AS Level
The emphasis in the English Language course is on widening awareness of the expansive potential of our language, with its wide vocabulary and rich heritage. Along with learning the technical terms which allow knowledgeable analysis of the way language operates, Unit 1 will introduce the concepts and topics to be examined through the study of texts. Unit 2 will cover the wide-ranging "Language and Social Contexts", which introduces students to such topics as language and gender, adapting language use to different situations or people, and the notion of political correctness. We also examine how advertisers and politicians try to persuade us, or how spoken versions of language differ from the more formal written ones. For many, the range of topics we look at here provides an interesting core, from which their own interests can develop in Unit 4, the Investigating Language coursework, should they decide to take the full A-Level course. The AS coursework is to be Original Writing, which, as Unit 3, provides 30% of the total AS marks (15% of a full A-Level). This provides scope for the creative talents of those who enjoy writing of any kind, ranging from factual tasks to imaginative ones, encouraging a consideration of audience and purpose.

Advanced Level
Anyone wishing to take the full A-Level course must complete the AS course plus 3 additional modules ~ Units 4, 5 and 6. Unit 4 allows students to follow their interests, consolidating knowledge gained in modules 1 and 2 by undertaking a small research project of their own choice. Considerable freedom of reading around and exploring topics means that this module caters for the mature individual student, rather than the group, so that everyone collects different data and writes a completely different project.

Another area of study that captivates the interest of anyone who has ever learnt a language is that of Language Development, the topic for Unit 6 of A2. How did you learn to use the words and structures that have become so familiar to you? Why do children seem to go through the same stages at the same ages? What a clever brain you have to have acquired so much so quickly! Here is something we have all experienced, but never analysed, so it is naturally fascinating. This module also involves a study of how language has changed and is changing, explaining why we have so many words in our vocabulary, and reflecting on how we have added to that stock with recent developments. Language is studied in both the written and spoken form, and is seen as something that is alive and well, and changing to accommodate a new century and new technology.

In Unit 5, there is Editorial Writing, in which the skills identified in other people's language use are put to use in the student's own construction of a new document from a set of source materials. Once this can be accomplished with skill, it should be possible for a student to demonstrate the ability to manipulate language for many different purposes, and in many different professions, taking with her or him an enjoyment of the richness of the language we use.

AS level
A-level
AQA