Welcome to the English Language A Level Transition Page. There are EIGHT activities for you to complete and bring with you to your first English Language lesson. You can complete your answers by hand or using a computer.

The A Level English Language course will take you through a variety of modules, for example: Spoken English, Phonetics, Identity, Language and Gender, Child Language Acquisition, Language and Diversity, Language Change and many more.

Through studying A Level English Language, you will understand how people communicate. You will learn how to assign meaning to words. The effect society has on language and the factors enabling humans to acquire, use and understand it. Plus, how it is used in real-life situations.

Language works in subtle ways, subconsciously. If a clever mind is behind the pen, the language conveyed in these messages can effectively influence people’s thoughts, perceptions, and actions.

The way a word sounds can influence your response to information or change your decision to buy a product or service. How a story is written can impact on your emotional state.

By studying A Level English Language in-depth, you will gain invaluable skills for life. You will understand how to communicate effectively, critically assess information and challenge assumptions. You’ll also become aware of the wider context of language and the written form. Such as how language is used for social control, propaganda and manipulation in the wider world.

It is a really interesting course to study and NOTHING like English Language GCSE. We look forward to welcoming you to lessons in September. 

Task 1: YOUR language - what is it like?

Answer the following questions in full sentences. 

• Do you use Twitter, or Instagram, or Facebook? What words do you most often use? How long is your average update?
• Do you use hashtags – not just for Twitter and Instagram?
• What words or phrases are fashionable in your year group, this year? Do you use them?
• Do you use any words, grammar, or pronunciations that drive your parents mad? What are they?
• What’s your language history? What does your accent reveal about you/ your parents/ where you are from / which sounds you like and hate?
• Do you have any family words that no one else uses? Where did they come from?
• Look up the last six words to be admitted to the Oxford English Dictionary. Any surprises?

Task 2: Language and GENDER

How does this 1950s advertisement represent women?

Pick 3 words or phrases as examples and analyse what assumptions are being made about roles and relationships.

1.

2.

3.

Task 3: International Phonetic Alphabet

This is a key for a phonetic alphabet. Each symbol stands for an English speech SOUND (rather than a written letter).

‘English language’ is written like this: /ɪŋɡlɪʃ læŋɡwɪʤ/

Have a go at writing your own name – or any of the sounds in it! You must use slash brackets at the start and end: /laɪk ðɪs/ (like this). It might look hard, but you will learn how to do it. Have a go!

Task 4: Language and POWER

Read the transcript from the BBC television series 'The Apprentice' and then answer the following questions in full sentences. 

• Who has the power here?
• How do you know?
• What features can you pick out to analyse and what would you say about them? 

Task 5: Accent and Dialect

Answer the questions based on the picture below

1. What does it show?
   
2. Why might this be interesting to an English Language student?
3. What are some of the words you have come across before? Which ones have you never encountered?
4. Do all of these words mean the same thing to you? I.E is a teacake the same as a cob?
5. Want to find out more?  Read the article below to find out more about bread rolls!

Barm vs cob: Why Britain has so many names for a bread roll - BBC Future

Task 6:  Sociolects and Language Diversity

Complete a Sociolect Audit.

Sociolect: the form of a language that people in a particular social group speak

List all the different social groups you belong to e.g. your family, your school, your age group, sports teams, social clubs or online communities etc.

For each of these groups think about how you use language i.e. do you swear more with your friends than your parents?  Do you have a nick name on your sports team?  If you are involved in an online community do you have an avatar or online name that you use and is there any jargon or specialist words that you would use?  Try to think how language distinguishes you as a member of that social group.

Present your findings on a mind-map.

Task 7:  Child Language Acquisition