Adapting the curriculum to foster academic success

Hadiyah was a Syrian student who loved to read. English was her favourite subject, and she was always asking her teacher how to improve.

Her teacher explained that she was losing marks because she was not showing an understanding of context in her essays. She gave her model answers, and they talked through them together.

After a while, the teacher realised that all of the poems were written by English men about World War I and World War II – events that have a very different meaning in Syrian society than they do in British society. While Syria was hugely impacted by both of these wars (being colonised and used as a place for British army bases), these wars are not a part of the national identity, as many Brits view them as here. Thus, despite the help, Hadiyah is still not grasping this idea of context.

Hadiyah’s teacher wonders how she can tap into a similar link that many Brits have with these wars in a Syrian context. She researches poems written by Syrian poets in English about the recent civil war. After asking Hadiyah if this poem would be useful to her, she gives it to Hadiyah to read as homework and asks her to answer an essay question about it.

While reading the poem, Hadiyah understands the reasons the poet feels so upset and frustrated. She understands why the poet is choosing certain words and metaphors because it links to her prior knowledge and experiences as a Syrian person. Hadiyah finally makes the link between context and writes an excellent essay.