C194/08
3 July 2008
Almost 6,000 Year 12 students and their teachers from all over Western Australia were at Curtin University of Technology for the 2008 English/English Literature Conference recently.
Eager to hone their skills in English and English Literature for the TEE, students from over 90 private and public secondary schools attended lectures during the four day annual conference on the Bentley Campus from 23-26 June.
Some students and teachers travelled from Albany, Pinjarra and Bullsbrook to join with those from high schools such as Kent Street Senior High School, Ursula Frayne Catholic College and Penhros College.
Head of Communication and Cultural Studies, Dr Ron Blaber said the Conference was extremely popular and had been running each year since 1986. He emphasised the advantages for the students who attend the Conference.
“The Conference reinforces a deeper understanding of the secondary English and English Literature syllabus and also focuses on exam tasks and questions,” Dr Blaber said.
“Students are provided with new ways of understanding important information such as texts and genres.
“The experience also complements the excellent work of secondary school teachers, and the Conference’s success owes a great deal to the continuing support of teachers and schools .”
Each day of the Conference up to 1,500 students were on campus. In any one session students had a choice of up to eight lectures and over the course of the day attended five lectures.
“Up to 37 lectures on 24 topics were presented each day,” Dr Blaber said.
“Students also had the opportunity to interact with Curtin staff and experience university life.”
“The Conference is an important annual event on the University’s calendar, and it shows the strong links between the Communication and Cultural Studies Program and secondary English and English Literature education in WA.”
Kent Street Senior High School Year 12 student Zac Price feels more confident about gaining top marks in English after attending the Conference at Curtin.
“I really like doing English and I got a lot out of the lectures on what I need to focus on so I can do well in my TEE exams,” Zac said.
Attention Editor/COS: A photograph is available on request.
Modified: 3 July 2008
