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.

Document detailing the specifics of the manner and place of articulation, for analysing the phonology of language acquisition. Very useful for developing AO1 skills (apply linguistic methods and terminology; apply different levels of language analysis) and for understanding sound production. Can also be used for the Accents and Dialects unit.

This is a PowerPoint thoroughly presenting contextual factors in Romeo and Juliet including: religion + sin, patriarchy, setting and Artistotle. This resource is extremely useful for introducing AO3 factors (exploration of ideas/perspectives/contextual factors ) present in the play with references and some suggestions for discussion.

A level English Language resource for paper 1 section B, child language development. It is a worksheet exploring language acquisition and the brain, with information about Wernicke’s area, Broca’s area etc. I use it to encourage discussion about which of the main theories - Innateness, Behaviourist and Social Interactionist - are supported by the physical aspects of the brain.

This resource is a grid to be cut up and given to each student. It has the principal theorists for Child Language Development (such as Chomsky, Pinker, Aitchison, Vygotsky, Piaget) and can be used as a simple revision device, or as a way into constructing a well-supported discursive essay about CLD. Some guidance is included for the teacher.

Simple step-by-step exercises for lower-ability students taking them through writing a description of a character. Covers simple metaphors and similes too. Culminates in a three paragraph description.

A comprehensive creative writing scheme I created to prepare students for Question 5 of paper 1, GCSE English Language both descriptive and narrative writing. My approach was to begin with reading extracts from interesting texts - e.g. The Thirty-Nine Steps, Great Expectations, I’m the King of the Castle and From the Here and Now (Ann Brashares) thus reinforcing skills for Section A of this paper. There are fun writing exercises as warm-ups (these can be successfully extended), a focus on technique and structuring and clear links with the mark scheme. Most of the assessment is peer assessment, although I often use a shared word document so that students can share their work and comment on each others. The final task is a GCSE task which would ideally be marked by the teacher.

An AQA A level English Language resource for Paper 1 Section B: Challenging Innateness Theory in Child Language Development. In 1986, Chomsky added to his theory of language innateness by putting forward the idea that the Language Acquisition Device contained a Universal Grammar, a set of basic rules of grammar that characterise all languages. Read through the following theories and decide whether they or PRO Innateness theory or CON. This is an extremely useful document for discussing the main theories of Language Acquisition with Innateness as a starting point. Students should spend five minutes reading through and deciding whether the statements agree with Chomsky’s theories or with Behaviourist/Interactionist theories. I have found that it generates a lot of discussion and improves students’ understanding of AO2, concepts and theories.

These are knowledge organisers for 11 of the poems from the Love and Relationships collection. They are very useful for revision because they focus on the language, ideas/themes, context and story of the poems in a concise, easy-to-revise manner. Poems covered: Porphyria’s Lover The Farmer’s Bride Before You Were Mine Follower Love’s Philosophy Mother any distance Neutral Tones Sonnet XXIX Winter Swans When We Two Parted Letters from Yorkshire

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.

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.

A group activity worksheet focussing on key concepts in Romeo and Juliet - e.g. fate, youth/age, love, honour - for AO1, level 6 of the markscheme. Students should work in groups to find appropriate extracts, make a list of key points and then write an opening paragraph to an analysis. Their finished copies can be printed out so that they have a revision resource about concepts in Romeo and Juliet. Full guidance for teachers given.

Students must put the jumbled events of the play in the correct order. This includes a help sheet for teachers.

PowerPoint explaining Child Directed Speech for the Child Language Development question (Paper 1 Section B). There are two video examples to watch alongside lists of features of CDS so that students can identify them. Also plenty of examples of theorists and their ideas about CDS. Very useful for exploring Bruner’s LASS.

A free PowerPoint and script for a school (secondary) assembly about the history of libraries starting with Qarawiyyan Library in Tunisia. The resource also contains clips of famous films/tv programmes involving libraries from Agatha Christie to Ghostbusters. Originally written for a World Book Day and presented by a group of students, the script can be split up for several readers.

This resource was made for an English faculty assembly about famous women writers starting with Aphra Behn and ending with J. K. Rowling. There is a PowerPoint with quotations from each writer, and a script which tells the stories from the writers’ points of view.

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.