ABSTRACT
The book so far has contained ‘the argument’: a statement or restatement of fundamental truths about how children and young people acquire competence and confidence as users of language, and how teachers can best help them to do so. In the course of the argument, there has been careful and sometimes stringent criticism of the requirements of the new version of the National Curriculum for English in England. This chapter contains a complete alternative curriculum for English 11 to 16, addressing the shortcomings of the new English orders, while incorporating material from that document which can be welcomed.
