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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Overview

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This scheme of work provides ideas about how to construct and deliver a course. The syllabus has been broken down into teaching units with suggested teaching activities and learning resources to use in the classroom. Recommended prior knowledge Learners will need a competence of written English, demonstrated through success at O Level/IGCSE, as well as a basic appreciation of the linguistic components which construct meaning in a range of texts. Outline The units within this scheme of work are: Unit 1: Introduction to AS and A Level course Unit 2: Commentary Unit 3: Directed writing Unit 4: Imaginative writing (narrative/descriptive) Unit 5: Writing for an audience (discursive/argumentative) Unit 6: Text analysis Unit 7: Language topics Appendices 1–8 Opportunities for differentiation are indicated as basic and challenging; there is the potential for differentiation by resource, length, grouping, expected level of outcome, and degree of support by teacher, throughout the scheme of work.

Timings for activities and feedback are left to the judgment of the teacher, according to the level of the learners and size of the class. Length of time allocated to a task is another possible area for differentiation Teacher support Teacher Support is a secure online resource bank and community forum for Cambridge teachers. Go to http://teachers.cie.org.uk for access to specimen and past question papers, mark schemes and other resources.

We also offer online and face-to-face training; details of forthcoming training opportunities are posted online. An editable version of this scheme of work is available on Teacher Support. Go to http://teachers.cie.org.uk. The scheme of work is in Word doc format and will open in most word processors in most operating systems. If your word processor or operating system cannot open it, you can download Open Office for free at www.openoffice.org
Resources The up-to-date resource list for this syllabus can be found at www.cie.org.uk

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Textbooks: Croft, S and Myers, R Crystal, D Durran, J and Stewart, J Field, M Jackson, H and Stockwell, P McArthur, B Montgomery, M et al Toner, H and Whittome, E Websites:

Exploring Language and Literature Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN: 9780198314578 nd The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language Cambridge University Press, 2 edition 2003 ISBN: 9780521530330 Student Handbook for English Pearson, 2000 ISBN: 9781857495850 Improve Your Punctuation and Grammar: 3rd edition How To Books, 2009 ISBN: 9781845283292 An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language Nelson Thornes, 1996 ISBN: 9780748725809 nd The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches Penguin 2 edition, 1999 ISBN: 9780140285000 Ways of Reading Routledge, 1992 ISBN: 9780415053204 Language and Literature for AS Level (Toner and Whittome) Cambridge University Press, 2003 ISBN: 9780521533379

This scheme of work includes website links providing direct access to internet resources. Cambridge International Examinations is not responsible for the accuracy or content of information contained in these sites. The inclusion of a link to an external website should not be understood to be an endorsement of that website or the site’s owners (or their products/services). The particular website pages in the learning resource column were selected when the scheme of work was produced. Other aspects of the sites were not checked and only the particular resources are recommended. (a) General English language websites www.universalteacher.org.uk/contents.htm#langa www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/index.shtml
http://david-crystal.blogspot.co.uk/ www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/index.html www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/ www.literaryconnections.co.uk/resources/lang.html (b) Topic and unit specific websites www.worldwidewords.org/ (Global language)

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Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093)

Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 1: Introduction to AS and A Level course

Recommended prior knowledge A competence of written English, demonstrated through success at O Level/IGCSE and a basic understanding of the linguistic features of a range of texts. Context This unit is the introduction to the course and gives an overview of the skills needed to analyse texts, both written and spoken, and to write them. It should be the first unit studied. The unit re-visits skills, concepts and interests developed at O Level/IGCSE, and introduces ideas of spoken language to add to the analysis of texts in a variety of written forms. The repertoire of writing for different purposes/audiences, using different forms, is extended through the study of a range of models and through structured practice. Outline Classroom activities are suggested, with a variety of individual/pair/group and whole-class tasks. Skills are taught and reinforced at a basic level; more challenging activities are outlined; and a range of print, multi-modal and online resources is recommended, both for teacher-led class use and for further learner research. Syllabus ref Paper 1 Paper 3 Learning objectives

1. Moving on from O Level/IGCSE The syllabus aims to develop:

• What makes a text?

• • How is textual meaning constructed?

• a critical and informed response to texts in a range of forms, styles and contexts the interdependent skills of reading, analysis and research effective, creative, accurate and appropriate communication a firm foundation for further study of language and linguistics.

Suggested teaching activities An initial reminder that a text can be: • a few words or a whole novel • in prose or verse

• in dialogue, speech or writing. Working with a partner or in a group, learners list as many as possible of the texts they have studied in the recent past. This should include texts from different subject areas – history, geography, science – as well as English. Class discussion could follow. A helpful focus would be features of any/all of these texts which learners found difficult. For example, technical vocabulary in a scientific text might have caused problems;

or learners might have found it hard to detect tone in an article, perhaps missing an author’s irony and taking the text at face value. Learning resources Language and Literature for AS Level (Toner and Whittome) CUP ISBN: 9780521533379 Other useful books include: Exploring Language and Literature (Croft and Myers) OUP ISBN: 9780198314578 An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language (Jackson and Stockwell) Nelson Thornes ISBN: 9780748725809

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Syllabus ref Assessment objectives

Learning objectives Assessment objectives: AO1: read with understanding and analyse texts in a variety of forms AO2: demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of English language (including, at A Level, spoken language) and its use in a variety of contexts AO3: write clearly, accurately, creatively and effectively for different purposes/audiences, using different forms

Suggested teaching activities This could lead naturally to revision of some features of language. Working individually at first, learners could be encouraged to consider how far they have tried to incorporate into their own writing aspects of style they have encountered in their reading. Examples might include aspects such as: • vocabulary • figurative language (e.g. use of metaphor and simile) • word ordering and sentence structure

• formality/informality of tone. Brainstorm and list the different types of written text experienced in an average week: timetable, text-book, diary, advertisement (visual or print), shopping list, letter, television listings, magazine, menu, instructions, newspaper article, novel and so on. Review the kinds of written discourse that learners undertook for their previous courses and which they found easiest to write, or most enjoyable. All the work they have done in the past is a firm foundation for the new course.

Learning resources An excellent website for information and resources. Some sections are directly related to particular UK English syllabuses, but most can be applied to any English language course at this level: www.universalteacher.org.uk/content s.htm#langa

AO1

2. Types of written text There are many types of written text, far more than might at first be thought. Although not all will feature in an exam paper, knowledge of the varieties will underpin later work. And familiarity with as wide as possible a variety of texts will mean that no text met in an exam will come as an unpleasant surprise to the learner.

Encourage learners to bring in examples of different kinds of written text and see how many can be accumulated. These might be displayed on a notice board, or stored/displayed on an interactive whiteboard. A helpful list of text types and their ‘typical’ features can be found at: www.det.nsw.edu.au/eppcontent/glos sary/app/resource/factsheet/4108.pdf

AO1 AO2 AO3

3. Types of spoken text There are similarly many kinds of spoken text. Natural and scripted speech both feature in exam papers for this syllabus, for analysis and as stimulus for personal writing. Planned speeches include rhetorical devices such as: emotive language, and patterning devices such as repetition, lists, questions, antithesis (use of opposites) and figurative

Brainstorm types of speech, starting with the obvious speech activities that make up our interactions with each other. Other types might include radio interviews and news reports, telephone conversations (including voicemails and answer phone messages), as well as more formal speech acts such as formal presentations and public speeches. Record some conversations – this can be done in class using a range of recording devices. Learners can then listen to their own speech patterns and sounds and attempt to transcribe them as exactly as possible.

