GCE from 2008 | English

Some centres value a linguistic approach to language study, and have reservations about a component that has some similarities with original writing units in other A level courses. Unit 2 is, in fact, linguistically rigorous, and this guide offers routes through the unit that will ensure that centres can maximise this aspect.

The unit requires the candidates to develop and apply this knowledge in a carefully planned and structured way.

Task 1
Journalism interview

The preparations advised for this task require the candidates to:
Transcribe spoken language.
Study, from a linguistic perspective, representation of speech in written text.
Identify and analyse the ways in which bias occurs in written text.

The stylistic aspects of this task should be used to develop the candidates’ understanding of the way the key constituents of language function in text:
The grammatical structures of spontaneous spoken language.
The ways in which writers can manipulate meaning via language structure and by the use of semantic and pragmatic devices.

Candidates can take the opportunity this unit offers to explore aspects of linguistic study via their choice of interviewee: a dialectologist, a translator, an ESOL teacher, a speech therapist, a forensic linguist and a teacher working with young children are just a few examples of the possibilities available.

Suggested reading:
Carter, R., et al, 2001. Working With Texts, 2nd edition. London: Routledge
Hodge, R and Kress, G, 1993, Language as Ideology 2nd edition, London, Routledge
McLoughlin, L., 2000, The Language of Magazines, London, Routledge
Reah, D., 2002. The Language of Newspapers, 2nd edition. London: Routledge

Narrative writing

The preparations for this task require the candidates to:
Study narrative from a structural perspective.
Study aspects of narrative theory.

Narrative is ubiquitous across cultures and for this reason, the study of narrative is an important aspect of discourse analysis, semiotics, child language and anthropology. A structural study of narrative allows the candidates to observe:
The ways in which structure operates within language at levels above that of sentence.
The function of narrative.
The importance of narrative in child language development.
The role of narrative in other cultures.

Suggested reading Labov, W., 1972, Language in the Inner City, Oxford, Blackwell
Labov, W. & Waletzky, J. (1997) Narrative Analysis: Oral Version of Personal Experience, Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7 (1-4), (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 3-38.
Ong, W. Orality and Literacy
Propp, V., 1968, The Morphology of the Folktale, Austin, UTP
http://www.paulhazel.com/blog/Introduction_To_Narrative.pdf

Task 2
Text for a listening audience
Scripted presentation

The preparations advised for this task require the candidates to:
Research a chosen language topic.
Identify ways in which this topic may be made accessible to a selected audience.

This task allows candidates to consolidate the linguistic knowledge they have gained in their study for Unit 1 and their research and preparation in Unit 2. The wide-ranging possibilities available in Unit 2, Task 1 allow candidates to begin their exploration of some topics for Unit 3, for example, language diversity or child language.

Dramatic monologue

The preparation advised for this unit requires the candidate to:
Study the way meaning is created in the context of the physical and social world (pragmatics).
Apply this knowledge to their own text.
Be aware of idiolect and sociolect.

Suggested reading
Peccei, Jean Stilwell, 1999, Pragmatics, London, Routledge
Carter, R., & McCarthy, M. 1997, Exploring S