English Language

Course summary

The English Language is fascinating and constantly changing. At A Level, the Individual and Society component introduces students to language study, exploring textual variety and children’s language development. Students will look at methods of language analysis in addition to exploring how children learn language and how they are able to understand and express themselves through language. The second component, Language Diversity and Change, involves examining texts from 1600 to the present day and considers such factors as sociolects and dialects. The non-examination assessment, Language in Action, allows students to produce a language investigation and a piece of original writing with accompanying commentary on a subject of personal interest. This might be the language of sports commentaries or the language of wedding ceremonies in two different cultures. Is this course for me? Are you interested in how we speak? Have you noticed how men and women speak differently? Why do we change the way we speak depending on who we are talking to? How did we learn to speak in the first place? Have you enjoyed creative writing at GCSE? Do you know your nouns from your verbs? Then English Language is for you. This course will allow ready access into most university arts courses. It will be a valued qualification for those seeking vocational degrees in Law, Education, Media, Management, Marketing, and Personnel, to mention but a few. Moreover, as most occupations demand a high standard of communication skills, this course would be a useful prerequisite for many careers.