English Language
This course will answer questions about how we use language in our daily lives such as: how is language used to exert power? how do children learn to speak and write? does your gender identity affect how you use language? how is English used differently around Britain and around the world? how has technology affected the way we communicate?
We recommend additional reading to broaden your knowledge and support your studies. You can find examples of books to read in a variety of places, including: Penguin - Lit in Colour Reading Lists
Course Overview
In Year 12 we will study:
Language Diversity – Accent and Dialect
Discover how dialects are formed, who uses them, why and how they are changing eg Yorkshire dialect, Multi-cultural London English, Bradford Asian English, Cockney dialect, Estuary English and Standard English. We’ll look at attitudes to accents and dialects e.g. why do some dialects have prestige, while others do not?
Textual Analysis and representation
You’ll learn how to analyse a wide range of texts looking at how grammar, lexis, discourse structure, graphology and pragmatics are used to create meanings. We’ll look at how language is used to create representations of various topics/people/places/issues eg how are immigrants represented in the media?
Language Diversity - Gender, social groups (age, sexuality) and occupational groups
In this unit, we’ll look at whether men and woman use language differently, how different age groups use language differently (eg ‘teenspeak’ and the influence of social media on language) and at how sexuality affects language use eg Polari.
Coursework preparation
You will learn how to carry out a language investigation from deciding the hypothesis you want to explore to what data you are going to collect and how. You will also study narrative writing and the conventions of a range of genres such as sci-fi, comedy, detective and horror. Following this you will have the opportunity to experiment with writing in a range of genres.
Useful Links http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-literature-a-7711-7712 - exam board specification
A minimum of five subjects at grade 4 (or above) including a grade 5 (or above) in English Language and a grade 4 (or above) in Maths.
Students will do at least two assessments per half term per teacher.
It will be assessed by two final exams in Year 13 and two pieces of coursework: a 2000 word investigation into language use and 1500 word piece of original writing and commentary.
