LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE EIGHTIES: THE CURRENT STATE OF EDUCATION IN AMERICA

Authors

  • James Moffett National Humanities Faculty

Abstract

No one is better entitled to indulge in speculation about the future of English studies than James Moffett. Ten years ago, his work of theory and rationale, "Teaching the Universe of Discourse," lifted the teaching of English fifty years forward into the Seventies. It provided, it seemed for the first time, an intellectually satisfying analysis of great range, depth, and sensitivity for the distinctive processes of learning the language by which we think, and it remains a model of rational pedagogy in the field. Here he reviews the recent difficulties of this most public of school subjects, and then proceeds to raise our sights (and doubtless some eyebrows) with a forward look that takes into serious account many signs that are so much with us as to be subiect to our too light dismissal. Here is one driver not obsessed by what is to be seen only in the rear-view mirror.

Author Biography

James Moffett, National Humanities Faculty

James Moffett is currently an educational consultant and a member of the National Humanities Faculty of the United States. After some teaching at Phillips Exeter Academy, his research at Harvard led to the publication of Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading K-13, Interaction, and Teaching the Universe of Discourse, a combination respectively of text book and handbook, a program of materials for K-12, and a theory of discourse, that has had wide-reaching effects on English studies in several countries.

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Published

1979-01-01

How to Cite

Moffett, J. (1979). LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE EIGHTIES: THE CURRENT STATE OF EDUCATION IN AMERICA. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 14(001). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/7260

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 001 (1979)

Section

Articles

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