Head of English: Mrs C. Williams

cdwilliams@edgemeadhigh.org.za

As we are an English medium school all learners have to take English as Home Language. This also means that all of your subjects are taught in English. (Afrikaans and Isixhosa excluded)

An important distinction between English and other subjects is the fact that it is not content-bound i.e. the whole world becomes your textbook and there is no topic that cannot be explored.

When you study English you cover many different genres: Grammar; Reading; Speaking; Novel; Drama; Poetry; Film study; Short stories etc.

But there are other reasons why English deserves proper respect:

• It is the most widely spoken language
• It is the preferred language in politics, business and entertainment
• Most pages on the Web are in English. That’s over a billion pages of information. It’s amazing that just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the internet
• Books: Whatever you are interested in you can read about it in English. Every famous book was written in English or it was translated into English. There are an amazing number of titles – from classic plays like Hamlet to modern thrillers like Jurassic Park
• Computers: Most computer applications are in English

These are but a few reasons why English is the most important subject one should do at school.