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Guidance on teaching A level English
English at A level is made up of three distinct subject areas, each with its own identity and its own needs and issues. The introduction of Curriculum 2000 (C2K) has clarified these differences and given schools and colleges the opportunity to rethink the nature and organisation of the courses they offer. The advice offered here draws on experience gained over the first three years of C2K, and gives both general points of guidance and specific recommendations about the three separate English courses. These are illustrated by case studies.
General guidance
English language
English literature
English language and literature
Materials from the English & Media Centre
General guidance
English has always accommodated a range of different philosophies and practices, and this diversity should be seen as a strength, offering teachers the professional freedom to draw on their own interests and adopt a range of methodologies. Nevertheless, departments will need to work together in planning and managing courses that meet the demands of the new specifications. In particular, departments should:
- share a broad set of aims about the nature of English and its place in students’ intellectual, spiritual, moral and cultural development, ensuring that these aims are communicated through teaching and learning and through the role played by English in the wider life of the school or college
- choose specifications which suit the vision, ethos and skills of the department and have the potential to challenge and motivate students
- develop a curriculum based on these specifications, including long-, medium- and short-term plans and ensuring that the relevant assessment objectives (AOs) are met
- ensure that the English curriculum makes full use of the capabilities and interests of staff
- share and discuss the aims of the curriculum with students, encouraging independent reflection on the nature of learning in English and drawing, where possible, on students’ enthusiasms and observations
- support students in the transition from GCSE to AS and from AS to A2, addressing the specific areas of knowledge and skill they will need in each phase of the course in an explicit and systematic manner
- provide clear learning objectives for students, sharing and discussing the demands of the AOs and planning activities that will allow students to fulfil these demands
- encourage the continuing development of skills in speaking and listening, reading and writing, providing frequent opportunities for discussion and debate and ensuring that students develop their ability to write in a manner that is appropriate to the course they are following
- offer opportunities for enrichment activities and out-of-school visits (theatre trips, visiting authors, conferences, links with university English departments) to enrich students’ learning and allow further exploration of specific topics, themes and issues
- use a variety of methods to assess students’ work, focusing on specific skills and areas of knowledge, and making use of opportunities for self- and peer assessment
- ensure that students are given opportunities for active and independent learning, both within and beyond the classroom
- make effective use of the school’s/college’s library and ICT facilities. Students could be introduced to these facilities as part of an induction course, or through specific study skills activities. Annotated bibliographies and lists of websites are a useful way of guiding students’ independent research, given the range and variability of resources available on the internet
- ensure that the needs of students of differing abilities are met, by supporting the less able and offering opportunities for extension work for able and confident students
- offer guidance about career prospects and progression to higher education, and ensure that schemes of work are sufficiently rigorous and engaging to allow a realistic foretaste of what the study of English at degree level might involve
- make use of the advanced extension award (AEA) as a way of challenging and stimulating the most able students. The AEA in English is an innovative exam that encourages students to make perceptive, sophisticated connections between a range of texts, extending their analytical skills and requiring them to write precisely and with flair. It enables candidates to draw on either literary or linguistic studies, or a combination of both. The exam focuses on a major theme or issue, and encourages students to draw on their wider reading and knowledge of the issues surrounding the study of English as well as on the sources provided. As such, it gives students the chance to read and write about English in a way that they will not have encountered at A-level. More information about the AEA can be found at the 14-19 section of the QCA website.
English language
English language is a relatively new discipline that offers both teachers and students a completely different set of challenges from those encountered at GCSE. Students will be introduced to a great number of different issues involving language and its place in human life, and will need to analyse and comment on a wide range of texts, both written and spoken. Specifications vary in the topics and texts they address, but some general principles are that teachers should:
- provide a structured introduction to the use of technical linguistic terminology so that students are empowered by their command of subject-specific language
- plan lessons that introduce students to the methods of linguistic analysis, using techniques such as point-quotation-explanation to model the writing of analytical prose
- provide teaching and learning activities that allow students to acquire and develop an understanding of linguistic topics, making use of both teacher-directed and student-centred learning
- introduce students to a wide range of linguistic debates, ensuring that they are aware of the dynamic nature of the subject and of current issues in language. Teachers might refer, for example, to topical issues such as political correctness, the rise of ‘estuary English’ and debates about the use of regional accents in broadcasting; to particular linguistic shibboleths and controversies; and to recent developments in research on the process of language acquisition
- encourage students to draw on their own observations of language in use, and to reflect on how language shapes identities and relationships (including power-relationships) in the wider world
- ensure that students are encouraged to develop as writers, offering opportunities for them to write for a range of audiences and allowing them to reflect on the processes of drafting and writing. Students should appreciate that the process of textual analysis can inform the development of their own writing skills.
English literature
While English literature is a more established discipline than English language, the specifications introduced in 2000 have, nevertheless, presented some important changes in the way the subject is taught and assessed. There is now an increased emphasis on the contexts of reading and writing, and on students’ awareness of the features of different genres. To meet these demands, teachers should:
- choose texts that will stimulate and engage the full range of students they teach, considering the needs of both less confident readers and those whose reading is already more adventurous and challenging
- provide opportunities for students to develop the skills of close reading, considering how authors’ choices of language, form and structure shape meaning and drawing attention to the characteristics of different genres
- encourage students to express ideas fluently and cogently, both orally and in writing. Students should be encouraged to use appropriate terminology and to structure essays in a coherent, logical manner
- plan activities that enable students to develop their understanding of the literary, cultural and historical contexts of their set texts, and of the ways in which these texts have been interpreted by different readers at different times
- introduce students to ways of using this contextual material in their writing, so that it is relevant, focused and correctly attributed
- use a range of resources to develop students’ knowledge, thinking skills and critical awareness, including material aimed at A level students, more complex critical texts, and web-based resources
- encourage wider reading from a range of genres and historical periods, emphasising the need to read whole texts and to be exploratory, reflective and open-minded
- allow space and time for the discussion of students’ own reading, and of topical events such as literary awards, theatre productions, and television and film adaptations.
English language and literature
The combined course makes rigorous links between the study of language and literature, and places particular emphasis on students’ ability to respond to a range of texts and choose the appropriate frameworks for their analysis. While it draws on many of the skills students would develop in the separate language and literature courses, it also has a distinct identity of its own as a course where the notion of ‘text’, the concept of literariness and the different modes of speech and writing can be analysed and interrogated. Teachers should aim to:
- encourage students to become confident readers of a wide range of texts (both literary and non-literary), and to discuss the contexts within which these texts are produced and interpreted
- ensure that students are encouraged to make connections between the study of language and of literature, exploring the nature of ‘text’ and making informed distinctions between literary and non-literary writing
- encourage students to make connections between the modes of speech and writing, looking at the stylistic features of both modes and analysing how texts of all kinds convey attitudes and moral stances
- plan activities that introduce students to a range of methods for the analysis of texts, drawing on both linguistic and literary frameworks and ensuring that students understand the reasons why particular frameworks are chosen
- promote the discussion of students’ own observations of both speech and writing, drawing on the experience that students bring to the course as users of language in the wider world
- keep up to date with developments in the nature of English as a subject, being aware of how innovations in technology (including the internet, film, television and graphic forms of communication) are enabling audiences to encounter texts in new ways. Teachers should plan activities that enable students to analyse these new forms of text, exploring the distinctive features of both text and context.
Case studies
> English
QCA weblinks
> A level performance descriptions: English language
> A level performance descriptions: English literature
> A level performance descriptions: English language and literature
> AEA test specification for English
Documenmts to download
> Summaries of the A level specifications available in English PDF
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Page updated: 12 June 2008