and his actions. Due to the ultimatum given by the King
to Hotspur, it led to Hotspur's little 'tantrum' where he harshly mocked the King in order to show
his rage. In this scene too, there is an indirect characterisation of Hotspur by Worcester and
Northumberland.
In one of the televised version of Henry IV Part I, Hotspur was portrayed as a valiant but hottempered young soldier who fought to death in the name of honour and dignity. In this play,
Hotspur's physical demeanour may have supported his character as a whole. His fiery red and
untamed hair perhaps shows his tenacity or his hot-headedness.
Hotspur's words were harsh, said in streams of heated irritation and in accusation. He kept on
cutting his uncle's sentences to show how he despises the King. Hotspur is an aggressive
character. He is a man who took honour as his main priority. This is evident when he strongly
defended Mortimer by saying that he would talk just about Mortimer to spite the King, 'to keep
his (King) anger still in motion'. In this speech of his, Hotspur emphasises Mortimer's name by
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saying them several times. This is an act of self-satisfying rebellion by doing the opposite of what
the King had commanded him. By his words, Hotspur was provoking the absent King; a sign of
rebellion. His bottled up irritation; his 'quick-conceiving discontent' towards Henry IV or as he
disrespectfully called him 'Bolingbroke', was directed towards thin air.
In line 8-12, Hotspur's opening line, 'if he fall in, good night! Or sink or swim ..’ shows how he
had started acting indifferently towards his king. Hotspur knows of the danger and
consequences if he forgoes his rebellion but in his mind, his act of revolution is honourable. This
shows how extravagantly committed Hotspur is in abiding the code of honour amongst the
noble. He believed that what he was doing is right.
Hotspur is a stubborn man who is too quick to conclude a situation. In line 29-30, he stated he'll
keep all his prisoners and 'by God', the King 'shall not have a Scot of them'. Here again, Hotspur's
impatient trait is exposed as he cut Worcester's speech. Hotspur seems to be a man who always
acts alone as his lack of communication skills shows how he only thinks of his actions with no
further discussion with his allies. In short, Hotspur is a selfish and impatient man. One such
example is when Worcester chastised Hotspur when he 'lends no ear unto (his) purposes'.
Worcester had also exasperated when he asked Hotspur to 'give (him) audience for a while' only
to be crossed soon after by his nephew.
Hotspur also openly mocked the king and his son addressing them as 'Bolingbroke', the king's
name and 'sword-and-buckler Prince of Wales' respectively. Hotspur's hot-headedness is shown
when Worcester said he will talk to Hotspur again 'when (he is) better temper'd to attend'.
'Why, what a wasp-stung and impatient fool/Art thou ... ' Northumberland had said. This
statement again tells us about Hotspur's inability to stay calm and to carefully listen before
placing a judgement. His father associated his temper with a 'woman's mood' where it implies
that Hotspur jump to conclusion with irrationality immediately. Concluding all, Hotspur’s
character is clearly conveyed through his words and actions. He reacts strongly towards
everything and is easily influenced by emotions.
Written by Nurul Fatin Afiqah binti Hj Hasnan
PU1
Maktab Sains PSBS
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SHAKESPEARE DAY
The idea for a Bruneian Shakespeare Day originated in May 2009. I originally envisaged a larger
celebration of Shakespeare, one which would have encompassed a larger audience not
necessarily related to the educational population. This was to include evening talks, stage
performances, debates, etc. The day for schools was to be only a part of a series of events.
However, for once I was sensible enough to limit my immediate plans on focussing on the school
aspect.
Studies in English Literature seemed to be on the increase in Government schools, with courses
being introduced at both 6 form level and secondary. To encourage and promote further studies
in this field, as well as assisting existing students preparing for ‘O’, AS and A level exams, I
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planned a school based occasion in which there would be scope for academic presentations and
perhaps some live short performances by the various participating schools.
The original plan encompassed two days. One day was to be devoted to younger students, with
a variety of practical, fun activities focussing on raising the comfort level with Shakespearean
issues. As these students would not yet be facing a formal exam, there would be no pressure to
