English Literature GSCE and DS (15) who doesn't read

[longtermsinglemummy]

Does anyone have any advice on how I can try and improve my son's English results? He's not a big reader, in fact he would probably choose to do anything but read a book. I've tried different types of books, he tolerates an autobiography, generally sports related.

He's got over a year until he sits his GCSE. He's very bright, albeit lazy and doesn't apply himself. But he really needs English to get anywhere and is currently working at a level 3-4, which I think is D-E.

I cannot think of ways I can encourage him. We always fall out over homework and tests anyway so I'm conscious of not starting another row! Is it as simple as just reading more, or are there other things I can do?

Thanks!

[sayatidaknama]

BareGrylls, this is the route DS takes with English literature/essays. He knows how to play the game. Partly my fault as I taught him how to answer the question and give examiners what they are looking for. He's never forgotten and says that Spark Notes are sufficient!

[Sadik]

To be honest I got an A in O level Eng Lit without ever reading Cider With Rosie from cover to cover - I do (and did) like reading, but something about that novel just made my brain turn to mush and dribble out my ears. In my day it was York Notes which as per above gave you the themes and a page of quotes you could memorise to go with each one.

[catslife]

And don't forget BBC bitesize!
Be careful with BBC Bitesize. It isn't being updated for the new 9-1 specifications and hasn't been updated for a few years now. It may still have some relevance but I wouldn't rely on it too much.
Usually it's GCSE english language that's the key one for sixth form entry. But if it's only essay subject your dc is taking, they may need a good pass in Lit as well.

[ChopsticksandChilliCrab]

DD hated GCSE Eng lit and moaned about her set books and didn't read them. The mock exam didn't go particularly well so I went out and bought two copies of TKAM and View from a Bridge and DH and I both read them. Took us a couple of weeks. Seeing us do this seemed to galvanise DD and she got her head down too. As well as discussing the books as we read them, we looked at past paper questions in the revision guides and online and the three of us discussed what our responses might be. DD denies we were any help but she went on to do well in the actual exam.

[longtermsinglemummy]

catslife I haven't broached the topic of A'level subjects...just getting him to do homework is hard enough.

I'm waiting for the day when he wakes up and realises he does need to apply himself or he probably won't get back into 6th Form at the school he loves.

I'm waiting for a list of the texts from his English teacher and I've bought study texts and the DVD for Inspector Calls, so if I do the same for each then we should be moving in the right direction.

[longtermsinglemummy]

ChopsticksandChilliCrab I've bought the book for Inspector Calls to read as well

If anything it will give me insight into what he is reading and be able to ask the right questions and discuss the text.

[sayatidaknama]

If I haven't already, I always read the books/texts my DC are set [saddo]. Partly out of curiosity (I've read some lovely stuff I would never have come across) and partly so I can help them if necessary.

[swingofthings]

DS does read at all either but that's not because he doesn't enjoy it but because they are no books that suits his style. He isn't keen on older literature (doesn't care for history or anything in the past), hates all the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, all those kinds of fiction as he is very factual. What he would enjoy are books relating to sports, but they are none for teenage boys!

He will get on and read what he has to at school, but because he's got to. However, English Literature is very much about ticking boxes so he approaches it with his mathematical mind, listing in his mind what he needs to do to show he supposedly can write/understand reading, and that works for him (DD was the same and got an A).

[KindDogsTail]

Could he listen to the books through Audible?

[Cinderford]

There is an excellent audio version of An Inspector Calls that you can get on Amazon. Toby Jones and Frances Barber are in it. The David Thewlis 2015 version is admirable in many ways, but it does take some liberties with the plot. For example, Eva Smith actually appears, and much of the claustrophobia is lost by the change in locations. The original play is one room, one plot, six people and very intense.

[PerspicaciaTick]

Definitely look out for audio adaptations of books. If you are as lucky as we are, you might find that you can download them free from your local library, or at least borrow the CDs.

[longtermsinglemummy]

Thank you all for your advice! I really appreciate your help.

