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To bring literature to life outside the classroom the English Department took Grade 10 students to the Manoel Theatre to participate in a Macbeth workshop. Students interacted with the actors and had an opportunity to ask questions about characters and content for a deeper understanding of the text. Upon returning to school, students acted and filmed key scenes of the play, then created a showcase to demonstrate clear, critical understanding of the play.
In the IB English A: Language and Literature programme students are exposed to a variety of text types, both formal and informal, taken from different contexts in time and place. Some texts are translated from their original languages into English. Students are given opportunity and provided with guidance to read other texts related to those explicitly discussed in class. The advantage of this wider, world view of literature and non-fiction texts is that it provides the individual student with a much broader and richer understanding of the context, purpose and impact of the texts studied as part of the course work. Although not prescribed as mandatory course work, students are encouraged to read widely.
Throughout modern history great thinkers have debated whether Art imitates Reality, or Reality imitates Art. Is literature a product of our time and place or does it shape our world view?
In Theory of Knowledge students investigate the nature of literature arts and its relationship to knowledge creation in regard to the determination of reliability and validity. As students explore a range of literary texts, they consider how culture and traditions shape our beliefs and values. Essentially, literature is the medium through which personal knowledge becomes shared truth. The power of literature reveals the colours and shadows of reality. Emotion and language fuse to become literature - the indelible force upon our imagination and reason.
The English Language and Literature Department