devote their attention to specific texts. On the other hand, a variety of workshops were planned
for the older students to serve as revision for their forthcoming examinations.
The formal objectives included the following:
1. To assist students studying Shakespeare as part of their English Literature course.
2. To raise awareness of the importance and relevance of English Literature studies.
3. To enable students to meet fellow students undertaking similar courses in other
Bruneian schools.
4. To expose students to other points of views regarding Shakespearean studies.
5. To provide opportunity for willing schools to perform parts of Shakespearean play being
studied.
6. To develop and encourage a positive attitude towards performing plays rather than just
‘studying’ them
My then Principal was enthusiastically supportive for the project. Any worthwhile, educational
activity which is initiated within the school, and which will promote the school’s name usually
gets the seal of approval. This was no exception. Budget? No problem! Venue? No problem!
Dates? As long as they don’t clash with existing commitments, no problem!
As we were in the second half of Term 2, we were limited in finding a suitable time to hold our
Shakespeare Day. June examinations, mocks, End of Year exams, sports day, etc. etc. were all
major, unmovable fixtures in our College calendar. The only suitable time we could find was at
the beginning of August, a relative peaceful lull in the otherwise busy rush to get complete the
usual fixtures before the advent of exams and Puasa.
The rush was then on to find a keynote speaker and workshop presenters. I had happened to
have recently met the newly appointed Australian High Commissioner to Brunei, Mr. Mark
Sawers. He told me that his wife was a professor in Shakespearean Studies at the University of
Perth. She was fanatically interested in the Bard and would have loved to be involved in our
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event if she happened to be in Brunei during the scheduled dates. The thought to have a
respected scholar as our first ever keynote speaker was extremely enticing. Letters and emails
were exchanged, but alas it was not to be: August was a particularly bad period and the
professor could not attend. The disappointment was palpable: it would have been impossible to
find another presenter of the same stature. However, the frustration was not to last, as we had
an even larger problem to deal with.
In June, July 2009 Brunei experienced an outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus. The Ministry of
Education banned school assemblies and any gathering of large numbers of students. In true
Shakespearean spirit, fate intervenes to quash pre made plans! Further plans for our
Shakespeare Day in 2009 were shelved.
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At the start of the following year, a new Principal was appointed at the College. Her attitude to
my event was to prove at least as enthusiastic as her predecessor’s. Her only reservation was to
the number of students attending. The College was undergoing some refurbishing, with a new
Science block being built. Parking became problematic, so the Principal was worried about the
effect on the school day of having an extra 250 students dropping by. It was decided that the
Day was to be held on a Friday and the cluster of 6th Form colleges would be invited. The
scheduled date was, by pure coincidence, Shakespeare’s alleged birthday, April 23. This time
there were no more obstacles to the day.
Shakespeare Day 2010
Brunei’s 1st Shakespeare Day was held at Maktab Duli College on April 23, 2010. More than 100
students participated. The key note address was presented by Mr. Stephen Denby, Head of
English & Literature Departments at Jerudong International School, who spoke entertainingly of
his love for the Bard and to the relevance that Shakespeare’s work still holds in our times.
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Students then proceeded to workshops covering the various texts studied in Brunei government
schools for AS and A level, Twelfth Night, Hamlet and The Tempest. The workshops were
repeated after refreshments, to enable students sitting for more than one examination the
opportunity to attend both sessions.
In the afternoon, the Maktab Duli Drama club staged a 40 minutes version of Twelfth Night.
Although the day proved very successful, with much positive feedback, there were some
disappointments. We had expected a larger number of participating students, but perhaps
holding it on a Friday restricted attendance. There were some last minute withdrawals of
workshop presenters, which necessitated frantic exchanges of text messages and emails to find
replacements. Finally, the only stage performance was by Maktab Duli students: a larger
