English Language

A Level, Level 3

English Language

A Level English Language builds on knowledge and understanding developed at GCSE, but that is where the similarity ends. This course allows you to study the subject of Linguistics, which is the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics. You will be able to develop your knowledge of written and spoken English and learn a new ‘toolkit’ of grammatical terminology to help you understand how texts work. If you enjoyed English at GCSE and want to study the subject further, this course is ideal for you.

There are no novels or poems to read on the course. There is, however, a great emphasis on the study of non-fiction and spoken texts and plenty of debate and analysis of non-fiction texts, from conversations to articles, essays to adverts and from posters to text messages which means you will read widely.

You will learn all about the different varieties of spoken and written English, acting as a ‘detective’ to decipher meanings and look at the ways information is represented to us. You will also study language diversity, looking at how dialect, accent, gender, age and occupation can affect your language. The work involves a mixture of class teaching, group work and research projects.

You will develop your subject knowledge in the second year through further study of language diversity and change from the year 1600 to current day, including how English has established itself and is spoken around the world. You will also study how children learn to read and write. As part of your coursework, you will have the opportunity to undertake your own individual research and write a creative piece.

Many of our students go on to study English Language or Linguistics at university or other related Higher Education courses such as Teacher Training, Public Relations, Law and Journalism. English language is considered to be a useful A Level subject for university applications to study law. It is recommended that if you have a desire to study English to degree level that you also study English Literature at A Level. Many universities require A Level English literature as a facilitating subject to study English.

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