Continue to encourage your son to read books other than those set for study to broaden his knowledge base. Perhaps reading his books yourself will help him enjoy the discussion and tasks much more.

Suggest that your son completes crosswords/word puzzles as this is a great way to develop a wider vocabulary. If your son has spelling concerns, set aside some time each week to work these through with him.

Your son should address any grammar and expression concerns as soon as they arise. His reference book, THE ACTIVE LOOK IT UP! is an integral part of the development of his written skills. Work with him on the tasks to reinforce understanding and improvement.

Ensure that your son reads at least one daily newspaper everyday. Understanding current affairs and reflecting upon them is important to your son's skill development. The issues in the media are the basis for many topics discussed in his English class, (and in many other subjects). He should focus on the Editorial, Opinion and Letters sections as well as the news stories themselves. Following reports over a few days will assist his understanding of the background and the issues themselves.

Encourage your son to watch current affairs programs. The discussion of issues will supplement his reading and understanding.

Discuss current affairs regularly with your son. Sharing your ideas with him and allowing him to share his with you will support his ideas and discussion in the classroom.

Discuss the texts set for study with your son on a regular basis. Allowing him to share his ideas will give him more confidence to discuss his views in class.

Encourage your son to make point form notes when he is reading or viewing texts to develop this vital life skill.

Check with your son regularly to ensure that he has enough Internet credits to use at school. The use of technology is a vital part of your son's work in English, and he is quite disadvantaged if he cannot access the intranet in class.

Check the intranet regularly at home to ensure that you know what your son is working on. Many of the assessment tasks, resources and assessment dates are posted there and this will help you monitor what your son should be working on.

Encourage your son to use the Internet effectively and learn to discriminate between valuable and irrelevant information by asking him questions about what he has researched. Encourage him to paraphrase or summarise his research in order to avoid plagiarism.

If you have engaged a tutor for your son, check that he/she is reinforcing and extending the skills learnt and not doing the work for him.

Encourage your son to see his English teacher if he has concerns. If his teacher knows about his concerns, he/she will be able to address them quickly and sensitively.