Exploring Language and Literature (Croft and Myers) has a chapter devoted to differences between spoken and written language. See also: www.omniglot.com/writing/writingvs peech.htm Resources for phonemic transcription can be found at: www.tedpower.co.uk/phonetics.htm

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Syllabus ref

Learning objectives language, such as metaphors. Learners may need to be discouraged from thinking that natural/spontaneous speech is just an inferior form of written language, or that planned speech is somehow ‘better’ because ‘mistakes’ are edited out. This kind of ‘deficit-model’ approach to spoken language is nearly always unhelpful.

Suggested teaching activities

Learning resources Things to remember when transcribing speech (David Crystal) (University of Reading) provides a typically clear account of the difficulties of transcribing speech at: www.davidcrystal.com/DC_articles/ Clinical28.pdf Other resources for spoken language are shown in Units 2 and 3 of this scheme of work. More challenging level An understanding of
pragmatics will inform the response of the most able learners. See: www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/pr agmatics.htm#written Or PRAGMATICS by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson at: www.google.co.uk/url?…. Basic research Learners should try to find examples of writers discussing their work and saying what they were trying to do. Are there other effects that the writers were not consciously aware of?

Learners can go on to transcribe the dialogue from their favourite soap opera. How similar is it to the real conversations they hear around them? They are likely to realise that, in natural spontaneous speech, speakers commonly repeat themselves, leave words out, interrupt and leave sentences unfinished. Learners might also transcribe (or read the transcription of) a political speech as an example of rhetoric. Basic level Go back to the different texts gathered previously, both written and spoken, and discuss their purpose(s).

Bear in mind that a text may have an obvious/surface/explicit purpose, but underlying purposes may emerge when the text is subjected to close linguistic analysis. (Advertisements are useful here.) • What is each text trying to do? • How successful is each text? Look also at literary texts: consider the purpose of particular poems or stories. More challenging level Consider the following point: An evaluation of the writer’s purpose may not be the only outcome of analysis of a piece of writing. A reader may be conscious of an author’s original and explicit purpose, but there may also be unconscious impulses that the discerning reader can identify in a piece of writing or in the tone of a speech.

Candidates are required to:

4. Purpose The purpose of a text – what it is trying to do – should now be considered in more detail. The different texts gathered can be broadly categorised in a very general way, bearing in mind that texts will often overlap different categories, such as: • formal/informal • information-based or argument based • written to persuade or to entertain. All of the different possible purposes should be explored. Being aware of a writer’s purpose (why apparently s/he wrote what s/he did) will help learners to analyse and evaluate both what was written (the content) and how it was written (the style). It will also help to focus on the individual learner’s writing skills and his/her own purposes in writing.

identify distinguishing features of the texts

relate them to the function and context of the writing

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Syllabus ref Paper 1 All questions, part (b): writing for a specific purpose and/or audience Paper 2 Section B: writing for an audience

Learning objectives 5. Audience Any communication is a two-way process, from writer or speaker to audience or reader. It is crucial to consider who is being communicated to by any given text. In some situations there will be both a primary and a secondary audience. For example, a report on a learner’s progress in a particular subject at school may be addressed primarily to the learner or to the learner’s parents; but the secondary audience might include teachers of other subjects for whom this learners progress might be significantly better (or significantly worse).

Suggested teaching activities Learners should each bring in five distinctly different texts, including one advertisement. Working individually at first, then comparing findings in pairs, they should explore what can be deduced about the audience that is being appealed to in each one. Follow-up work: Presentation in speech and writing of the same piece of information tailored for three different audiences. For example: The learner has had an accident in her/his mother’s car. How would this be communicated to a) her/his mother b) her/his friends c) the insurance company? How do these communications differ?

Learning resources More challenging level More able learners interested in theories of text reception – especially media texts – would find the following light-hearted account of ‘audience positioning’ both informative and entertaining: www.litnotes.co.uk/audtheory.htm A more straightforward though equally challenging account is available at: http://brianair.wordpress.com/filmtheory/audience-responses/

Paper 1 Candidates are required to: identify distinguishing features of the texts relate them to the function and context of the writing Paper 1 Candidates are required

6. Context In what context, or surroundings, does the piece of text appear? Some aspects of context are verbal – they are to do with the other words and texts surrounding the text we are studying. Other aspects of context are more social – they are to do with the social relationships surrounding the situation in which the text has been produced and in which it is being understood.

Readers make assumptions all the time when they are reading an extract, picking up cues from the text about the wider whole. Using the collections of texts assembled in the previous (5. Audience) activity, learners should explore textual evidence to see what can be deduced about their contexts. What features of topic, language, tone and form have led to these conclusions? Discussion arising from such exercises can prove very helpful as a focus for development of close critical reading.

The Open University offers a wide range of online material, some of it interactive. For example, there’s an activity on “your language in context” in a sequence at: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/ou content/view.php?id=397753§i on=2.6

7. Form The ways in which a text is presented – its layout on the printed page, the ways in

Once again, learners will need to do some basic research which will involve locating a range of texts whose form is in some way interesting.

A visually simple (but linguistically complex) example of ‘concrete’ form can be found in many of the poems

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Syllabus ref to: identify distinguishing features of the texts

Learning objectives which it is heard or displayed, its aural or visual format – give immediate clues to the kind of text it is, even before we come to ‘read’ it in detail. Some texts have features of shape and layout which are very obvious and easilyidentified – for example, a list, a script, a poem. At other times, an author might deliberately set out a text of one type as if it were another type. For example, the creators of one particular series of magazine and newspaper advertisements for a financial investment fund use the kind of cartoon-style pictures that might be found in an adventure comic strip. See www.haystackonline.com/page/26973/agen cies/libertine/the-profit-hunter Learners will need to practise the basic skill of identifying significant features of form, then moving on to the more challenging task of evaluating the effects of these features, relating them to context, audience and purpose.

Suggested teaching activities They could be directed to some of the following: • newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements • online texts such as film reviews and blogs • pamphlets/leaflets/direct (‘junk’) mail • ‘official’ notices • posters and advertising hoardings • radio and television news and current affairs broadcasting • radio phone-in shows • ‘concrete’ poems. A highly challenging activity might refer to the work of the Centre for Material Texts at the University of Cambridge, which ‘fosters
research into the physical forms in which texts are embodied and circulated, and … fosters the study of a wide variety of media – from spoken words to celluloid, from manuscript to XML’. See: www.english.cam.ac.uk/cmt/?page_id=2676

Learning resources of George Herbert – see: www.google.co.uk/search?… An interesting example of a spoken and visual text which ‘pretends’ to be one thing and then reveals itself to be another is the film version of A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). It opens with (fake) credits which suggest the film is a cheerful tale called The Littlest Elf; then there is a sudden pause in the soundtrack, everything goes dark and the narrator explains that this is not the film we are about to watch, mockingly suggesting, “If you wish to see a movie about a happy little elf, I am sure there is still plenty of seating available in theater two.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=etSHvl6 3LMs&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Paper 1 Paper 3 Candidates are required to comment on aspects of: texts such as

8. Style Analysis of style is a daunting task to some learners. The risk is that less confident learners will take refuge in simply identifying and listing features of language. Regular practice, both written and oral, is crucial. At first, learners are likely to feel more

Learners need to practise the analysis of as wide a range of different types of text as possible. This means exposing them to a wide variety of texts right from the start, so that less ‘obvious’ texts – e.g. those employing irony as their principal mode – do not surprise and confuse them. Begin with very simple texts, but make sure that the analysis genuinely is analysis – not merely identification of features or description/summary/paraphrase of content. Working in pairs, learners study the advertisement for a

Ways of Reading (Montgomery, Durant, Fabb, Furniss and Mills) Routledge ISBN: 9780415053204 An excellent teacher’s resource, full of inspiring and useful exercises. Student Handbook for English (Durran and Stewart) Pearson ISBN:
9781857495850 This is highly

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Syllabus ref vocabulary, figurative language, word ordering and sentence structure, formality and/or informality of tone, structure, and attitudes (bias or prejudice) Paper 3 Question 1(b) comparison of the style and language of the candidate’s writing in (a) with that of the original text

Learning objectives secure if they have a systematic checklist in mind which they can refer to. They may even want to write down a series of aspects to look for. However, such an approach can be limiting if it is applied in the same way to every text. Learners can easily get into the habit of assuming that a text of a certain type ‘should’ contain particular features, and spend their time simply locating (or failing to locate) these features without analysing their effect.

