1. English Hub School networks A-level English Language
Spring 2017

2. Aims
To provide help and support on teaching and learning ideas for some of the A-level topics.
To provide help and support on setting your own questions.
To provide relevant updates.
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3. Agenda Language discourses 1hr 15 mins Child language 1hr Lunch
5/22/2018
Agenda
Language discourses hr 15 mins
Child language hr
Lunch
Guide to writing practice papers mins
Updates mins
These are only guides and you can adapt the times as you seem appropriate.
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4. Background and reasoning
5/22/2018
Background and reasoning
New content introduced at A-level.
The material has had slightly different interpretations in terms of style of assessing in the past with Spec A and Spec B.
Focuses on how to develop the relevant skills and knowledge to answer questions on Paper 1B and Paper 2B.
The guide to writing questions is establishing some assessment principles across both papers to allow teachers to create questions with confidence.
Focus students on the relevant skills & knowledge needed to answer questions on both paper 1 Child Language Development and Paper 2 Language Discourses
Provide further ideas for questions on both these topics
Provide data and ideas for sourcing other data for Language Discourses
Show students the links between AS study and A level exam components
Develop students' analytical skills across both papers
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5. Language discourses
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6. (1 of 2) Language discourses
Specification page 18.
Students will study a range of texts that convey attitudes to language diversity and change. The texts studied will include those written for non-specialist audiences.
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7. (2 of 2) Language discourses
Students will explore how texts are produced to convey views and opinions about language issues.
They will explore how texts:
represent language
construct an identity for the producer
position the reader and seek to influence them
are connected to discourses about language. 7
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8. FAQ recap
The texts set for Paper 2 of the A-level will be contemporary and will feature popular discourses about language. In other words, they will not be academic texts.
They will not necessarily be articles, but could be taken from other genres of popular non-fiction writing:
self help guides
advice columns
books aimed at non-specialists
web-based articles
comments in response to web-based articles.
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9. Teaching and learning resource
We have created some teaching ideas which are designed to help you prepare students for questions on Language Discourses in Section B of Paper 2 of the A-level.
The resource is based around using a number of texts that have been used in previous question papers and are available through the resource area of the legacy specifications.
A version will be available for others via our website in the coming months.
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10. Activity: Language discourses
5/22/2018
Activity: Language discourses
Go through the starter task.
Feedback from the groups.
Collate the feedback to see if there are other ideas for sharing.
Move on to the development of close analysis of a text in terms of the second task – again this can be done in groups – collating the feedback and seeing if people can share other ideas.
Move on to letting the delegates see how the whole resource can sit together.
Discussion about whether they see this material being useful, what other lesson ideas have people used so far?
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11. Children’s language development
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12. (1 of 2) Children’s language development
Specification page 17.
Students should explore how children develop their spoken and written skills.
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13. (2 of 2) Children’s language development
5/22/2018
(2 of 2) Children’s language development
To achieve this, students should study:
the functions of children’s language
phonological, pragmatic, lexical, semantic and grammatical development
different genres of speech and writing
different modes of communication (spoken, written, multimodal)
theories and research about language development.
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14. Teaching and learning resource
We have created some teaching ideas which are designed to help you prepare students for questions on Children’s Language Development Section B of Paper 1 of the A-level. The resource is based around using data sources used in the question papers from the legacy specification. A version will be available for others via our website in the coming months.
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15. Activity: children’s language
Follow the guide sheet to create an activity.
Give them the opportunity to go through the whole document themselves after going through the sheet.
The key again is for the delegates to try to share their own ideas. How they could use this material? What other ideas have they used to develop the necessary skills?
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16. (1 of 2) Help and further support
We are creating guides to help you create your own practice papers across the A-level suite.
These help gain an understanding of the structures of the question papers.
The entire A-level suite have an extensive Frequently Asked Questions document which address many of your queries. Link:
A-level English Language FAQs
Further queries should be directed to
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17. (1 of 2) Updates
All the NEA standardising material is on our Teacher Online Standardising (T-OLS). Link:
T-OLS
Every school is allocated an NEA adviser to help and support with issues.
The AQA website also has information about how to submit marks.
There are example AS scripts from the 2-16 exam on the Secure Key Materials area at aqa.org.uk/log-in.
They are filed under ‘Question Papers and Mark Schemes…’ for each specification.
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18. (2 of 2) Updates
There are relevant supporting materials from AS feedback meetings available through SKM.
The focus of the A-level summer hub sessions will be the GCE English Language and Literature (7707) specification.
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19. Any questions?
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20. Thank you
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