Contact Teacher: Mr S Collins, Head of English Faculty
Exam Board: AQA
Vision
At Bishop Luffa School, when we study English we learn about who we are, as a people, as a nation and as one of the two billion other people on the planet who use English every single day, whether they are in Chichester, Chile or China. We study the rich heritage of the great writers who have used English over the last 1,000 years: the poetry of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Robert Browning, Tony Harrison, Simon Armitage; the plays of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams; the novels of Ian McEwan, Suzanne Collins, Khalid Hosseini, Andrea Levy; the non-fiction of Bill Bryson, Jonathan Swift, Sathnam Sanghera. We dive into the rich, deep world of stories written in other languages and translated into English. We also learn how to understand what people mean when they write or say something, whether in fiction or non-fiction. And, most importantly, we learn how people communicate with each other in different contexts, so that we become creative and imaginative 21st Century communicators.
‘Studying English literature at school was my first, and probably my biggest, step towards mental freedom and independence. It was like falling in love with life.’ Ian McEwan
English Language Learning Journey
This is a visual representation of how students' knowledge and skills develop through the English Language curriculum.
(click on the image below to view a larger version)
Why study English Language?
Do you want to know more about how all spoken and written communication works, how we learn to speak, and why and how language changes? Do you enjoy creative writing? English Language A-level is the ideal course for those of you who enjoy reading and producing all types of texts. This course is an excellent preparation for any career involving written or spoken communication such as journalism, teaching, or the media and is particularly complementary to the study of psychology or modern foreign languages.
Course details
Component 1: Language, the individual and society
The aim of this part of the subject content is to introduce students to language study, exploring textual variety and children’s language development. This area of study introduces students to methods of language analysis to explore concepts of audience, purpose, genre, mode and representation. It also introduces students to the study of children’s language development, exploring how children learn language and how they are able to understand and express themselves through language.
Component 2: Language diversity and change
The aim of this area of study is to allow students to explore language diversity and change over time. Students will study the key concepts of audience, purpose, genre and mode and will explore language in its wider social, geographical and temporal contexts. They will explore processes of language change. This part of the subject content also requires students to study social attitudes to, and debates about, language diversity and change.
Component 3: Language in Action
The aim of this area of study is to allow students to explore and analyse language data independently and develop and reflect upon their own writing expertise.
It requires students to carry out two different kinds of individual research:
- a language investigation (2,000 words excluding data)
- a piece of original writing and commentary (750 words each) Students can choose to pursue a study of spoken, written or multimodal data, or a mixture of text types, demonstrating knowledge in areas of individual interest.
Methods of language analysis underpin each component.
How the course is taught and assessed
We expect you to take an active role in lessons through discussion, presentations and research.
- Two teachers will deliver different areas of the course.
- Support booklets are used to guide you through the course and help to make you an independent learner.
- You will be expected to keep a log of your wider reading throughout the course.
- You will be provided with opportunities to practise timed essays to develop your exam skills. Marking criteria, model answers and teacher feedback will be used to improve your performance. We aim to enhance your classroom experience with relevant study days/visits as available.
Component 1: written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes, 100 marks, 40% of A-level.
Component 2: written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes, 100 marks, 40% of A-level
Component 3: non-examined assessment: word count: 3,500, 100 marks, 20% of A-level, assessed by teachers, moderated by AQA.
Entry requirements
Grade 6 or above in GCSE English Language and English Literature.