Suggested teaching activities cruise. e.g. www.sixstarcruises.co.uk/luxury-cruise/seven-seas-

Learning resources accessible tor learners, and useful. There are many internet sources of advice and/or information on textual analysis. Some are helpful and dependable; others can be positively harmful in encouraging learners to apply an excessively formulaic method to reading and writing. A very simple framework for analysis can be found, for example: www.engl.niu.edu/wac/txtanal.html

voyager/
They should consider: • form • audience • purpose and annotate the text accordingly. Features of textual construction to consider include: • • • • • • diction – choices of vocabulary/lexis figures of speech, such as metaphor,
simile, personification, climax, antithesis or contrast structure or cohesion – how the text fits together syntax – types of phrase and sentence construction sound effects, such as alliteration and other rhetorical devices tone – persuasive? angry? playful? sad? reflective?

Learners need to feel comfortable considering how a text is constructed: the habit of ‘deconstruction’ needs to become a natural part of classroom activity and private reading. Similarly, it is helpful to encourage learners to write in conscious imitation of styles they have studied, making deliberate choices of form, structure and language. They should be encouraged to read and comment constructively on each other’s work.

Features of presentation – pictures, font, layout – should be noticed, but the focus should be on the language and how linguistic choices ‘position’ the reader/audience as a consumer. In pairs, learners could then move on to a related activity. Using the information in the advertisement text, they should write a short script for a two-voice radio advertisement for the same cruise. Finally, in pairs, they should make notes on the differences between the original text and their script, bearing in mind the change of mode and format. Then, working individually, each learner writes a comparison based on the notes.

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 2: Commentary
Recommended prior knowledge Understanding of how language works in a range of contexts with some ability to organise ideas and communicate textual analysis in written English. Context This unit has as its subject matter the acquisition of skills for writing commentaries for set passages for Paper 1. It could be undertaken at any time during the AS Level course, but its focus on fundamental skills makes it well-suited to be one of the earlier, introductory units. Outline This unit tackles the identification, understanding and appreciation of specific features of language, form and style, and of how these features relate to purpose, audience and context in a range of text types.

Syllabus ref Paper 1: texts from a range of English Language sources Candidates are required to: identify distinguishing features of the texts relate them to the function

Learning objectives Media texts: advertisements, brochures, leaflets, editorials, news stories, articles, reviews, blogs, investigative journalism, letters, podcasts

Suggested teaching activities Many of the following activities refer specifically to textual material taken from advertisements. However, they can easily be adapted to material from other types of media texts.

Learning resources Magazines and newspapers, leaflets, public awareness campaigns and electioneering material are all valid sources.

1. Approaching the text Learners should first be encouraged to focus on the issues of audience and purpose.

Learners gather and bring in to class a number of types of printed advertisements from a range of sources and publications. The fact that different learners will have different interests should ensure a wide range of sources and advertisement types. • Look at the types of publications these advertisements come from.

As well as collating material linked to similar products, learners could build up case studies where different types of products and the types of text associated with them are compared. Many university courses have sections online on advertising – e.g. www.stanford.edu/class/linguist34/U

Learners should be encouraged to research and find their own examples of interesting

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Syllabus ref and context of the writing

Learning objectives language.

Suggested teaching activities • Try to build up a picture of who might read them. • Consider how advertisers might shape the text of their advertisements, bearing in mind they will have a clear profile of different publications’ readers. • Discuss how this might lead to variation in the approach and style of the language.

Learning resources nit_07/is_it_normal.htm

Candidates are required to: identify distinguishing features of texts organise information in answers

2. Take it in sections Learners should be advised, especially where they are less experienced in commenting on features of language, to break the text into shorter sections. This will encourage them to look for similarities and differences between the sections and allow them to appreciate the progression of the material in closer detail.

Learners work in pairs or small groups: • take a section or paragraph of the same advertisement and work on it individually • compare findings with their partners or other members of the group • consider what would happen if the order of the sections was altered. It may also be possible to give out sections of an advertisement without learners having seen it beforehand. Ask them to consider the order in which the sections might go, why and with what effects.

This could involve some small role plays of situations relevant to them – informal, social meetings with peers compared to more formal situations such as interviews. Consider how emails and text-messaging use different styles of address. Brainstorm the conventions that have grown up around these forms of communication. Explore how some fictional texts address the reader – looking particularly at the authorial voice – in comparison with some non-fiction texts. More challenging activity Look at the opening of Italo Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler, available at:

Basic, leading to challenging There are many simple online introductory exercises which learners can use independently to extend their knowledge and test themselves. For example: www.linguarama.com/ps/marketingthemed-english/the-language-ofadvertising.htm

3. Mode of address Learners should be encouraged to examine the different ways in which they talk to other people, and how differences depend on context, purpose and audience. This should lead on to a consideration of how different written texts may address the reader for different reasons and purposes. Learners should also consider how there may be different types of address in the same text itself. There may be an informal and/or inclusive style, a personal or more impersonal style. This will depend on the techniques the writers are using, particularly

Basic activity Learners could use the advertising passage to consider the mode of address the advertiser uses, and the tone that this gives to the text. www.sixstarcruises.co.uk/luxurycruise/seven-seas-voyager/

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Syllabus ref

Learning objectives in advertisements which may flatter the reader one minute until the ‘hard-sell’ arrives.

Suggested teaching activities http://studio.berkeley.edu/coursework/moses/courses/TEX TS/FILM%20&%20LITERATURE/if%20at%20night.pdf. ‘You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel, “If on a winter’s night a traveler”. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, “No, I don’t want to watch TV!” Raise your voice — they won’t hear you otherwise — “I’m reading! I don’t want to be disturbed!” Maybe they haven’t heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell …’

Learning resources

4. Techniques of advertising Learners should be introduced to some of the techniques that advertisers may use. They should be aware of: • the ‘hard sell’ approach where issues like value for money and practicality are emphasised • the ‘lifestyle’ or ‘aspirational’ approach that can be used, offering promises and possibilities • how there may be a particular image of the job, company or product conveyed. Candidates are required to comment on aspects of: vocabulary figurative 5. The language of advertising Learners should be encouraged to consider the use of different language techniques in advertising. They need be able to identify and begin to analyse the use and effect of some specific aspects of language: • lexis (i.e. diction/vocabulary)

Learners work in pairs on an advertising passage e.g. www.sixstarcruises.co.uk/luxury-cruise/seven-seas-voyager/ Locate and highlight/colour-code: • words and phrases which seem to offer lifestyle or promise • specific French terms that highlight a particular culture and way of life • descriptive language which gives a particular feeling of specific places in France • more factual or informative data. More challenging
activity Confident learners could go on to consider the ‘hard-sell’ and ‘company-image’ points from the previous column. Learners could use their preparatory work on the advertising passage (above) to look at the use of: • adjectives and abstract nouns • any words/phrases which seem to offer a particular nuance or promise • ‘buzz’ or jargon words • syntactic or lexical patterns, e.g. repetition of sentence construction or emergence of lexical sets/fields

A useful overview of some advertising techniques can be found at: www.putlearningfirst.com/language/ 19advert/advert2.html

Websites concerned with the grammar of advertising can also be found, such as www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/p ower.htm#adgrammar and www.eslpartyland.com/quizcenter/quiz.htm#grammar

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Syllabus ref language word ordering and sentence structure formality /informality of tone

Learning objectives • simile, symbol and metaphor • grammar and syntax • register.

