On A3, students can use this sheet for a revision exercise on AS English Language Paper 2: Language Varieties (AQA). They can start by going through the various -lects they will have learned about, then recapping vocabulary specific to each, and adding in any relevant theorists/ideas/critiques they may have covered. The idea is that they end up with a colourful revision aid which they could use as a poster.
This is intended as a last-minute, 'look at this' resource for students taking the new GCSE English Language exams, on 6th and 12th June 2017.
It breaks down what they will be doing for each question on each paper.
Two PowerPoint presentations relating to Language & Occupation, one of the areas which could come up in the first examinations of AQA’s new English Language AS specification (Paper 2). The areas covered:
- Swales and ‘discourse communities’
- Applying Swales to the sample text given by AQA in their sample materials and Cambridge textbook
- Activities and examples
- Techniques and strategies for approaching a Language & Occupation question in the exam.
Put together for A Level English Language students (AQA). This presentation worked for the Language Change Over Time element of the old specification, but could be useful for Language Change in the new specification too.
Contains:
- Basic introduction
- Embedded media clips (correct at time of posting)
- Timed activity, with link to online timer
- A sample of Johnson's writing, from the Preface to the Dictionary
- Stretch & Challenge activity
- Ideas and discussion points
- Links to Johnson's Online Dictionary and an activity based on this.
Some of the Paris Anthology texts are very tricky; this resource is intended to support students as they read The Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne. It breaks down the text into manageable chunks, providing summaries and glossaries for each section. There are some illustrations to aid understanding, and at the end there are some short development tasks.
This would be suitable for AS or A Level students studying this text.
*
Edited to add: after a couple of disappointed reviews, please may I ask you to be clear on what this resource is: it’s a reading guide. It is not a scheme of work or a lesson plan. Thank you. *
This is a recap for A2 English Language - Language Change students ahead of their exams. It covers prescriptivism and descriptivism, whilst also introducing some of Jean Aitchison's analogies for negative views of language change (the 'crumbling castle', the 'damp spoon' and the 'contagious disease'). It has in-built discussion points, as well as an extension activity where students research their own newspaper articles reflecting prescriptivist/descriptivist outlooks. Could be a good way to round off the course.
A resource intended for students of A Level English Language to work through after completing their work on UK accent & dialect as part of their ‘language diversity and change’ content.
This resource has been put together with AQA’s new specification in mind, but could potentially be adapted. The pack recaps diversity within the UK, so with some tweaking to the final task could suit the AS specification.
The pack asks students to self-reflect on their current levels of knowledge before undertaking a range of revision activities: simple recall, table-filling, mind-mapping, discussion, evaluating key ideas and recapping key theorists.
The theorists and key ideas here can be found in the Cambridge English Language A/AS Level for AQA textbook (Giovanelli et al), so this would be a good support for students who have used this book.
The development activities at the end of the pack are based on Paper 2 exam tasks and students could do some or all of these.
Based on the AS/A Level Paris Anthology for AQA English Language & Literature.
Contains activities, centred around exam-relevant skills like language and structure, and ways to approach unfamiliar texts and genres. Intended to support students of all levels.
The slides make mention of ‘PETE’ paragraphs (point/evidence/technical terms/elaboration) but could easily be modified for whatever structured paragraph model you use!
This presentation contains an introduction to the controversy over 'inkhorn words' which originated in the 1500s. Whilst this slightly pre-dates the new specification start date for the language change material of 1600, it's important context and has been mentioned in AQA materials.
The PowerPoint contains:
- An easy-to-understand introduction to the idea of 'inkhorn words' and why they arose
- Some examples of inkhorn words which didn't last
- A timed task for students to think about why there would be resistance to some of these words
- A look at the arguments for and against
- A sample text extract on the topic from the mid-1500s, for students to read and questions for them to answer
- The question of national identity and language
- Some inkhorn words which are still in use, for students to read and use
- Links between the Inkhorn Controversy and the Prescriptivist and Descriptivist schools of thought which followed (with a snippet from a modern Guardian headline which illustrates that controversy over language change is still current).
This activity pack is intended to be used with AQA’s new specification English Language & Literature course - developing understanding of one of the texts in the Paris Anthology, Understanding Chic by Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni.
The workpack includes a discussion of the key term ‘chic’, work on language techniques such as sensory language, more focused work on language techniques (such as how a sense of the dramatic is created in the text), mind-mapping, written extension tasks, and a recast activity which links in with other texts in the anthology.