participation would have provided more varied entertainment. Having said all this, we were all
pleased with the final outcome and proceedings of the day.
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[Learning Literature]
Shakespeare Day 2011
Following
the
success
of
our
first
Shakespeare Day, word spread quickly
within the educational circles in Brunei,
with many people expressing interest in
participating in similar future events. Mr
Mark Eckersley, Head of Drama Department
at
Jerudong
International
School,
approached me in late 2010 with a proposal
to co organise the 2011 Shakespeare Day as
a joint venture between his school and
Maktab Duli. Mark was hoping that the new Performing Arts building being constructed at JID
would be ready for April 2011, and that we could use such a fantastic venue for our day.
Furthermore, JIS had the resources necessary to expand the event, to include the participation
of a visiting professional Shakespearean actor to perform and run workshops for students.
My Principal was once again extremely positive and supportive, giving me the go ahead to work
with Mark in preparing the event.
Shakespeare Day was held at Jerudong International School on April 23, 2011. Unfortunately,
Mark’s hopes were dashed, with the Performing Arts building running behind scheduled. He
found an alternative venue within his school. However, as the new venue was much smaller than
the new building would have been, we had to limit, unfortunately, the number of attending
schools. Hence, only 6 form colleges were invited. Despite the limitations, more than 200
students participated. Instead of a key note speech, Mr Peter Mould, an experienced
Shakespearean actor and director, entertained students and staff with a presentation outlining
the life of William Shakespeare and of some of his major works. The workshops followed,
embracing a larger number of texts than for the previous year: Hamlet, Henry IV part 1, The
Tempest and Winter’s Tale. The day concluded with a very entertaining performance of Macbeth
by the Maktab Duli Drama club.
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[Learning Literature]
Once again, the day was extremely successful and educationally rewarding for all participants.
There was to be a follow up to the Shakespeare Day. As explained above, space restrictions
meant we couldn’t invite secondary schools to the event. This was a real shame, as one of the
original objectives for having the occasion was “To raise awareness of the importance and
relevance of English Literature studies.” This is meant to include all students, not only those
already studying Literature in 6 Form Colleges. Fortunately, our visiting professional Mr Peter
Mould agreed to stage a show at Maktab Duli on the Thursday afternoon following Shakespeare
Day. Invitations were sent to Government secondary schools, with a large number of students
and staff accepting the offer. They were entertained by Peter, who repeated the show he had
performed at JIS, and was then followed by a repeat performance of Macbeth by the Maktab
Duli Drama club.
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[Learning Literature]
The future
I was extremely pleased, (and surprised!), that within 3 weeks following Shakespeare Day 2011, I
was invited to a preliminary meeting at Jerudong International School to discuss plans for the
2012 day! It seems as if there is wide enthusiasm to expand the concept into the kind of
occasion I had originally planned. We are looking at hosting several events open to the general
public. We are enquiring into the practicality of inviting more performing guests from overseas.
We are exploring ways to encourage more student participation. And, we want to conduct
workshops on performing Shakespeare on stage. Ambitious? Perhaps. But I have no doubt that it
is all possible. Experience has shown that if we can gather even a small number of people who
accept enthusiastically the concept and objectives of holding such an event, we will succeed and
our literature students will reap the benefits. That should be reason enough to persevere with
the planning.
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[Worksheets]
How It Happened (O level) Notes
1. How It Happened Plot Summary
The story was written in 1918 and was probably set around that time. Story opens with narrator
indicating that he is relating a story that happened to him in the past. He indicates that some
details are clear while others are a bit blurry.
Narrator gets off at a country train station at half past eleven in the evening. His chauffeur
(driver) is waiting for him with the narrator’s new car. We get the feeling that the narrator is
quite well to do (he owns a car and has a chauffeur in early 20th century England).