Suggested teaching activities • • • • deliberate breaking of grammatical ‘rules’ for effect: minor/verb-less ‘sentences’; co-ordinating conjunctions used to begin a sentence direct or rhetorical questions reassurance and guarantees humour, e.g. puns and other word-play.

Learning resources More challenging www.stanford.edu/class/linguist34/U nit_03/anchor-relay.htm

Spoken texts: podcasts, voice-overs, scripted speech, natural speech 1. Speech: spontaneous versus scripted Paper 1 Paper 2 Learners should consider the differences between natural unscripted speech and prepared, written speech. A comparison of the two should help clarify the different strategies and techniques involved in using prepared speech for particular purposes. As their understanding of spoken language develops, they may need to be guided away from easy/over-simplified assumptions about natural (spontaneous and semi-spontaneous) speech. For example, it won’t always be the case that spontaneous speech is informal or dysfluent: they will need to examine carefully the transcript or audio evidence they are dealing with. Learners could be asked to produce brief transcripts of spontaneous speech drawn from different types of speakers and situations.

They could: • record themselves talking to their friends • conduct interviews with relatives • record radio or television programmes. They should consider the use in natural spontaneous speech of phatic communication, and of non-fluency features such as pauses, fillers, repairs and back-channel behaviour, regional variations and particular kinds of vocabulary. They could follow this up by recording or studying prepared and scripted speeches from particular times and events. Attention to specific details of ways in which these speeches differ from spontaneous speech will give learners a sense of how carefully-crafted some prepared speech is – for example, Passages for comment 2a and 5a (Appendix 4 and 7). Learners could be asked to use Passage for comment 2a (Appendix 4) to explore the speaker’s purpose and Websites with access to useful speech sources include: www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/inde x.html www.historyplace.com/speeches The Gifts of Speech website at: http://gos.sbc.edu/a.html

Paper 3

Paper 4

Various transcripts at: www.putlearningfirst.com/language/ 09trans/09trans.html

Candidates are required

Audience and purpose

The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches (McArthur)

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Syllabus ref to: identify distinguishing features of texts and relate them to the function and context

Learning objectives Learners should be encouraged to consider the context and purpose of the spoken language. In the case of prepared speech, they will need to consider the possible persuasive strategies it is trying to adopt. The speech could be a eulogy, an apology or defence; it might be what in American English is sometimes called a ‘rebuttal’; it may be an attack on a person or a position; it may stem from a desire to make people accept a particular viewpoint or idea. In the case of spontaneous speech, they will need to consider the relationship between the participants and the needs of any secondary audience. For example, a radio or television ‘chat’ show has an immediate audience in the studio, but a secondary (absent) audience of listeners/viewers.

Suggested teaching activities approach. • Highlight key words and phrases. • Trace the speaker’s argument by annotating the passage to show how each sentence and paragraph develops from what has gone before. • Pick out obvious features of rhetoric (see website in learning resource column). • Note how the speaker’s beliefs and attitudes are conveyed. A selection of other speeches could be used to practise the same approach; similarities and differences could be identified and compared. Learners will need to bear in mind that many modern written texts have features (for example, contractions and colloquial vocabulary) which at one time would be found almost exclusively in spoken texts.

They also need to avoid assuming that all written texts are formal and all spoken texts informal. More challenging activity Learners could work independently to research the published proceedings of their local parliament. For example, uncorrected transcripts of debates in the lower house of the Parliament of India can be accessed at: http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Debates/uncorrecteddebate.a spx

Learning resources ISBN: 9780140285000 is an invaluable source of a range of speeches for consideration. Particularly apposite speeches include those by Nehru on the death of Ghandi and Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. Learners can easily find simplified lists of features of rhetoric, for example, at: www.allinfo.org.uk/levelup/enb1.ht m More challenging activity An interesting summary of forensic linguistics – a very particular instance of how context can affect linguistic style – can be found at: www.qed.info/principles.html

3. Mode of address As they do when studying advertisements, learners should be encouraged to consider the mode of address used by a speaker, and to explore whether this changes as a prepared speech unfolds. As with any linguistic feature selected for particular study, the crucial thing is to

Learners could draw on work from other texts – such as advertisements – to see how the mode of address may differ depending on context and purpose. Passage for comment 2a (Appendix 4) could be considered in terms of how the speaker describes his own nation in comparison to the terms he uses to describe the President and those in power.

More challenging activity Nehru’s speech on Ghandi’s death (noted above) is a useful source for considering mode of address the way he address the nation as ‘children’ compared to the way he describes the assassins.

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Learning objectives explore the effect of the mode of address.

Suggested teaching activities

Learning resources

Candidates are required to comment on: vocabulary figurative language word-order and sentence structure, tone, bias or prejudice

4. Techniques in scripted speech Learners should be introduced to a range of techniques used in scripted speeches. • how public mission/ vision may combined with the personal • how the speaker may adopt a more humble or ordinary way of speaking, drawing on personal memories and anecdotes • use of religion and/or patriotism • use of contrast 5. Language in scripted speech Learners should explore some of the rhetorical devices found in scripted speech. These techniques may include: • repetition • lists of three • use of abstract nouns to offer a vision • adjectives • imagery (which may draw on religious themes/ symbols) • patterns of words/contrasting patterns of words • the use of cumulative phrase • the use of syntax for effect • irony, humour.

Learners could explore Passage for comment 2a (Appendix 4) and the ways in which the speaker uses contrast to reinforce his points. Contrasts between past and present and the different ways of life his nation follows can be compared to those of the ‘white man’ and his generation. The speaker has a vision of the way things were and should be, and adopts a personal, elegiac tone to lament the passing of things and the present situation. Learners could again draw on material from other relevant analyses – such as advertising – and compare how abstract nouns, patterns of words and imagery are used in those contexts.

Highlighting and colour-coding will also draw attention to the rhetorical/persuasive and linguistic techniques being applied. Passage for comment 2a (Appendix 4) is a useful startingpoint for exploring the use of descriptive language, especially adjectives and imagery. Ask learners to locate other speeches where a range of techniques have been used. These may be well-known and/or historic speeches; equally they may be more local and/or contemporary examples.

Passage for comment 2a (Appendix 4) Learners could also use the speech given by Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal in 1973 – to be found in The Penguin Book of TwentiethCentury Speeches, or Passage for comment 5a (Appendix 7) which covers Directed Writing – to explore some of these techniques. The Martin Luther King and Nehru speeches mentioned above are useful sources for exploring the use of patterns of words (light/dark, hills/valleys) and the use of religious inferences.

Confident learners who can be trusted to read selectively might derive benefit and entertainment from a website such as: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/schem es.html which contains a wealth of rhetorical figures. The Forest of Rhetoric at: http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/ silva.htm has even more.

