English Language

Please note:
This subject is offered in mixed classes jointly with Ermysted’s Grammar School.   

Is this course for me?

You need to be able to analyse in depth and get to grips with a vast amount of linguistic terminology very quickly. You will also need to be proficient in written communication, expressing yourself in a logical, accurate and often creative manner. You should enjoy unpicking language, including grammar, and deciphering its meanings.

Opportunities

English Language can lead to a range of careers that require communication and creativity. Popular choices include journalism, publishing, teaching/lecturing, media and television careers, researching, writing, advertising, speech therapy, to name but a few.

Qualification Structure

Unit 1: Language, the Individual and Society

This is an examination unit; students must write three essays closely analysing texts from different time periods. The second half of the paper asks students to explore child language development. 

Unit 2: Language Diversity and Change

In this examination, students write a critical essay on the topic of language change (from 1400) or diversity - how our language is shaped by factors like gender, age, socio-economic status, region, and occupation. 

Students also write an analysis of two texts, and then produce a creative editorial presenting linguistic concepts to a non-specialist audience. 

Unit 3: Language in Action

This is non-examined assessment, where students produce a language investigation (2500 words) independently on a linguistic concept of their choice. They collect their own data and analyse it to explore a hypothesis. Students also produce a creative piece of their choice with a commentary explaining their linguistic choices and methods. (1500 words)

English Language has challenged my creative and analytical abilities. I love to write in different genres and have had plenty of opportunity to do so, crafting a monologue and a newspaper editorial. You get chance to analyse in a different way to GCSE, looking at social and cultural factors that influence language use in spoken and written contexts.