English Language A Level

WHAT DO I NEED TO STUDY THIS COURSE?

To study English Language at A Level you will need to have achieved GCSE English Language at grade 5 or better, and GCSE Mathematics at grade 5 or better, plus at least three additional GCSEs at grades 4 or better.

IS THIS COURSE FOR ME?

If you enjoy analysing a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts and enjoy writing for different purposes, then you will be well suited to English Language at A Level. The course requires critical reading, close analysis and evaluation of texts and the consideration of the wider context of any text (considering aspects of context such as audience, purpose and genre). Much time is spent in discussion of close analysis of texts using precise linguistic terminology as the tools to analyse language.

If you are interested in the answers to the following questions, this course would also be suited to you:

• How do males and females communicate differently?
• How and why is language constantly evolving?
• How do people use language to gain power?
• How do children learn to speak?

WHERE WILL THIS COURSE TAKE ME?

A Level English Language is an academic subject held in high esteem by universities and employers because of the emphasis on analysis, essay writing and good communication skills. It can prepare you for English-based degrees and careers such as linguistics, journalism and teaching but also for a wider range of degrees and careers such as law, marketing, civil service and in the media. The core analytical elements of the English Language A level will also prepare you for arts, humanities and scientific pathways.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

You will develop skills of linguistic analysis and evaluation and explore language usage in a wide variety of situations and social contexts. You will also respond to written, spoken and multimodal texts and will study representation, sociolinguistics, child language acquisition and language change.

YEAR 1

In your first year you will explore a diverse range of texts from everyday contexts, analysing how they use language features to create different meanings and representations. You will also investigate how language is affected by region (accents and dialects) and by social factors such as gender and occupation, as well as how language changes over time. In addition, you will develop your journalistic writing skills, creating opinion pieces about attitudes to language issues and beginning work on your non-exam assessment pieces.

YEAR 2

In your second year you will complete your non-examined assessment folder as you continue to explore language diversity, including global and ethnic varieties of English and children’s language development – both the spoken development (including child directed speech) and how children learn to read and write.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?

We follow the AQA specification.

• 80% External Exam (2 exam papers)
• 20% Coursework – Comprises of 2 pieces. Firstly, a Language investigation (2000 words) and secondly a piece of Original Writing with commentary (1500 words)

FURTHER INFORMATION:
See Mrs Allan / Mrs Armstrong / Mr Hughes