Literary material: letters, diaries, essays, (auto) biographies, and narrative/descriptive

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Learning objectives writing 1. Approaching the text Learners should be encouraged to think about the contextual information provided for any passage, and to consider what they know (or can deduce) about the passage’s purpose. In the case of a narrative or other sequential text, the point from which the extract is taken will be significant – e.g. the opening of Italo Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler – example quoted on the second page of this unit. 2. Mood and setting Learners should be made aware of how these contribute to our understanding and appreciation of an extract. They can provide clues and insights for the other sections below, and are a good starting point for any critical analysis.

Suggested teaching activities

Learning resources

Learners could integrate work on fiction texts with work on Narrative, Imaginative and Descriptive Writing from Paper 2 and with Unit 4 linked to those activities. A light-hearted introductory activity could be to give learners (working in pairs) the opening lines of a series of novels, and invite them to deduce what they can about the novel from the information provided and from the style. For example, there are ready-made lists at: http://novelopenings.blogspot.co.uk/ or

www.writingfix.com/PDFs/Writing_Tools/Novel_Openings.pd f Learners should highlight or colour-code those parts of the extract which they think convey the mood and setting. They can then go on to consider what can be inferred from these textual details: • Do they tell us something about the characters or themes? • Do they tell us something about the narrator? Passage for comment 3a (Appendix 5) from The Great Gatsby is a starting-point for an exploration of setting and atmosphere. Does the ‘cool’ mood reflect the characters? Or does it suggest something more artificial?

Websites offering eBooks: www.eserver.org/fiction/short.html www.americanliterature.com/SS/SS INDX.HTML www.ability.org.uk/electronic_text_ archives.html The University of Adelaide eBooks: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/liter ature/ Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org/ Basic research Other useful texts include descriptive passages from Hardy (e.g. the opening chapter of The Return of the Native)
or Dickens (the opening of Bleak House). More challenging research Able learners might try the opening of Forster’s A Passage to India: http://archive.org/stream/APassage ToIndia_109/APassageToIndia_djv u.txt or Chandler’s The Big Sleep: http://nigevellie.multiply.com/review s/item/3?&show_interstitial=1&u=% 2Freviews%2Fitem

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Learning objectives 3. Physical description Learners should also examine any references to physical description and their relation to aspects of setting. • • • Do the physical descriptions reflect those of the setting? Do they contrast with it? Do different characters contrast? and, if so, with what effect?

Suggested teaching activities Learners should be encouraged to highlight or colour-code any sections which offer insights into any of the characters in the passage, and to consider the ways in which they contribute to our understanding of their natures. Learners have the resources of all their prior reading, including literary texts they may have studied for examination at O Level/IGCSE. They might re-visit short sections of any/all of these with a view to practising their skills of close reading and inference.

Learning resources The opening of Ethan Frome, for example, has striking examples of mood/setting and physical description – available as an eText at: www.onlineliterature.com/wharton/ethan_frome /2/

4. Characterisation and dialogue These fundamental aspects of narrative writing can provide a way into a passage. Reading the passage aloud in different ‘voices’ can also help.

The way characters speak to each other can ‘sign-post’ the nature of the extract. This works not only in terms of content (what they say) but also in terms of tone (how they say it). Learners may also consider the question of whether one speaker/character is more dominant than another. ‘Reporting’ verbs (he exclaimed … she suggested … I murmured) and adverbs (tenderly … suspiciously … coolly) may give learners clues.

www.quantumtheatre.co.uk/storytea chersnotesKS2.pdf offers an opportunity to apply techniques of linguistic analysis to some very familiar children’s literature. It includes an exercise in identifying the adjectives, adverbs and similes in a small section of narrative and dialogue taken from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. More challenging level Irony in the (narrative) voice can prove difficult for learners to identify with any confidence, so it can be helpful to practise with a wider range of texts and tones. The opening of Pride and Prejudice is a very well-known but difficult example of authorial irony; similarly the novels of E M Forster and Evelyn Waugh. Very able learners might find The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien amusing and certainly challenging.

5. Voice Learners should assess the tone of the passage carefully. Is it an ‘intrusive’ authorial voice? Is it an ironic or satirical tone? Is it a lyrical or descriptive tone? Tone is crucial in shaping the reader’s response to the situation and the characters. There is further work on this in Unit 4: Narrative.

Basic level Learners need to establish a basic understanding of: • narrative voice • point of view – first-person or third-person? • how choices of vocabulary in the narrative voice create the tone • how choices of vocabulary and the use of particular expressions in the dialogue shapes our understanding of characters. The opening of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime could be used to illustrate the effect of a limited firstperson narrator: www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/books/chapters/0615-1sthaddon.html

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 3: Directed writing
Recommended prior knowledge A competence of written English at O Level/IGCSE with some appreciation of how different forms of written English are required in different contexts. Context This unit has as its subject matter the acquisition of skills for directed writing in response to the set passages for Paper 1. It could be undertaken at any time during the AS Level course, most helpfully in combination with Unit 2. Outline This unit deals with how to write for a specific purpose and/or audience, using appropriate vocabulary, tone, and style.

Syllabus ref Paper 1 Learning objectives Writing for a specific purpose and/or audience Suggested teaching activities Although the accompanying materials are mostly drawn from advertisements, most of the activities in sections 1, 3 and 4 below can be adapted for other kinds of texts and related directed writing tasks. Learning resources As with Unit 2, advertisements are easily accessible sources of teaching and learning activities when dealing with media texts. A useful overview of some advertising techniques can be found at: www.englishalanglitinthinking.co.uk/keyconcepts/advertising-techniques.htm Unit 2 contains many other suggestions as to online sources of information about linguistic features of advertising texts.

Directed writing task Candidates are required to: write for a specific purpose and/or audience using appropriate

1. Approaching the task Learners should first be encouraged to focus on the issues of audience and purpose. For each question in the examination, they will be given a directed writing task based on the passage which they have already written a commentary upon. Typically, the writing task will involve a slight shift in audience and/or format and/or purpose. Candidates will be instructed: Base your answer closely on the style and Learners could link this process with work (Unit 2) on writing commentaries. Passage for comment 4a (Appendix 6) might be used as a starting-point for discussion of purpose and audience, and examination of how a writer uses language.

Learners working at a basic level could be given the prompts which accompany the passage. More confident learners working at a more challenging level could be left to study the passage in pairs or groups and to generate their own ‘check-list’ of features to look for, based on the work in Unit 2 and the website resources in the learning resources

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Learning objectives features of the original extract. Or Base your answers on the material of the original extract.

Suggested teaching activities column. NOTE: The ’check-list’ approach may be useful at this stage; but learners soon need to become independent of a formulaic approach, which can limit response to fresh (unseen) texts.

Learning resources

Candidates are required to: identify distinguishing features of texts write for a specific purpose/audi ence organise information in answers Candidates are required to: identify distinguishing features of texts comment on how writers communicate attitudes

2. Mode of address Learners should be encouraged to examine the different ways in which they themselves talk to other people, and how differences in mode of address depend on context, purpose and audience. This could lead on to a consideration of how different written texts may address the reader for different reasons and purposes. Learners could compare different styles and approaches from the material they have researched and collated for Unit 2. The techniques which establish the mode of address should be noted and discussed. In the case of a ‘media’ text. • • • Does it seek to flatter the reader? Does it try to ask informal questions? Does it try to adopt humour or an unusual approach?

Basic, leading to challenging activity There are many simple online introductory exercises which learners can use independently to extend their knowledge and test themselves. For example: www.linguarama.com/ps/marketingthemed-english/the-language-ofadvertising.htm

3. Language and style: tone and mood Learners need to learn strategies which will help them quickly (and accurately) ‘tune in’ to the tone/mood of the original passage. If these aspects are not immediately obvious, they should try to find details of language which seem to characterise the passage: • formality/informality • descriptive versus informative language • patterns of key words.