He has to drive five miles (eight kilometres) home. The chauffeur warns that the gears in the
new car are different but the narrator insists that he wants to drive it anyway.
The first hint that something may happen comes in the line ‘...one often does foolish things, and
one has not always to pay the full price for them.’ They come to the top of a steep hill and there
is a problem with the new gears in the car. The narrator tries to step on the foot brake and pull
on the handbrake but neither one slows the car. They tear down the hill worrying what to do to
get around the corner at the bottom.
They just make the corner and try to get through the open gate to the narrator’s property. They
nearly make it but the steering wheel is not responsive and they crash into the pillar of the gate
and the narrator flies through the air. The narrator blacks out.
When he comes to he is still near the car. He sees a man standing beside him who he recognises
as Stanley, a man he had known at college and had really liked and respected. The narrator
comments that it was an awful crash and Stanley smiles ‘a gentle, wistful smile’.
The narrator watches a crowd of people gather round the smashed car and try to help Perkins,
the chauffeur. Perkins asks where his master is. The narrator answers ‘Here I am’, but no-one
seems to hear.
Stanley asks the narrator if there is any pain. The narrator replies that there is none. Stanley
makes the rather cryptic comment ‘There never is.’
Suddenly the author realises that Stanley had died of enteric (stomach disorder, terrible
diarrhoea) at Bloemfontein (a town in South Africa) during the Boer War (1899 – 1902).
Finally all is revealed. The narrator says to Stanley ‘Stanley, you are dead.’ To which Stanley
replies wistfully, ‘So are you.’
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[Worksheets]
2. Setting
The story is set in a rural part of England around 1918. The narrator has returned from London
by train to a rural train station and the accident happens on a country road just before midnight.
3. Characters
1. The narrator
2. Perkins - The chauffeur
3. Stanley – an old college friend of the narrator who died in the Boer War
4. Vocabulary
Word
Meaning
Word
Meaning
1. Chauffeur
driver
8. Tearing
going at a great speed
2. Notches
small slits or cuts
9. Close
shave
extremely close, a near thing
(especially for an accident or
other unfortunate event)
3. Gear (gate)
central position for
neutral
10.Bank
small earthen hill on the side
of a road
4. One in six
gradient (1 vertical
for
every
6
horizontal)
11.Pillar
post
5. Foot (of a hill)
the bottom
12.Lodge
a small building
6. Brow (of a hill)
the top or peak
13.Giddy
dizzy
14.Wistful
thoughtful sadness, full of
longing or unfulfilled desire,
full of wishful yearning, full
of yearning or desire tinged
with melancholy, pensive
sadness
7. On the free
driving in neutral or
without the engine
on
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[Worksheets]
5. Language
Simile – ‘like some vague, broken dreams’
Metaphor – ‘a great roaring golden death’
Irony of ‘I can live it again’ in opening paragraph contrasted to last few lines where we find out
that the narrator is dead.
6. Theme
Speculation of life after death
7. Climax
The climax occurs when the narrator discovers that he has died in the accident.
8. The Ironic Ending
The story ends ironically when the narrator realises that he has actually died in the accident. This
information is hidden from the reader until the end of the story.
9. Narrative Point of View
Story is written by a first person narrator who only comes to realise the full implications of what
happened at the end of the story when the crucial information is revealed to the reader, even
though the narrator is apparently recounting the story and is therefore presumably a ghost. (The
original story in fact says that the story was told through a spiritual medium but the lines are
deleted in the school version.)
10. Author's Background
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottishdoctor and writer, most noted
for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major
innovation in the field of crime fiction. He was also a prolific writer whose other works
including science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction. In
fact he often complained of the notoriety and pressure he faced from his invention of the
Sherlock Holmes character.
Towards the end of his life, and especially after the death of his wife, Doyle was somewhat
depressed. He became known as a supporter of belief in the supernatural and assisted in the
search for proof of life after death.
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[Worksheets]
11. Literary Terms
Make sure you know the meaning of the following terms and can use them in relationship to this
story.









