English should be compulsory. I think the emphasis should be less on analysis of texts and more on writing - because that's what the skill is, writing.
I don't take English to analyse stuff and whatnot, I take it to learn how to express thoughts in my head on paper and in words. And the joy in stringing together a few words to make a masterfully crafted sentence is... really fulfilling.
Seeing the way some people write at uni, they do need higher levels of English. I do NOT want us to go down the American way of systematic analysis and definitions of what a verb is and what a pronoun is and all that stuff.
I'm thinking stuff like in Extension 1 English would be awesome - because that is based on why texts are as they are - so we study the underlying theory of the books and stuff we read.
Advanced and Standard can go die. Bullcrap English analysis is stupid.
Also, more creative writing is always welcome - but I agree we need essay skills for things like uni, so I think we should replace analysis of stuff with a study of the underpinning structures of texts - which I think is more interesting.
