English is a pointless subject at G.C.S.E

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Reply 60

mel0n

I take it you didn't do well, eh.

Reply 61

InArduisFouette

I wonder what the OP got / has got / has been predicted ?

Reply 62

hothedgehog

Well, considering that I didn't read any of the books we had to do for GCSE English and always did my physics homework in English classes and still got an A, I'd have to agree with the OP. GCSE English really doesn't help your spelling and grammar and general communication skills that much. They should introduce some kind of exam which tested actual language skills and then have an optional English Literature exam for people who wanted to study literature in depth. I know they do have these as separate exams nowadays but English Language is still full of literature. I remember when we were forced to read Pride and Prejudice (although, as i say, it was something that i managed to avoid) and the discussions which followed were so incredibly tedious.

I remember when i was in year 9 and we were given English grammar lessons. They were half an hour each week and covered all your basics like nouns, adjectives etc. and then went onto things such as formal letter writing and writing styles in different types of publication. Those lessons were brilliant and i learnt so much about English from them. Far far more than from GCSE English. And we only had half an hour of grammar a week compared to 5 hrs of English GCSE a week. That's what English should be like!

Reply 63

friendly_fiend2

pamelaa

I think it's ridiculous that English people only have to study English up to gcse, here in Scotland most people study it until they're 17.

And yet I still can't understand a word the Scots say.

Only joking.

Reply 64

donkeybol1ocks69

English is a ****ing pile of horse **** it pisses me off analyzing every single ****ing full stop that some ****** wrote 500 years ago in his **** poem that no one finds interesting.

Reply 65

yodapaint

Original post by Maybe7

I am sorry if I offend anyone, but I think that doing english at G.C.S.E level is ridiculous

English has no point. No-one needs to know what an onomatopoeia is, nor do they need to write about the use of one word by an author means something deeply profound.

My main issue with english is that, despite what many universities think, the qualification does not give key language skills. Unfortunately, one's ability to spell correctly and use correct grammar is not examined in the exam.

In the exam the sole aim is to write a long tedious essay on whatever the examiner deems suitable. The analysis of text may include a small part of grammar, however it is mainly focussed on the analysis skills. This means that students who have a good grasp of grammar and spelling and are perfectly suitable for higher education don't succeed because they were stopped by the foolish requirements made by the educational institutions.

To overcome this obstacle, I believe that the exam can be changed so that it is more grammar orientated, this will allow able students to pass through the system. Another solution is to give the student a choice of whether they want to study it or not. This will allow the students who are good at english to succeed but not inhibit the able students.

Preach. You have your priorities right mate.

Isaac Newton??

Isaac Newton??

Original post by Jelkin

Oh right, it's the able people who fail English. English is just a hindrance to the brightest minds.

Also, what MSB said.

Reply 68

ComputerScience1

However for many people English is very stressful, and they may be really smart students but English is the one pointless thing holding them back, � of gcse English is studying people from way back, studying Shakespeare to get language skills is pointless unless you have a time machine. No one in public says a sentence in general conversation but mean an entire different thing from it, and when they do it is easy to understand, we don't need English gcse for it. Saying how language has different effects is the only defence for English, but that point is so stupid when using to defend English gcse as like i said its mainly based on authors from the past, and poems. I never needed English gcse to talk to people and i sure as hell don't need it now.Also, most of the people who defend it are people who don't mind it and find it bearable if not easy, for some, it just makes no sense no matter how many times or how many different ways it is explained.