Setting
Theme
Irony
Metaphor
Simile
Point of View
First person narrator
Foreshadow
Climax
12. Study Questions
1. List all the information you can about the setting in the story. Look for all the small details that
reveal to you the station, the car and the country road.
2. What is the main theme of this story?
3. When you re-read the story you discover various clues that tell you that the narrator had died
in the accident. Try to find as many of these clues as you can.
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[Worksheets]
Elementary, my dear Watson.
Check the evidence at CfBT’s Evidence for Education portal
http://www.cfbt.com/evidenceforeducation/our_research.aspx
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[Worksheets]
Sonnet 43 Worksheet
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
1. What idea is highlighted by the repetition of the phrase “I love thee”?
a. The speaker is trying to convince someone of her love.
b. The repetition stresses the breadth of the speaker’s love
c. The phrase is used ironically to show that the speaker really doesn’t care.
d. The words are repeated to form a refrain.
2. In line 6, how does the speaker refer to night and day? What do we call this type of
image?
3. How does the speaker love with a "passion put to use/In my old griefs"? Who has she
loved before?
4. What does the speaker say about death in the last line of the poem?
5. What does the final statement suggest about the speaker’s love?
a. Her love is uncertain.
b. Her love is everlasting.
c. Her love is determined by God.
d. She will love until death parts her from her lover.
6. Identify the eight answers the speaker gives to her initial question. What do these
things have in common?
7. Evaluate one way in which the speaker professes her love? Do you think it is a
meaningful expression of love?
8. What does the speaker mean by saying that she loves "to the level of everyday's/Most
quiet need"? What does this say about the speaker's love and its importance?
9. Why does the speaker refer to "childhood's faith" and "old griefs"? Explain your
answer.
10. What does this answer suggest about the speaker's love?
11. Do you think this sonnet expresses the depth of the speaker's love? Would the
response have been stronger if Browning had written a longer poem?
12. Identify an example of repetition in this poem. How does it emphasize the poem's
theme?
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[Worksheets]
Creative Writing
13. Imagine somebody has just written this poem for you. Write a paragraph about your
feelings.
14. Write your own love poem. Begin with the question, "How do I love thee? Let me
count the ways." You may address your poem to anyone you love. (It might be to your
mother, father, brother, sister, a relative, a close friend, even a teacher! Remember in
literature there are many difference types of love!)
3. Create an advice column about love. First write a letter with a question or problem
that somebody might have. Then create a response.
Sentence Variety
Elizabeth Browning was a poet. Robert Browning, her husband, was also a poet.
Both...
About Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, it is about love.
Sonnet 43...
There are lots of things about love in the sonnet.
The sonnet expresses a range of ideas...
Critical Thinking
1. Compare and contrast this poem with any other love poem, love story or song that
you know. Identify which text you think more strongly expresses genuine feelings of
love. Use examples from both texts to support your answer.
Paragraph 1 – Introduction – indicate which two works you are comparing and state
which one you think more strongly expresses genuine feelings of love.
Paragraph 2 – Examples from each text to support your answer. [The first way that X is
more strongly expressive than y is in its use of images. ... The second way... etc.].
Paragraph 3 – Conclusion – Summarise your answer and restate which text you think
more strongly expresses genuine feelings of love.
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[Worksheets]
2. Do you think there are different types of love? Make a list of some different types of
love and think of an image that could go with each one.
Type of love
1. The love of a mother for her child
Image
a mother looking at a sleeping baby
Extension: the Organization of a Sonnet




