If you could go back in time and eavesdrop on a conversation in the England of Chaucer’s time, it might be hard to follow what is being said and if someone told a funny story, you might not get it. Perhaps the same will be true for any visitors to our present time from 700 years in the future. The English language, like fashions in clothes, undergoes continuous modification. Just think about text-speak or street slang, the flood of new words associated with technology, or from immigrant communities. Our course explores these linguistic changes in detail and the reasons for them. Many of us share a fascination with the way toddlers speak. One feature of language acquisition is that children master English by making mistakes until they fully acquire all the skills. You will learn how a “wug” is used to research this, what a “virtuous error” is and you will be amazed at how we achieve fluency in such a brief time span. When it comes to literacy, you will study how we learn to read and write, realising what complex skills these are. We begin the course by introducing you to the terminology used by linguists and you will learn about aspects such as phonetics, lexis and morphology. You will consider the diversity of English found in different regions and social groups: if you went to an interview in the USA wearing a vest and pants it would be perfectly acceptable, and if you wanted to buy thongs in Australia you would go to a shoe shop!
For UK based students, a good GCSE grade in English language or Literature is needed. This should be 6 or higher. For international students, an in-house diagnostic will be required for entry into the course. An overall grade 6 will be the criteria for entry. An interest in the everyday use of English in all its forms and across all media would be very desirable. You will be expected to read a lot and collect your own examples of English for in-depth study.
Papers 1 and 2 will be similar to those sat in the lower sixth but will include all the A-level content. In addition to the lower sixth topics, Paper 1 will cover children’s language development. In Paper 2 language discourse is an additional topic to those covered in the lower sixth. Each paper will last 2 hours 30 minutes and is worth 40% of the whole A level. The remaining 20% is accessed via coursework for which you will need to produce a language investigation of about 2,000 words and a piece of original writing and commentary of 1,500 words.
About Education Provider
| Region | East of England |
| Local Authority | Cambridgeshire |
| Ofsted Rating | |
| Gender Type | Co-Educational |
| ISI Report | |
| Boarding Fee | Unknown |
| Sixth Form Fee | £34,233 |
| Address | 3-4 Brookside, Cambridge, CB2 1JE |
If you could go back in time and eavesdrop on a conversation in the England of Chaucer’s time, it might be hard to follow what is being said and if someone told a funny story, you might not get it. Perhaps the same will be true for any visitors to our present time from 700 years in the future. The English language, like fashions in clothes, undergoes continuous modification. Just think about text-speak or street slang, the flood of new words associated with technology, or from immigrant communities. Our course explores these linguistic changes in detail and the reasons for them. Many of us share a fascination with the way toddlers speak. One feature of language acquisition is that children master English by making mistakes until they fully acquire all the skills. You will learn how a “wug” is used to research this, what a “virtuous error” is and you will be amazed at how we achieve fluency in such a brief time span. When it comes to literacy, you will study how we learn to read and write, realising what complex skills these are. We begin the course by introducing you to the terminology used by linguists and you will learn about aspects such as phonetics, lexis and morphology. You will consider the diversity of English found in different regions and social groups: if you went to an interview in the USA wearing a vest and pants it would be perfectly acceptable, and if you wanted to buy thongs in Australia you would go to a shoe shop!
For UK based students, a good GCSE grade in English language or Literature is needed. This should be 6 or higher. For international students, an in-house diagnostic will be required for entry into the course. An overall grade 6 will be the criteria for entry. An interest in the everyday use of English in all its forms and across all media would be very desirable. You will be expected to read a lot and collect your own examples of English for in-depth study.
Papers 1 and 2 will be similar to those sat in the lower sixth but will include all the A-level content. In addition to the lower sixth topics, Paper 1 will cover children’s language development. In Paper 2 language discourse is an additional topic to those covered in the lower sixth. Each paper will last 2 hours 30 minutes and is worth 40% of the whole A level. The remaining 20% is accessed via coursework for which you will need to produce a language investigation of about 2,000 words and a piece of original writing and commentary of 1,500 words.