HL Deb 29 June 1948 vol 157 cc17-8

2.42 p.m.

LORD DARYNGTON

My Lords, I beg leave to ask His Majesty's Government the question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

[The question was as follows:

To ask His Majesty's Government, whether they will take all possible steps, including, for example, the encouragement of competitions, to improve the standard of spoken English and reading aloud in schools under the control of the Ministry of Education.]

LORD WALKDEN

My Lords, His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools will continue to stress the importance of good speech and good reading aloud as part of the teaching of English. The matter receives careful consideration at the inspection of schools and daring the conduct of short courses for teachers which are organised by the Ministry or other agencies. In addition, informal regional conferences have recently been introduced between Inspectors and teachers of English in all kinds of schools. At these conferences the subjects of spoken English, reading and recitation receive much prominence.

LORD DARYNGTON

My Lords, I beg to thank the noble Lord for his sympathetic reply in regard to this rather important question. I think that if all schools throughout the Empire had these competitions in elocution and in reading, great benefit would accrue. It is not necessary to have prizes in every school, as certificates would probably be appreciated quite as much. I hope noble Lords will consider the question themselves, because it is a matter of considerable importance.

LORD WALKDEN

My Lords, my right honourable friend has not overlooked the question of competitions, but he does not favour any systematic or widespread introduction of them. In his opinion, good speech can best be acquired in the course of the normal lessons in both English and other subjects. He does not wish to isolate elocution from other aspects of the teaching of English, or to impose conditions which would affect the discretion of the teachers, who are, in his view, in the best position to decide how to handle this problem with all the children for whom they are responsible in their various areas.