A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that follows one of a number of rhyme schemes.
The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two parts, the octave and the sestet.
The octave can be divided into two parts: the first quatrain presents a theme,
while the second quatrain develops it.
The sestet can also be divided into two parts: a reflection on the theme and three
closing lines that unify the poem.
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[Worksheets]
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
QUICK QUIZ QUESTIONS
1. Who refuses to marry in the beginning of the play?
2. Where and when does the play take place?
3. How does Claudio woo Hero?
4. At the beginning of the play, what is Beatrice’s relationship to Benedick?
5. Who is Leonato?
6. What does Don John want?
7. Who carries out Don John’s plan?
8. What reason does Don John give for his sullenness?
9. Who is said to be “an ass”?
10. Why does Claudio reject Hero at the altar?
11. Who discovers Don John’s evil plot?
12. What does Leonato’s household do to punish Claudio for shaming Hero?
13.Which two characters write love sonnets?
14. To whom does Don Pedro propose marriage?
15. Why is Margaret mistaken for Hero?
16. Which character is sad at the end of the play?
17. What makes Claudio realize that he wrongly accused Hero?
18. When was this play probably first performed?
19. How do Don Pedro and Claudio make Benedick fall in love with Beatrice?
20. Have Beatrice and Benedick courted before?
21. Why is it necessary for Hero to seem to die?
22. What term best describes Dogberry’s verbal comedy?
23. What is Balthasar’s song in Act II, scene iii about?
24. What does the “savage bull” symbolize (I.i.213; V.iv.43)?
25. Who is the most socially powerful person in the play?
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[Worksheets]
Year 10 English Literature Short Test
Instructions
This test has two parts. You should complete both parts of the test.
Note that in Part Two you only need to write ONE composition.
Part One
Answer the following questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Give an example of alliteration.
Write two words that rhyme.
What is the rhyme scheme in Sonnet 43 (use the ab notation).
How many syllables are in the word creative?
Give an example of a metaphor from Sonnet 43.
_______
Write your own simile.
Which of the following phrases is in the third person?
A) I never understood
OR B) She always went
8. How many lines are in a typical sonnet?
9. What is a narrator? ________________________________________________________
10. Which of the following do you guess is an example of personification?
A) The river laughed
OR B) The clown laughed
*******************************************************************************
Part Two
Write a composition on ONE of the following topics. Your composition should be about 300
words. You must use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling in your composition.
1. You are Perkins, the chauffeur in How It Happened by Arthur Conan Doyle. The next day after
the accident you are reflecting on what has happened. Write your thoughts.
OR
2. How does Elizabeth Barrett Browning use sounds and images to make her poem Sonnet 43
such an effective expression of love?
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[Worksheets]
ANSWERS:
‘So You Want To Be a Literature
Teacher?’
Poetry
Prose
Drama
1
a
1
a
1
a
2
b
2
c
2
c
3
a
3
d
3
a
4
c
4
b
4
a
5
c
5
c
5
d
6
b
6
b
6
b
7
a
7
a
7
b
8
d
8
c
8
d
9
b
9
b
9
c
10
c
10
d
10
d
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[Worksheets]
ANSWERS: Opening Lines of a Novel
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Author unknown, but has been used in some form since at least 1380
Paul Clifford by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen
Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
Crow Road, by Ian Banks
The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Chromos, by Felipe Alfau
The Hobbit or There and Back Again, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis
A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut
The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, by Laurence Sterne
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic, (BTW this IS a novel!)
Millicent Min Girl Genius, by Lisa Yee
Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
The Go-Between, by LP Hartley
1984, by George Orwell
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Middle Passage, Charles Johnson
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[Worksheets]
ANSWERS: Shakesperean Quotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Julius Caesar
Troilus & Cressida
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
King Lear
King Lear
King Lear
King Lear
Hamlet
As You Like It
Romeo and Juliet
12. The Winter’s Tale
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[Conferences]
Conference Report
Breda O’Hara, CfBT, Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah
The World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS) International Conference 2010 was held from
9th to 11th December at the University of Brunei Darussalam. Its theme, From Lesson and
Learning Study to the Design of Teaching, embodies the essence of the approach which involves
the integration of theory and best practices in order to optimise student learning and promote
teaching excellence.
The Conference was jointly organised by the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education
(SHBIE) at the University of Brunei Darussalamm and the Department of Schools at the Ministry
of Education. It was fully subscribed with over 600 participants hailing from approximately
fifteen locations all over the world. As well as a sizeable local presence of more than 270
educators there were large contingents from Sweden, Japan and, most notably, Singapore.
The programme consisted of three keynote addresses (one on the first day and two on the
second), four symposia, five case-sharing sessions, and numerous paper presentations,
scheduled into five parallel sessions.
Lesson Studies and Learning Studies are research methods that involve the analysis of teaching
practices in classroom settings and then working backwards from there in collaboration with the
practitioners involved to improve future practice and enhance student learning. In the first
keynote address, Dr. Catherine Lewis of Mills College, Oakland, California stressed the
importance of “unpacking students’ thinking.” She explained that this required a shift of focus
from the ‘mistakes’ students were making or the difficulties they were encountering to the
underlying student thinking that led to these problems. She also warned of the dangers of
students’ having ‘fragile concepts’ or ‘misconceptions’ and advocated re-engagement with these
in order to achieve conceptual security.