Learners – working in pairs at first – could be presented with a wide range of very short texts/extracts, and asked to comment briefly on tone and/or mood, backing up their comments with a limited number (three or four) of specific textual features. Each pair of learners could then discuss their findings with another pair, and the annotated extracts could eventually be collated and displayed for permanent classroom reference. (The quicker-working learners might do this.) A helpful selection of extracts might include obviously contrasting texts, e.g. texts which invoke nostalgia as

More challenging level A lengthy (and indeed exhaustive) account of stylistic analysis can be found at: www.englishbiz.co.uk/downloads/sty listic_analysis_2.pdf NOTE: Learners will need to use such guidance carefully, and to avoid an approach which leaves them thinking that every
passage will contain the same features.

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Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities opposed to texts which adopt a modern ‘high-tech’ tone.

Learning resources

Candidates are required to comment on: vocabulary figurative language word order and sentence structure formality/ informality of tone Candidates are required to: identify distinguishing features of texts relate them to function and context Candidates are required to comment on:

4. Getting started on writing (1) Learners should be encouraged to keep closely to the kind of content and ideas of the original extract. In their initial attempts at directed-writing tasks, it might be found most helpful to guide learners towards a focus on only one or two aspects. Purpose and audience will always be crucial; mode of address has been considered above in section 2.

Using Passage for comment 4a (Appendix 6), try the task below. At a basic level, it might be helpful to do (1) as a class activity, (2) as an individual writing task. (a) Comment on the ways in which language and style are used to sell the car. [15 marks] (b) The same car company also makes a small car suitable for use in crowded city traffic. Write the opening (between 120–150 words) for an advertisement for this car. Base your answer
closely on the style and features of the original extract. [10 marks]

More challenging activity Look at a particular instance of purpose: how advertisers use emotional pressure to influence consumers in advertisements for cars which emphasise safety. Consider, for example: www.volvocars.com/in/top/about/val ues/pages/safety.aspx

5. Dealing with speech Spontaneous versus Scripted Speech Learners should consider the differences between natural unscripted speech and prepared, written speech. A comparison of the two should help clarify the different strategies and techniques involved in using prepared speech for particular purposes. See also Unit 2.

Learners could draw on work carried out in conjunction with the section of speeches in Unit 2 on commentaries. Learners could begin by comparing transcripts of natural spontaneous speech with scripted ones. Then, through the study of other fictional and non-fictional speeches, they could eventually devise their own speeches and commentaries. For example, through the study of Major’s speech in Animal Farm, they could give a talk on their vision of an ideal world and write a commentary comparing their language and techniques with those of the original extract. Passage for comment 5a (Appendix 7) could be used as a starting point for this work: Who is President Nixon trying to address here, and to what effect? The use of evasion or self-blame might provide some

For example, learners could study Major’s speech in Animal Farm or Mark Antony’s valedictory speech to Caesar in Julius Caesar, comparing techniques and approaches. eBooks at: www.georgeorwell.org/Animal_Farm/0.html and http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_ca esar/julius_caesar.3.2.html The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches (Brian McArthur) is an very useful source of a range of speeches for consideration.

6. Audience and purpose in spoken texts Learners should be encouraged to consider the context and purpose of the speech and the possible persuasive strategies it is trying

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Learning objectives to adopt. For example, a speech could be: • a eulogy • an apology or defence • an attack • a desire to make people accept a particular viewpoint or idea.. 7. Techniques in scripted speech Learners should be introduced to a range of techniques used in scripted speeches: • how public mission/vision may combined with the personal • how the speaker may adopt a more humble or ordinary way of speaking, drawing on personal memories and anecdotes • use of religion and/or patriotism • use of contrast.

Suggested teaching activities interesting comment. A comparative approach may work best here, seeing how different speakers vary the mode of address depending on purpose and audience. Learners could be directed towards Major’s reliance on the idea of Comrades compared to Mark Antony’s mocking and ironic tone and Nixon’s more earnest and ‘sales-pitch’ approach.

Learning resources More challenging activity Nehru’s speech on Ghandi’s death (source as above) is useful for considering mode of address to audience – the way he addresses the nation as ‘children’ compared to the way he describes the assassins.

how speakers communicate attitudes, bias or prejudice

Candidates are required to comment on: vocabulary figurative language word order and sentence structure, tone, bias or prejudice

Learners might study Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech and the Nehru speech for patterns of words (light/dark, hills/valleys) and the use of religious inferences. Confident learners might derive benefit and entertainment from a site which contains a wealth of rhetorical figures, such as: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/schemes .html

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Syllabus ref Candidates are required to: write for a specific purpose and/or audience using appropriate vocabulary, tone and style

Learning objectives 8. Getting started on writing (2) Learners should explore the language – especially some of the rhetorical devices – found in scripted speech, including: • repetition • lists of three • use of abstract nouns to offer a vision • adjectives • imagery (which may draw on religious themes/symbols) • patterns of words/contrasting patterns of words • the use of cumulative phrase • the use of syntax for effect • irony • humour. Literary material:letters,diaries,essays, (auto) biographies, narrative/descriptive writing.

Suggested teaching activities Learners could experiment with each of these techniques. Working in pairs at first, they could set each other miniature challenges. For example, they could: • use repetition to persuade someone to lend them a prized possession • employ abstract nouns to make a party sound inviting • try to use humour to encourage a teacher to extend a homework deadline. They could also research other speeches where a range of techniques have been used. These may be well-known and/or historic speeches; equally they may be more local and/or contemporary examples.

Learning resources The Speaker – a BBC television programme from 2009 – has interesting material at: www.bbc.co.uk/speaker/improve/exp erts/speechwriter.shtml More challenging material The Forest of Rhetoric at: http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/ silva.htm has possibly the most exhaustive list of rhetorical figures.

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Learning objectives 9. Approaching literary material Learners should be encouraged to think about the contextual information provided for any passage, and to consider what they know (or can deduce) about the passage’s purpose. In the case of a narrative or other sequential text, the point from which the extract is taken will be significant – e.g. the opening of Italo Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler – example quoted in Unit 2.

Suggested teaching activities Learners could integrate work on fiction texts with work on Narrative, Imaginative and Descriptive Writing from Paper 2 and with Unit 4 linked to those activities. A light-hearted introductory activity could be to give learners (working in pairs) the opening lines of a series of novels, and invite them to deduce what they can about the novel from the information provided and from the style. For example, there are ready-made lists at: http://novelopenings.blogspot.co.uk/ or www.writingfix.com/PDFs/Writing_Tools/Novel_Openings.pd f

Learning resources Websites offering eTexts: www.eserver.org/fiction/short.html www.americanliterature.com/SS/SS INDX.HTML www.ability.org.uk/electronic_text_ archives.html The University of Adelaide eBooks: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/liter ature/ Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org/ Basic research Descriptive passages from Hardy (e.g. the opening chapter of The Return of the Native) or Dickens (e.g.the opening of Bleak House). The opening of Ethan Frome, for example, has striking examples of mood/setting and physical description – available as an ebook at: www.onlineliterature.com/wharton/ethan_frome /2/

10. Mood and setting Learners should be made aware of how these contribute to our understanding and appreciation of an extract. They provide a good starting point for any critical analysis. 11. Physical description Learners should also examine any references to physical description and their relation to aspects of setting: • do the physical descriptions reflect those of the setting? • do they contrast with it? • do different characters contrast? and, if so, with what effect? 12. Characterisation and dialogue These fundamental aspects of narrative writing can provide a way into a passage.

