What foreign literature are students required to read?

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docju@reddit

For GCSEs we had Of Mice and Men for English Literature (which was not a compulsory subject).

My brother did English A-Level and there were a number of Irish author-ed books (which is not a surprise given we were in Northern Ireland).

For French A-Level, we had The Outsider (Camus) and the Pastoral Symphony (Gide).

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It depends on the teacher’s choice I think, but I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck at school, which is an American book. I also had to read a lot of poems, some of which were Irish or Indian. Couldn’t tell what their names were now though as we had to memorise about 15 for our GCSE

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Opposite_Radio9388@reddit

Couldn’t tell what their names were now though as we had to memorise about 15 for our GCSE

You had to memorise them? Were you asked to perform them, or write them out? I've never heard of that for GCSE English before, but I did do mine a long time ago...

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luujs@reddit

Memorise was probably the wrong word. We had to learn them and then maybe two or three came up in the English Lit papers for us to answer questions on. We had try to memorise what the meanings and backstories were for each of them were though just in case that particular one came up in the exam. Bloody painful

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r_keel_esq@reddit

During Standard-Grade and Higher, we read To Kill a Mockingbird, and Of Mice and Men - this was circa 97-01.
My son is doing Higher English this year (exam is happening right now, as it happens) and he had The Handmaid's Tale as a personal-reading assignment.

My understanding is that in Scotland, there's a lot more freedom for the teachers to choose text freely, rather than have them excplicitly prescribed. However, I'm less certain of how it works now, since the introduction of CfE a few years back.

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Opposite_Radio9388@reddit

You're being downvoted for some reason - have my upvote for keeping Scotland in the discussion!

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sfouronents@reddit

Lots by american authors

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Not required to read anything. I dont think there are any American authors in GCSEs ?

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DameKumquat@reddit

Of Mice and Men has been on the syllabus for years. To Kill a Mockingbird is on at least one GCSE right now. Also Holes, Flowers for Algernon, sometimes Great Gatsby.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Pearson current book list

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GrumpyOldFart74@reddit

Imagine being in the class that has to do Jane Eyre while all your mates are doing Frankenstein or Jekyll and Hyde!

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fartingbeagle@reddit

I'd much prefer Jane Eyre.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

God yeah !

Theres a reason why teachers choose certain books - partly to do with boredom and partly to do with resources!

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CuntyMcFartflaps@reddit

Can't even spell Lemn Sissay's name right.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Oh gosh !

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Affectionate_Crow327@reddit

Same as it was in 2010 personally (Tempest-Inspector Calls-Christmas Carols)

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Leader_Bee@reddit

I read Flowers for Algernon for pleasure only a couple of months ago.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

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Civil-Koala-8899@reddit

I definitely remember reading of Mice and Men for GCSE but this was years ago

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Yes i did it last year of O Levels

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JuanitaMerkin@reddit

Not at GCSE any more

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FloydEGag@reddit

Back in the 90s we did Camus, Moliere and a few 19th century poets for French A-level. We did a bit of James Joyce, Chinua Achebe, Seamus Heaney and John Steinbeck in GCSE English and probably a few more I can’t remember, they’d have been mostly Irish or American

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stubbywoods@reddit

I read Purple Hibiscus during GCSEs (so 15/16). Don't think there's much foreign literature anymore in the curriculum.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

None

Pearson set texts

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stubbywoods@reddit

On a side note I wonder how much more Brits would read if English curriculums could make reading seem more fun. Obviously these are great books but I feel like studying English at school can 100% put people off reading. I haven't read enough to make suggestions of what should be taught and I enjoyed some of these books

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

I think it is complicated most people end up hating the books they had to study and enjoy ones they freely chose.

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

We read Of Mice and Men and To Kill A Mockingbird.

Daft, in my opinion. Racial politics of the American postwar period don't mean much to a bunch of British school kids or their teachers, and having re-read both books as an adult, we missed so much historical context.

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

Of Mice and Men is quite short and straightforward with lots of memorable moments and metaphors, I can see the appeal in that. Mockingbird isn't a good pick as it seems to be the opposite and quite dense. Various Hemingway picks could work such as The Old Man and the Sea, Catcher in the Rye too (although some people hate it, I love it) similarly.

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

The interpersonal relationships between the characters in Of Mice and Men are anything but straightforward for young readers, I would say.

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

It is going back a few years but it may not be immediately striking, but the teacher got the message across of all the underlying stuff quite nicely I thought.

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

Have you read it again as an adult?

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GetCapeFly@reddit

Steinbeck is a core GCSE text - usually Of Mice & Men.

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JuanitaMerkin@reddit

Hasn’t been in England for over a decade

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GetCapeFly@reddit

It’s been phased out it is certainly still being studied.

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cheese_bruh@reddit

Not in GCSE exams themselves but schools teach it as part of their own curriculum, usually before students start their actual GCSE curriculum

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JuanitaMerkin@reddit

Not by a single English GCSE exam board. you’re wrong.

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veryblocky@reddit

I did my GCSEs exactly 10 years ago, and it was an option then. We didn’t read it, but is it not still one of the options under modern text?

We did An Inspector Calls instead.

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JuanitaMerkin@reddit

The curriculum for new starts changed in 2015. You’d have been the last cohort under the old specification.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

I did it in the 80s but impretty sure its not a current GCSE text.

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littletorreira@reddit

Think Of Mice and Men is being phased out due to the language.

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Active_Definition_57@reddit

I did O levels in the '80s. We read To Kill a Mockingbird as a class. We had a reading list of books which we were expected to read some of. I read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and All Quiet on the Western Front from that list.

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ReactionCreepy428@reddit

We read Purple Hibiscus for GCSE English

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Not mandated to read ANYTHING!

English Literature GCSE (public exam at 16) is mainly focused around British Literature - poetry Shakespeare 18th/19th century and post WW2.

There are 4 exam boards and each have a list.

Probably the most chosen modern book by schools is An Inspector Calls.

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