This is a PowerPoint I made to take students through the June '23 paper 2, section A of the English Language paper. It is thorough and methodical and introduces students to key terms from the mark scheme like: perceptive, judicious, synthesis etc. There are model answers to examine in relation to the mark scheme, tasks for students and plenty of tips. I am including the question paper, insert and mark scheme from AQA although the charge covers only the PowerPoint. If you like the resource, please give me a good review!

This PowerPoint introduces Child Directed Speech and its importance to language development in children. It goes through the features of CDS and theories about it, from Bruner to Brown, Bellugi and Cazden. It includes video examples and has a short task at the end.

This is a PowerPoint introducing the stages of grammatical development in young children’s speech - holophrase, two-word, telegraphic etc - for the Paper 1 Section B topic. It has one or two short tasks for students to consider how language develops.

This is a group of documents (three PowerPoints and one word document) which I use to introduce the theories of writing development in children. I start with Learning How to Write and follow with Spelling and then Learning to Write Theorists The sheet on social interactionism Vs constructivism is useful for starting a discussion about the different theoretical positions about how children learn to write. Is it the result of teaching or of personal development?

This is a handout with several extracts from linguistic theory pertaining to young people and language which I collated for my students. It is useful for Language and Social Groups as well as the Directed Writing task on paper two, section B.

This is a PowerPoint I use to introduce Language Discourses, i.e. common discussions about language use in the media such as disease, decay, decline etc. The first extract is already analysed and then the rest should be shared out amongst students for their own analysis of lexis, grammar, discourse and graphology . Students should then feed back their findings and discuss with the class.

A brief PP introducing the theory of upward and downward accent convergence accompanied by two Guardian articles about attitudes to regional accents.

This is a matching exercise I used as a starter activity at the beginning of the Accent and Dialect unit. Students should match up dialect words with their definitions. There are two different versions on the first document. The second document has the answers.

I used this PowerPoint to introduce two dialects (Yorkshire and Norfolk) to my A level class. There is an interesting link to a lecture given by the great David Crystal and another to Jake Thackeray singing about ‘Yan tan tether mether pip’ the ancient Swalesdale way of counting sheep. Students could then undertake their own research in small groups on a dialect of their choice.

This is a PowerPoint I put together to introduce the subject of Accent Levelling. It draws on the research of Paul Kerswill and goes through the historical, economic and social causes of the phenomenon. I have found the following website (https://aggslanguage.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/dialect-levelling/#:~:text=have previously clashed.-,Dialect levelling is a form of standardisation whereby local variations,may never have previously clashed.) extremely useful and acknowledge its contribution to the PP. There is a short research task at the end.

This is a PowerPoint I made introducing the subject of prestige speech forms, i.e. Standard English and Received Pronunciation. It explains what each of these are and gives some background, quotations from theorists as well as recent newspaper articles about controversies surrounding language use.

This is a PowerPoint I made to introduce students to analysing regional accents. It takes, as its starting point, Peter Trudgill’s sentence “Very few cars made it up the long hill”, devised to differentiate seven phonemes in regional speech. I have added three more to this, primarily to analyse the difference between some northern accents. There are three different accents - Somerset, Walsall and Liverpool to compare. Click on the icons to hear them. The final slide asks students to consider the differences as well as attitudes towards those regional accents. It also suggests a topic for a language investigation. I am including a comparison grid as well. If you find this helpful, I’d be grateful if you could leave me a review. Thank you!

This is a resource for revising key concepts and theorists for accent + dialect, social groups and ethnicity for paper 2 section A. It is a collation of notes, many taken from Internet sources along with a very useful exercise investigating the connection between UK positions of power, accent and education. My students have used the results of this as original research in exam essays.

A handy sheet covering nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs to familiarise students with these terms. Suitable for preparing students for both English Language papers. They can be stuck into exercise books or laminated for use use during the lesson.

This pack consists of a PowerPoint, mark schemes and hand out as well as the original AQA question paper and markscheme for June 23 English Language paper 1, section A - Life of Pi. The PP has detailed explanations and advice on how to answer each question (1-4) and includes explanations of the mark scheme and activities for students. There are also opportunities for peer assessment although I think the final answer to question 4 should be marked by a teacher. Estimated length - 2-3 lessons. Included in the pack: Detailed PowerPoint Handout - extracts for assessment Student-friendly explanations of the mark schemes for qs 2,3 & 4 Original AQA material (Please note, the price of the pack covers items 1-3 only) Don’t forget to give me a review if you liked the materials!

This is a PowerPoint I made to prepare students for section B of paper 2, writing to argue: Fast Fashion. It contains two media texts to analyse and use as style models as well as guidance and tasks to prepare students for writing the article. There is also some peer assessment using mark schemes which I’m including here along with the question paper and media texts. The whole thing could take two to three lessons, including the forty-five minute assessment.

This is a PowerPoint I put together for preparing the READING section of paper 2, November 2020. The paper asks student to examine two texts about mountaineering. It takes students through questions 1 - 4, focusing on question requirements and allowing them to practise key skills whilst familiarising them with the mark-scheme. Vocabulary from the exam and the mark-scheme is explored as well. There are tasks throughout and opportunities for peer assessment but the final question should be marked by the teacher. It should take 2-3 lessons. It might to a good idea to print slides 6, 18 and 23 for students so that they have a copy of the mark schemes for qs 2,3 and 4. I am including the question paper, insert and mark-scheme from AQA.

This is a PowerPoint I put together for preparing the READING section of paper 2, November 2022. The paper asks student to examine two texts about insomnia. It takes students through questions 1 - 4, focusing on question requirements and allowing them to practise key skills whilst familiarising them with the mark-scheme. Vocabulary from the exam and the mark-scheme is explored as well. There are tasks throughout and opportunities for peer assessment but the final question should be marked by the teacher. I am including the question paper, insert and mark-scheme from AQA.

This is a transcript of a conversation between Shelagh Fogarty of LBC and a caller called Jonathan on 14/02/24. Jonathan had rung to criticise Shelagh for giving her opinion on her radio talk show. This conversation has since become notorious for being a man trying to tell a woman what she can and cannot talk about, even saying to her he would tell her when she could speak. I have put the link to the YouTube recording of the conversation on the worksheet, because it is best to listen to the original conversation in order to understand some of its pragmatics. There are two extracts followed by eight discussion points (to be done either verbally or in writing) drawing on linguistic theory from Zimmerman and West, Grice, Fairclough, Dale Spender and others. This is very useful in preparing for AQA paper 2 section A when considering some of the main theories for Language and Gender (particularly Dominance theory). It is also great for class discussion focusing on attitudes to women’s speech.