This resource comprises two parts and is tailored towards the AS Level/A Level in English Language & Literature (AQA new specification).
The first part is a straightforward piece of independent study which students could do on Hemingway to give them some broad context for reading from the Anthology.
The second resource is a booklet containing a range of activities to boost understanding and analytical skills. It has an AO1 focus but encourages students to forge links between language levels and meanings, which is something which my first year students have found tricky this year.
The PETE paragraph structure mentioned refers to ‘point, evidence, technical terms, explain’ but could easily be tweaked to reflect any writing models you may use.
It is bite-sized so that work can be reviewed as students go along, or for more able students, it could be used as homework.
The development activity at the end of the booklet is more suited to the AS specification exams, but could be used as a way of engaging students with the Hemingway texts.
Intended for A Level English Language students entering the second year, studying World Englishes, debates and ideas (AQA new specification).
This also includes a BBC newspaper article on Hinglish (attributed, with link) followed by some questions for students.
Designed to accompany the new AQA specification for AS Level English Language & Literature: Paper 1 (Views and Voices) for those who have elected to study The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. This resource goes into general detail on the structure and timings of the exams, focusing on Paper 1; it deals with FAQs and provides structured guidance on how to prepare for the exam from three months prior to it. It also contains space for students to self-assess their own revision requirements, with some add-on activities on themes in the novel, plus comment on how setting, point of view, sense of space/place/time and characterisation are explored (in line with AQA's own guidance on exam responses). Finally, there are a range of text extracts and possible questions, to allow students to practice their writing skills.
This resource is intended to be given out when all the reading is complete. It also presupposes that students will have kept a reading log.
This resource has been designed for AQA A Level English Language (new specification).
It is a brief glossary of theorists relevant to the different areas of study on the course:
- Language and dialect/accent
- Language and Age
- Language and Occupation
- Language Change Over Time
- Language and Gender
This could be useful to re-cap from the AS course, for revision towards the end of the AS course, or to give to students now on the second year of the new programme. Whilst it is not exhaustive, it's intended to give students a bedrock of relevant theorists explained in a brief but clear way, and it's a straightforward resource they can use for reference, revision, or to support other classroom/homework activities.
This is a revision resource for students following the new specification AS English Language qualification (AQA). It focuses on Question 3 specifically, based on feedback from my students that they were unsure what to identify/how to structure responses.
The resource pack contains:
- A recap on how Q3 differs to Q1 and Q2;
- The Assessment Objective for Q3 and how to interpret this;
- A possible 'toolkit' to help students engage with the task, pointing them towards Genre, Audience, Purpose and Structure;
- A bank of useful terms for comparing/contrasting;
- Two sample texts linked by topic, in keeping with the exam style questions (although slightly shorter than the sample exam material provided by AQA, to fit in with revision);
- A planning grid for initial approaches to the texts;
- A sample response, which encompasses AQA's recent training as well as the sample mark scheme for Paper 1;
- Some general pointers and guidance on how to approach this paper of the exam.
This activity could be given for homework or independent study, or it could be modified for classroom use.
Closely following David Crystal's book, English as a Global Language, this reference booklet identifies some of the reasons for:
- The English language's position of world importance
- Issues and considerations surrounding the topic of English as a global language
- What could happen in future.
It is intended to support AQA's new A Level English Language (second year of the course).
The booklet asks lots of questions: these could be for students to discuss in class, make notes on in their own time, or even draft their own exam questions for one another (if they can also identify a suitable piece of data to accompany their questions!)
It should support learner understanding of some of the relevant context for the position of English.
One of the more challenging texts in the Paris Anthology for AS English Language & Literature, it can feel like you need to give a mini history lesson before tackling the text itself with Helen Maria Williams' 'Letters from France'. This PowerPoint presentation and an accompanying booklet help to blend an understanding of the political/social climate with tasks encouraging closer reading of literary techniques.
This is an activities booklet based on pages 156-162 of the AQA AS English Language and Literature Paris Anthology. It's the second conversation between Mike, Sophia and Isabelle.
It's a complete set of activities which could be done for homework or in class.
It has a starter, paired work activities, whole class discussion, purpose and audience recap, work on meanings and representations, writing activities (using the PETE - Point, Evidence, Technical terminology and Explain model, though this can easily be adapted) and a recast activity. The recast supposes students have seen the 'Fine French Food' Lonely Planet clip, and the resource assumes students have some knowledge of conversational features (filled pauses, etc.)
This is an accessible resource for all capabilities, and tailored towards exam skills.