Reading the passage aloud in different ‘voices’ can also help. Passage for comment 3a (Appendix 5) from The Great Gatsby is a starting-point for an exploration of setting and atmosphere. Does the ‘cool’ mood reflect the characters? or does it suggest something more artificial? Passage for comment 6a (Appendix 8) allows the reader to see how the physical description of Aunt Daisy establishes a sense of her character. After annotation and highlighting relevant sections, learners should try to write short pieces where they try to employ the style of the original to describe setting and character. Reading aloud and discussion of these shorter pieces may help to redraft and refine the writing. Further work on description in Unit 5 will be helpful. ‘Reporting’ verbs (he exclaimed … she suggested … I murmured) and adverbs (tenderly … suspiciously … coolly) may be an author’s way of signalling characterisation. Learners should be encouraged to practise a range of reporting verbs and adverbs.

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Learning objectives The way characters speak to each other can ‘sign-post’ the nature of the extract. This works not only in terms of content (what they say) but also in terms of tone (how they say it). Learners may also consider the question of whether one speaker/character is more dominant than another.

Suggested teaching activities Again, this is an activity which could be done in pairs at single-sentence level: • Try writing a line of dialogue where the reporting verbs and adverbs create the characterisation. • Then try to write the same line again without any reporting verbs or adverbs. • How would you have to change the line of dialogue in order to convey the same sense? This activity would work well with turning a scene from a novel into play-script form. Learners have the resources of all their prior reading, including literary texts they may have studied for examination at O Level/IGCSE. They might revisit short sections of any/all of these with a view to practising their skills of close reading and inference.

Learning resources the adjectives, adverbs and similes in a small section of narrative and dialogue taken from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. More challenging research More able learners might try the opening of Forster’s A Passage to India: http://archive.org/stream/APassage ToIndia_109/APassageToIndia_djv u.txt or Chandler’s The Big Sleep: http://nigevellie.multiply.com/review s/item/3?&show_interstitial=1&u=% 2Freviews%2Fitem More challenging level Irony in the (narrative) voice can prove difficult for learners to identify with any confidence, so it can be helpful to practise with a wider range of texts and tones.

13. Other aspects See the work at the end of Unit 2 on ‘Voice’. (There is
also further work on this in Unit 4: Narrative.)

Learners need to establish a basic understanding of: • narrative voice • point of view – first-person or third-person? • how choices of vocabulary in the narrative voice create the tone.

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 4: Imaginative writing (narrative/descriptive)

Recommended prior knowledge A competence of written English at O Level/IGCSE. Some appreciation of how different forms of written English are required in different contexts. Context This unit has as its subject matter the acquisition of skills for Paper 2 Section A. It could be undertaken at any time during the AS Level course, most helpfully in combination with Unit 5. Outline This unit deals with narrative or descriptive writing, and concentrates on developing the ability of learners to write imaginatively, using language to create deliberate effects, e.g. in conveying a mood or describing a character.

Syllabus ref Paper 2 Section A Candidates are required to: write imaginatively use language to create deliberate effects convey mood

Learning objectives Imaginative Writing (narrative/descriptive)

Suggested teaching activities Learners could link aspects of this work with activities on Unit 3 covering directed writing. Learners could work in pairs to research the day’s news, in print or online form, looking at news stories that have a clear narrative. • choose four current news stories, preferably ones which appear in a number of different sources • for each one, make notes on the factual basis – in other words, pick out the basic elements of plot/narrative • each pair of learners then divides the stories between them, choosing two each • working from the shared notes produced in their paired work, each learner then individually writes a single paragraph for each story, concentrating

Learning resources

1. Getting started on writing: w orking with narrative/plot A narrative is of course a series of events, but too many unlikely or dramatic ones will not help in developing a convincing account. A story can revolve around the consciousness of a character in a daily routine and still be very effective. Every day our own lives contain many narratives and parts of narratives. Learners can be encouraged to have confidence that they have within their grasp all the material they will need for successful stories.

Basic level Websites with complete short stories that include many useful for teaching: www.bibliomania.com/ShortStories/ www.short-stories.co.uk Legends, myths and fairy tales make wonderful resource material for work on narrative. Many novels also contain interesting techniques and are listed below where appropriate. More challenging level Learners interested in the theory of

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Syllabus ref describe a character

Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities • only on bare narrative these pared-down narratives can then be displayed on poster-size charts or interactive screen for the whole class to see.

Learning resources narrative might be directed to www.englishbiz.co.uk/semiotics/basi csemiotics/syntagms.html

Candidates are required to: write imaginatively use language to create deliberate effects convey mood describe a character

2. Getting started on writing: introducing characters and point of view Although every story depends on characters, there should not be too many. One or two well-developed characters will be more effective in 600–900 words than a cast of thousands. The point of view of the story needs to be decided. Events could be recounted by an omniscient narrator* in the third person (he/she/they) or focused on one individual’s actions and feelings in the first person. The main character could be an observer or by-stander, or one of the main initiators of the action. *An omniscient narrator is one who knows everything that is happening, and has a kind of god-like knowledge and overview.

Using the work from the section above, get learners to work out the ‘formula’ for a newspaper story – i.e. that it is always in the third person, with some occasional sentences of direct speech (quotations) in the first person. Choose one suitable example from the displayed mininarratives from above, and work as a class to shift the point of view form third- to first-person – in other words, to make it a personal eye-witness account. Practise identifying and then changing the point of view in a range of texts. • Learners could be encouraged to bring their own examples.

• Teachers could provide examples, including some taken from texts learners have encountered at O Level/IGCSE.

• Ready-made examples are widely available on the internet, for example at: www.ereadingworksheets.com/point-of-viewworksheets/point-of-view-practice-activity.htm Other activities could include: • rewriting a third person story in the first person from the points of view of two of the people in the story • learners working in pairs or small groups to develop the characters through role-play and be questioned by other members of the class about the characters’ appearance, personality and state of mind

Take brief items from the newspaper and discuss how the stories might have begun, or how they might eventually end. Working in small groups, learners write outlines of events that happened to each member of the group at the weekend, and discuss their potential for making a story. Use individual class presentations to tell stories from the lives of older family members. Give the beginning of a story and each member of the class suggests an outline plot and a possible ending. Everyone brings in a photograph as the basis for making a narrative. NOTE: All of the above resources depend on what candidates already know, and should build confidence in a belief that learners carry with them enough material for any task the examination may offer. However, they may be ready for further external stimulus in the form

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Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities • writing brief conversations between characters, trying to show what is happening in their words without telling it directly to the reader – this could be in play-script form planning and writing a story in the form of several diary entries, or letters between friends.

Learning resources of ‘models’ of writing. For example, novels told from two or more points of view include some of Paul Zindel’s ‘teenage’ books (e.g. The Undertaker’s Gone Bananas) and novels by Jodi Picoult such as Nineteen Minutes, The Pact and The Tenth Circle.

•

As a whole class, compare the different effects gained.

Candidates are required to: write clearly, accurately, creatively and effectively for different purposes and audiences, using different forms

3. Effective openings An effective opening to a story should hold the reader’s interest straight away. A nineteenth-century story would often begin with an introduction or exposition. A more modern approach might be to plunge into the middle of the action – in medias res – and to leave the readers to work out gradually who the characters are and what their situation is. NOTE: Examination questions sometimes ask for just the opening of a story, so practice is important.

