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English in Australia English in Australia Volume 52 Number 2 • 2017 The Journal of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English CONTENTS Editorial 2 Anita Jetnikoff National Perspectives 4 Reading as an Imaginative Act 9 Amanda McGraw and Mary Mason Digital Fiction: ‘Unruly Object’ or Literary Artefact? 21 Cherie Allan ‘Big fans’, ‘Experts’, and those ‘In need of a challenge’: Teacher attitudes to ‘manga and anime kids’ in the Secondary English classroom. 28 Kelly Cheung and Kerry-Ann O’Sullivan The Writing Mind: A play 39 Sara Shaw Footy, Gangs and Love: Using Auto-ethnography to Problematise Practice on a Practicum 45 Roz Bellamy Poem – ‘Grief’ 53 Rory Harris English Syllabus interpretation: The relationship between literary theories and teacher beliefs 55 Jill Ireland, Kerry-Ann O’Sullivan and Susan Duchesne The Ambivalent Legacy of Dartmouth Five Decades on: What, Now, Should We Teach the English Teachers? 65 Jo Jones Exposing the Dynamic Nature and Potential Role of Student Attribution Processes on English for Academic Purposes Achievement in Higher Education 73 Heejin Chang, Angela Windsor and Lindsay Helwig Reading & Viewing 82 Deb McPherson English in Australia Volume 52 Number 2 • 2017 Editorial A NITA JETNIKOFF This mid-year issue for 2017 offers approaches to reading, teacher. As a prospective teacher of writing, she reflects writing, literature, curriculum and learning across all imaginatively on who and what has influenced her own sectors of English, as well as updating the exciting work writing in the form of a play, ‘The writing mind’. Another going on in the individual states. beginning teacher reflects on her experience as both a The first group of academic papers revolves around Master’s student and an experienced writer. Roz Bellamy reading and writing. ‘Reading as an imaginative act’, by provides a highly detailed, auto-ethnographic account of Amanda McGraw and Mary Mason presents a research teaching Shakespeare on practicum, including teaching project on reading which gathers data from students’ strategies and assessment reflections. The insights shared voices within communities of practice in schools. The in both these reflective pieces would certainly be of inter- researchers, reflecting their subjects’ experiences and est to new and beginning teachers. perceptions of reading, argue for a secondary English The place and approaches to Literature within curriculum that is less ‘fenced in’ by limited notions of Curriculum matters are reflected in the next two papers. quality (based on high-stakes testing scores on reading) Literary theories and teacher beliefs are explored histori- and more open to genuine learning based on imagina- cally in relation to a previous New South Wales English tion and creative response. The next two papers explore syllabus, in a paper by Jill Ireland, Kerry-Ann O’Sullivan ways of reading and responding to newer forms of and Susan Duchesne. This discussion extends the content fiction in digital texts. Cherie Allen’s paper on digital of some of the discussions in the two previous issues of literature offers some theoretical insights into the ways this journal concerning Post-Dartmouth approaches to digital fiction work on us as readers and how these are the teaching of literature, as does Joanne Jones’s paper approached and applied in tertiary Literature classrooms reflecting on a Masters Literature course for pre-service teachers. The title ‘“Big fans”, “Experts”, A final article reports on an action research project in and those “In need of a challenge”: Teacher attitudes a tertiary context focusing on attribution in English as to “manga and anime kids” in the Secondary English an additional language (EAL). The paper explores EAL classroom,’ by Kelly Cheung and Kerry-Ann O’Sullivan students’ perceptions of their learning in English for is fairly self-descriptive, and is also practical in its Academic Purposes courses, which is a growing area in approach to digital texts the classroom. Both of these tertiary English contexts. articles offer new ways of reading, viewing, analysing Deb McPherson’s review section which may both and otherwise working with digital textual forms in inform and inspire teachers looking for new literature for English classrooms. the classroom completes this issue. In this issue I am deliberately including papers by I am very much looking forward the ‘Cutting edge’ beginning teachers to encourage their contributions to conference this July in Hobart. It is shaping up to being the journal, since many of our young or new teachers are another excellent AATE conference with much to engage part of our readership and may enjoy the perspectives of and inspire all teachers of English. If you present a others in their position. I can attest to the fact that young research paper, I hope you will consider submitting your teachers are bringing excellent ideas to the classroom work as an academic paper for English in Australia. Even and watched proudly as many of my erstwhile pre-service if you attend and enjoy others’ excellent presentations at teachers courageously presented their fresh ideas to more the Hobart conference perhaps you could or suggest that experienced teachers at state conferences and published the presenter(s) might submit their ideas to the journal. their ideas in state journals. This inclusion fulfils the You can check submission guidelines on the website or concept of learning exchange that I have always held on the front cover of the journal. I hope to see many of dear as an educator. In this light recent Master’s gradu- you at the conference. It is always inspiring to see what ate, Sara Shaw, offers an unusual and fresh insight into is going on in other states and countries in the always thinking about writing, memory, literature and history creative field of English. from the perspective of a post graduate pre-service Anita Jetnikoff 2 English in Australia Volume 52 Number 2 • 2017 3 NATIONALEnglish in Australia PERSPECTIVES Volume 52 Number 2 • 2017 Northern Territory newsletter which reflects upon our past activities and highlights all upcoming events. ETANT has been very active over the past few months and I have listed some of the events that have kept our Annual General Meeting – Our AGM will be held at the members very busy. Darwin Sailing Club on 19 May. We are very apprecia- tive to all of our executive members for the work they NT School Debating – Twenty-four teams participated have done over the past twelve months. Membership has in this year’s middle and senior school competition been quite healthy and we are confident of reaching our which began in early term one. In the finals, held at target of 100 members some time later this year. It may the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT on 26 April, the not sound like many members to larger associations, but middle school teams debated, ‘That museums should given our population it would be the equivalent of 3,500 offer to return historical objects to their country of members in NSW and 2,500 members in Vic. origin’. It was a fantastic debate with both teams giving many examples from both local and international The Plain English Speaking Award – This annual event museums. The seniors argued ‘That we should prioritise will be held on the weekend of 17 June to select our Shakespeare in the English curriculum’ and it was very representative for the national finals. Senior students pleasing to see the depth of knowledge of both teams in from all over the NT compete in the finals which will be relation to Shakespeare specifically and world literature held in Darwin. in general. It was a great competition and we thank all of the students, teachers/coaches and adjudicators Festival of Teaching – This is an NT conference involv- who participated so enthusiastically.