This paper investigates the language demands of creating texts in the English classroom, which involve transformations in context. In particular, it focuses on the tensions inherent in tasks which require more traditional textual analysis to be presented in ways other than traditional ‘essay’ format. These tasks are interpreted differently by students and can result in texts which vary in terms of their choice of ‘written‐like’ or ‘spoken‐like’ styles. This paper uses data from year nine English students presenting speeches to an imagined jury arguing for Shakespeare's Macbeth's guilt or innocence and explores the implications of shifts along the mode continuum evident in the students' language. It raises the question of the relative importance of transformations of language and context and the extent to which control of mode is valued. Language analysis of student responses focusing on genre, periodicity, use of vocatives and endophoric reference suggests the imagined context required by the task is less important than the literary context in assessing student responses and can act as a distraction. Findings have implications for alignment of teaching and assessment practices in English classrooms.

中文翻译：

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英语课堂中文本的转换：“上下文”真的重要吗？

本文研究了在英语教室中创建文本的语言需求，其中涉及上下文的转换。特别是，它着重于任务中固有的压力，这些压力要求以传统的“论文”格式以外的其他方式来呈现更多传统的文本分析。学生对这些任务的解释不同，可能会导致文本内容因其选择的“类文字”或“类口语”风格而异。本文使用了来自九年级英语学生的数据，他们向一个想象中的陪审团就莎士比亚的麦克白的罪恶或纯真进行了演讲，并探讨了在学生语言中沿模式连续性转变的含义。它提出了语言和上下文转换的相对重要性以及对模式控制的重视程度的问题。对学生回答的语言分析侧重于体裁，周期性，语调使用和内隐参照，这表明该任务所需的想象上下文在评估学生回答方面不如文学上下文重要，并且可以分散注意力。研究结果对英语课堂教学和评估实践的统一具有启示意义。