The teaching of English in schools around the world has become too focused on basic literacy and examinations, and a new approach is necessary, according to an international group of teachers and academics.
The group, which has set up a global network of educators to reinvigorate English teaching, says new ways of teaching English are necessary to inspire students and encourage creativity.
The educators argue that schools could blend the teaching of English subjects with classes in visual arts and drama and reduce the emphasis on its instrumental role in schools.
The Arts, English and Literacy Education Research Network was formed by academics and teachers from countries across the globe, including Australia, the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand to overcome the increasing focus on basic literacy and exams that has emerged in the past 10 years.
'We would like to encourage a more holistic and cohesive view of how creative arts can work in the curriculum,' said network co-ordinator Jacqueline Manuel.
Dr Manuel, a senior lecturer in English at the University of Sydney, said the network brought together teachers, researchers, policymakers and others in the fields of the creative arts and English.
'In America especially, English has become a dumping ground for testing and has led to the idea that literacy and English are synonymous,' she said.