Teaching Advanced Skills in English Studies: The Work of the Speak‐Write Project

Abstract

SUMMARY • How do we teach advanced undergraduate writing skills? • How do we train and assess our undergraduates’ speaking skills? • How can we ensure that these skills are embedded in the study of English Literature? The Speak‐Write Project is a three‐year research and development project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and is based in the English department at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge. It aims to promote the acquisition of advanced written and oral communication skills for first‐year undergraduates studying English across Britain by developing a range of innovative teaching and learning materials. This paper will outline the Project's methodology and review the research we have undertaken and the teaching materials and approaches we have developed and trialed over the last two years. It will give particular attention to two new foundation courses entitled Varieties of Speaking and Writing I & II, which enable our first‐year students to become proficient in four areas of study: (1) grammar and language analysis; (2) writing with style (a combination of stylistics and the ability to write in a range of different styles); (3) oral presentation skills; and (4) writing for academic purposes. The final part of the paper will then document some responses to these courses and indicate some areas of future work.