A Level English Language
Overview:
Be challenged to excel, whilst being supported by experienced staff, including current examiners and moderators. Enjoy lively and intelligent discussions with engaged and informed fellow students. How language represents the world is perennially interesting - but so to is how our Language creates the world around us. This course encourages students to read perceptively and critically, to evaluate others’ views and ideas and to use their own language effectively, persuasively and creatively.
We look at Language and Representations and consider how all forms of language are representations - and what that representation tells us about humans and the world. We also consider how children develop Language and Literacy from birth upwards. The birth of the language itself is also explored in Diversity and Change taking you on a tour through English from its inception to the Lingua Franca it is today.
The aim of this area of study is to allow students to explore and analyse the history and variety of the English language independently and develop and reflect upon their own writing expertise.
“Thank you for a great English experience. Not only did it inspire me to go on to journalism at university, it really helped with writing in other subjects too!”
Course Structure and Content:
Language Varieties, Child Language Development, Language and Representations, and Language Change.
- Theme 1 - Language and Representations Students should study a range of texts: from various writers and speakers, for various audiences and purposes, in a variety of genres. They consider how these representations reflect society.
- Theme 2 - Child Language Development Students learn how children acquire language and then go on to learn to read and write. They understand varying theories and evaluate them.
- Theme 3 - Language Varieties Language and Gender, Accent and Dialect, Global English, Language and Power are all studied. Students explore and debate a range of perspectives and respond critically and creatively.
- Theme 4 - Language Change How English first emerged and then evolved into its current shape is studied, alongside varying perspectives on its development.
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Assessment:
At the end of the Lower 6th, students sit an exam on all of the Lower 6th content. This does not count towards the final grade, but assesses the content at this half-way point before progression to the Upper 6th. The final assessments at the end of the Upper 6th are as below:
- Assessment 1 - 40% 2 hours 30 minutes written paper on Themes 1 and 2 (100 marks).
- Assessment 2 - 40% 2 hours 30 minutes written paper based on Themes 1, 3 and 4 (100 marks).
- Assessment 3 - 20% Non-exam Assessment based on research and writing to produce an investigation. A piece of original writing in a genre of the students’ choice (100 marks).
Examination Board:
The course followed is the AQA English Language 7702
AQA English Language (external link)
Future Career Opportunities:
The versatility that an A Level in English Language offers students, allied to the esteem in which it is held by universities and prospective employers, makes the subject ideal for those embarking on most career pathways.