The second keynote address delivered by Professor John T. Leach from the University of Hull, UK
outlined the way in which Lesson Studies help to develop “communities of teachers” rather than
the more isolationist position that has traditionally held sway. His focus was on science
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[Conferences]
education, but the principles he outlined could also be applied to other subject areas. He put
particular emphasis on the centrality of context, insisting that teachers need to alert students to
the different meanings words can have depending on the domains in which they are used. This
is particularly the case when the commonly accepted meaning or usage differs greatly from the
subject-specific ones.
The final keynote address was given by Emeritus Professor John Elliott, the current President of
WALS, who is based at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. He is well-known
internationally for pioneering the development of action research approaches to curriculum and
pedagogical change. He posed the question of whether Lesson Study is a methodology or a
social process of enquiry and argued for the integration of theory as a means of informing and
improving practice rather than relying solely on practical wisdom.
One of the symposia I attended entitled “Footprints: What remains after a Lesson Study Project
in Vietnam is over?” also featured Professor Elliott in the role of discussant. There he likened
Lesson Study to an injection, a shot in the arm of teaching; something that is beneficial, but by
its very nature cannot be constant and sustained. However, in keeping with the title of this
session he expressed his faith in the lasting positive effects it may have, the lingering footprints
that long outlive the active research phase and continue to exert a positive influence.
My paper presentation took place in Parallel Session E which I also chaired. Entitled “All
teachers are language teachers! A practical framework for changing the mindset”, it focussed on
the desirability of all subject teachers in a bilingual educational setting, such as exists in Brunei
Darussalam, incorporating language objectives into their planning in addition to the content
objectives they would normally include. My aim was to try to slay a dragon; that is the
perception among teachers that language is the sole responsibility of language teachers which
results in the loss of many fortuitous teaching opportunities in contexts where the medium of
instruction is not the students’ first language.
Having given some background information about the educational system in Brunei, I went on to
propose a research-based framework that could be modified for use in Bruneian schools. This is
the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) which was originally devised in the United
States. I then briefly outlined eight salient features of this framework (a handout featuring the
elaborated model was distributed) and stressed its overlap with effective instructional practices.
I also explained how its use would impact all lessons from the planning stage through to
execution, resulting in more linguistically aware teachers capable of exploiting incidental
opportunities for language and content integrated teaching and, most importantly, meaningful
student learning.
This Conference was intellectually stimulating and left me with a renewed sense of the
importance of both thorough planning and ongoing teacher reflexivity.
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[Conferences]
20th MELTA Conference.
31st May to 1st June 2011
Who: Jean Kiekopf
What: Deliver Teacher Showcase for Our World peer education project.
Where: Primula Beach Hotel. Kuala Terrengannu.
When: 31st May to 1st June 2011
Why: Learn more about ELT in the region, network with other ELT agencies and MELTA
personnel and delegates, raise profile of CfBT Brunei and our excellent work in the region
The OUR WORLD project was designed to engage students in sharing information about their
own unique environments through documentary film and animation. It addresses issues related
to conservation and global warming in a cross curricular approach.
The showcase was a celebration of the successful use of cutting edge educational methodology
including: student led project work / peer education / global citizenship / hands on film and
animation production /cross curricular education / teamwork / use of (SBAfL) School Based
Assessment for Learning techniques and use of English for a ‘real’ audience.
The project can be used as a model for teachers and learners all around the world. It was used to
demonstrate how the methodology works to motivate learners and contract them into the
learning experience, whilst encouraging them to achieve their best. The global dimension aspect
equips students with knowledge of the world – its cultures and environments. It gives students a
sense of purpose and pride as they are showing off their country to students around the world.
The showcase included a 15 min short film “The Learning Journey” which tracked how Phase 1 of
the OUR WORLD project was conceived and implemented. It showed the students in Brunei
Darussalam teaching their peers in schools in Botswana, Africa and Norfolk, England about the
Borneo Rainforest through documentary film and animation.
Our World is now ‘live’ on the UK CfBT website. Sandra Ingham (External Communication
Officer) from the UK office of CfBT spotted the report in the Tropical English Teacher journal
(December 2010). I liaised with Sandra to assure her that all the permissions had been signed.
The IT dept then assisted in streaming the films through. The link for the project is:
http://www.cfbt.com/research/clientcommissionedint.aspx
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[Websites]
Literature Links
Using literature in the language classroom
http://www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/britlit
http://litplans.com/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/transform/teachers/specialist-areas/usingliterature/articles-journals-books
http://web.usm.my/education/publication/jpp%20aminukm%20art%201%20(1-23).pdf
http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teaching-materials/teaching-materialsusing-literature-in-the-efl/-esl-classroom/146508.article
http://www.jlls.org/Issues/Volume1/No.1/murathismanoglu.pdf
http://www.mjal.org/Journal/The%20Indian%20English%20Literature%20Teaching%20at%20UG
%20level%20An%20ELT%20view%20%20by%20%20%20%20Krushna%20Chandra%20Mishra%20
%20169%20173.pdf
Folk tales and Fairy Tales
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ (huge resource)
http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/mythology/worldtalesindex.html
http://www.storiestogrowby.com/choose.php (find by category)
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/
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[CfBT]
Did you know:

CfBT is a top 30 charity in the UK [CfBT is ranked 30 out of 3,000 charities in the UK based
on income in Top 3,000 Charities 2010/11 published by Caritas Data]

CfBT was established more than 40 years ago.

CfBT has been a partner of the Brunei Ministry of Education for over 25 years

CfBT Education Trust exists solely to provide education for public benefit.

CfBT has more than 2,000 staff around the world designing and delivering services.

CfBT staff support educational reform, teach, advise, research and train.

Find out more about YOUR organisation: www.cfbt.com , www.cfbt.org
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[SUBMISSION TIPS]
QUESTION:
What is missing from this
JO __ __ NAL?
ANSWER:
U R!
Contribute to the next steamy
issue of Tropical English Teacher
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS
If you would like to contribute to Tropical English Teacher please contact:
[email protected] or on +673-885-6815
Contributions are welcome on all topics related to the teaching of English in the region,
particularly at the primary and high school level. We welcome articles from basic
research to applied teaching methodologies and activities.
CfBT teachers and staff in particular are encouraged to contribute.
Thank you for your support
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
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Tropical English Teacher
[SUBMISSION TIPS]
Submission Tips for Tropical English Teacher and other ELT journals
The following tips and suggestions apply not just to TET but to almost all ELT publications. Reformatting documents is tiresome and time-consuming. Learn how to use a few simple wordprocessing commands. It will make your submission appear professional and give your
manuscript a greater chance of being published.





Use standard fonts –avoid ‘overformatting’ your work.
Use tabs not the spacebar to indent or centre. Use the tab key to indent a single line. To
indent whole paragraphs, use the indent button. To centre, justify or right justify use the
buttons. See the labelled MS Word toolbar below:
For numbered or bulleted lists use the buttons shown below
Try to learn how to use styles; especially NORMAL and HEADINGS
PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files are for print ready publications – for inclusion in journals or
books submit documents in common word-processing formats.
Font
Style
(Normal)
Style
(Heading
1)
Bulleted
list
Numbered
list
Indent
paragrap
h
Centre
paragraph
Avoid extravagant unsupported claims. Teachers are smart people and generalisations are easy
to dismiss. If you feel strongly about a particular topic try to find evidence in the academic
literature to support your claims. You’d be surprised how many educational ‘positions’ and
‘treasured beliefs’ that teachers propound come unstuck upon investigation.
Be brief. University training tends to increase pomposity and verbosity. Busy professionals are
time poor and want maximum input in minimum time. Try to cull your articles of irrelevant
information or details.
Finally, and most importantly, BE ORIGINAL!
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
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Tropical English Teacher
[BRUNEI TRAILS AND TALES]
You’ve always wanted to be a travel writer.
Here’s your chance.
Contributors wanted to Brunei Trails and Tales.
Brunei Trails and Tales will be a teacher friendly guide to walks in Brunei.

Choose an urban or jungle walk that would be suitable for a group of students with a teacher.

Write a brief description of the walk and interesting sights along the way.

Take some photos of the walk.

Draw or create a map of the walk with important turnings and landmarks shown.

Write an interesting tangential article about the walk that would be suitable for a reading
comprehension. This could be a folk tale related to the walk, a local history of the area, an article
on something that can be seen on the walk or a biography of a local resident.
A simple way to create greater interest and awareness in the natural and urban environment in
Brunei and (perhaps) to become a rich and famous travel writer.
Tropical English Teacher Vol III #2 June 2011
Page 78