[pepperpot99]

How sad that people refuse to read a single book. Deeply sad.

[Redsrule]

I think people who have dealt with the old spec are not aware of the changes. The new spec is closed book so all quotes etc have to be memorised and analysed. Plus pupils must be confident in accurately applying subject terminology eg the dactylic meter in Charge of the Light Brigade and how it affects the impact of the poem. There is very little accurate exemplar material available and there will be very little until after the first sitting of the exam this summer.

[CauliflowerSqueeze]

With the new gcse English he has to learn loads of quotations off by heart. Suggest he starts learning them from this point on.

[PerspicaciaTick]

And if he wants to be spoonfed an entertaining, potted biog of J.B. Preistley he can listen to this edition of Great Lives
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x95hm

[BossWitch]

Agree with red above point. The new gcses are harder to coast through. Lit is two exams, two texts per paper, all closed book. They must be able to use accurate subject terminology. The language gcse is also two papers, and the reading material on these papers (which they won't see in advance) is also designed to be very challenging - eg. Dickens.

I would genuinely recommended a tutor if you can afford it, these are tough exams designed to have more rigour- ie make more people fail. As it is a brand new spec there aren't old papers to practise with, so you can't make him do past papers until he gets it, as there aren't any!

[IPokeBadgers]

I think this is a lovely thread and I think the OP has had lots of useful advice, including a few very pertinent warnings and some very practical suggestions. I really hope taken in its entirety the thread will be useful to her and her son, and maybe to others in a similar position. I am having a bad week and this has made me smile: it is always nice to see people genuinely trying to help.

[longtermsinglemummy]

So I've had this response from his teacher:

19th Century Novel - Frankenstein or Jekyll and Hyde (taught in Year 11)
Shakespeare - Merchant of Venice
Poetry - Power and Conflict (anthology provided in school later in Year 11)

DS should also read a range of fiction (openings of novels) and non-fiction (newspaper opinion pieces and writing about travel experiences) which make up the language exams.

I think this is helpful to a point but I'm definitely going to find him a tutor.

Thank you for all the responses, you've been a great help.

pepperpot99 I do agree to a point. I was a voracious reader as a child and I still am. I've bought so many books for him but he just isn't interested. Maybe I need to actually take him to a book shop and encourage him to find a genre/book that he finds interesting.

[longtermsinglemummy]

IPokeBadgers You're right, it is lovely and I've had lots of great advice.

I hope your week gets better

[IPokeBadgers]

longtermsinglemummy - Good luck!

Not sure my week is likely to go any way but further down but threads like these are good at reminding me how nice people can be....and that is what is needed right now!

[BareGrylls]

pepperpot99 I agree it's a shame that not everyone enjoys reading for pleasure but it's not an indication of intelligence or a prediction of future success or failure.
I love reading and always have, I'm sorry that one of my DC doesn't get the enjoyment that I do from reading fiction. He was a very early reader, reading fluently at four but by the time he was ten he no longer enjoyed it and since then has read only heavy weight scientific texts. he doesn't see it as deeply sad.
My other DS (18) who was a slow starter now reads for pleasure. Even he hated the forced deconstruction that comes with doing Eng Lit at school.
OP your DS is bright, therefore he can pass those exams using tools and techniques that may not be fun but will do the job, get him the grade and allow him to go on to do A levels in subjects that he does like.

[MummaGiles]

There was an excellent adaptation of an inspector calls on BBC a year or so back (google tells me Sept 2015) - definitely worth hunting down if you can.

[mishmash1979]

Try these. My son has gone from a 4 to a 7

[MummaGiles]

PS I studied English lit at A Level and the first year started off with a book that I just could not get on with at all (having read it again many years later without the pressure of analysing it, it is actually excellent) and sadly that experience ruined reading for pleasure for me for years. I studied languages at Uni and actively avoided any literature modules because of it.

Annoyingly other eng lit groups studied another text completely, which is actually now my favourite book that I've ever read - just goes to show it can be luck of the draw.