Going back to the displayed material from Section 1 take a suitable example of a simple narrative as a collaborative class activity, or in pairs, try writing two different openings: (a) The exposition of a character and the events leading up to the action of the story. (b) Going straight into the middle of a dialogue between the same character and another one – a method which suggests events more indirectly than (a). As a class or in pairs, learners can then discuss the effectiveness of each method. Small groups could consider whether there are other ways of opening a story, researching the openings of stories by published writers and presenting their findings to the class. Learners can find playing with time fascinating. Use a numbered chronological series of events as a basis (say 1–6) Working in small groups, find ways to tell the story in any way other than 1,2,3,4,5,6 and share findings. Discuss the effectiveness of each method. Write a framework story.

Basic level The openings of short stories by Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens could be compared with the openings of stories by Raymond Carver, Anita Desai and Ernest Hemingway. More challenging level For confident learners interested in the history of literary techniques, the internet offers many accounts of in medias res. A brief explanation can also be found at: www.whitcraftlearningsolutions.com/ Resources/In_Media_res.pdf

Candidates are required to: write imaginatively use language to create

4. Using timescale and flashback Events takes place in ‘real time’ in chronological order (A–Z or 1–10). A storyteller can choose to start in the middle or near the end and then ‘flash’; backwards or forwards, to gain particular effects. Some nineteenth-century short stories used a framework – perhaps a group of

Basic, leading to challenging Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights is one of the best examples of complex narrative methodology, and could be used selectively for illustration. Guy de Maupassant’s short stories

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Syllabus ref deliberate effects

Learning objectives characters talking together, with one telling a story which becomes the main theme of the narrative – for example, Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. In 600–900 words the timescale will not usually be very broad. Even within this limitation, certain events can be told more briefly and others suggested in more detail, compared with their real-time equivalents.

Suggested teaching activities Write a paragraph in the present tense, then rewrite the same paragraph in the past tense. Consider the difference in effect, and how it could be used in a story. Discuss the kinds of events where time seems to move slowly and others where time rushes by, and how these could be expressed in a story for a particular effect.

Learning resources often use frameworks. The work of Margaret Atwood is usually in the present tense. Maya Angelou’s autobiography Know Why the Caged Bird Sings covers seven years in one sentence and a few minutes in two chapters. In Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent, time almost stands still for the description of a murder. Basic activity The BBC ‘Newsround’ website has a useful page reporting on a survey which invited teenagers to comment on the value of a ‘happy ending’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/ newsid_4760000/newsid_4767200 /4767216.stm

Candidates are required to: demonstrate a knowledge of English language and its use in a variety of contexts

5. Appropriate endings An appropriate ending for a story is best planned from the outset. It is not advisable to start and then just write in a rambling fashion until there is no time left. Another common misjudgement is to end the story with a murder, an earthquake or similar highly dramatic climax which is unlikely and unconvincing in the context of the story as a whole. Learners need to be realistic about what can be achieved in 600–900 words and one hour of examination time The word/concept ‘closure’ implies a completion or rounding-off, and may not always be achieved.

This could usefully match up the work on openings: small groups could look at the endings of published stories, analysing their methods and effects. Learners could take an instance of a story which has not yet reached its ending from the displayed narratives from Section 1. In small groups, they could ‘brainstorm’ two or three different possible endings, then discuss which is most effective, and in what ways. Some possibilities for endings include: • a change in the point of view • a return to the frame in a framework story • a summary of events

• a ‘twist in the tail’ – an unexpected or ironic ending can be effective • a symbol which represents an important aspect of the story and has perhaps been used earlier • an open-ended or even inconclusive ending revolving around a character’s consciousness. Written exercises here can be limited to a paragraph setting a scene to create an atmosphere: e.g. a busy market, a moon-lit scene, school break-time, by the sea … Learners may need to be guided away from the tendency to

Candidates are required to: write

Evoking settings

In a short story of 600–900 words, too many different settings are not advisable. A few touches of apt description should be

More challenging level Various blogs contain advice, and activities which more able learners might enjoy doing, for example http://rutterenglishvoicelessons.blog

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Syllabus ref imaginatively use language to create deliberate effects Candidates are required to: demonstrate a knowledge of English language and its use in a variety of contexts

Learning objectives sufficient to create the atmosphere of a particular place. If working in a particular genre, then the setting should be suitable for that genre.

Suggested teaching activities ‘over-write’: ‘flowery’ adjectives and verb-less sentences, for example, can easily be over-done.

Learning resources spot.co.uk/2009/03/voice-lesson-3imagery.html

7. W orking with genre The genre of a story is its type or kind. Some common short story genres are mystery, detective, science fiction, war, romance and
the supernatural. It is not necessary to write in a particular genre unless the exam question specifies it.

This is a suitable area for pairs/small group work at first. Learners should be encouraged to think of other genres, and research some writers who work successfully in them. Many stories could best be categorised as the human interest genre: relationships, feelings, memories, all explored within daily routines. (DH Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, Katherine Mansfield, Raymond Carver)

Detective stories: Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler Horror stories: Roald Dahl, Edgar Allen Poe Science fiction: Arthur C Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov

8. Useful strategies for bringing the story together Only practice in writing will develop skills to a high level. Learners should be encouraged to plan and redraft their stories at first, aiming for coherence of effect. For each of the suggestions made in the next column – except the last one – learners could write a paragraph using the strategy to show how it can work effectively. Candidates are required to write: 9. W orking with description (1): the senses To describe is to use words to express the qualities of something, and is one of the

Some strategies to work on include: • showing, not telling – learners need to learn how to avoid always wanting to tell the reader everything – character can be shown through action and words, not just authorial statement • repetition of key words for structural coherence • ellipsis – being concise and making choices – accepting that you don’t have to cover everything, and that suggestion can be very powerful • description, imagery and symbolism (see below for more detail on description) • balance of the different elements of the story – too much description may hinder the progress of the narrative – as may too much dialogue. Start with individual senses and build up to a full sensory description, leaving the most obvious (sight) until last.

Look back at the work in Unit 2 to see how writers use language and structure
to create effects – and, in particular, look for examples of the strategies listed in the previous column. Raymond Carver and Ernest Hemingway, for example, in their different ways, illustrate the power of elliptical writing.

Guided practice activities are readily available on the internet. One which can be used by

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Learning objectives most basic human language activities.

Suggested teaching activities • • • • With eyes closed, the sounds of the environment can be concentrated upon, or music or a specific tape played. Food can be brought and its taste, smell and texture discussed. Fabric, leaves and other small interestinglytextured items can form the basis for exploration. A sentence can be written for each sensory experience.

Learning resources learners unaided is: www.elc.byu.edu/classes/buck/w_ga rden/guide/academic/descriptive/TE 1.html A good stimulus would be description-rich writing, such as the prose of Dylan Thomas, for example, the opening of Under Milk Wood at: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/06 08221h.html See also: Ray Bradbury’s short stories T S Eliot’s poem Preludes at: www.readbookonline.net/readOnLin e/3163/ Poems by particularly descriptive poets are most suitable here: – Tennyson: The Lotus Eaters – Coleridge: Kubla Khan; The Rime of the Ancient Mariner NOTE: This is not a ‘guessing game’, but a useful framework for imaginative and descriptive activity, to help to develop these faculties. It is also a very useful exercise for encouraging focus on the details of an author’s vocabulary. F Scott Fitzgerald and Dylan Thomas, for example, can usually be relied on to
have chosen surprising and/or

a descriptive piece of continuous writing of 600–900 words

A good place to start is to use the five senses to help in describing. The senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell convey the experiences of living to our consciousness and are essential if experience is to be put into words expressively to communicate to someone else. These senses are sometimes called visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory and olfactory. It is common to describe what something looks like (sight) but not so common to evoke the sounds and smells of the place, for example. Another sense important to description is the sense of movement or energy (kinaesthetic).

Possible tasks – in pairs, with one learner responsible for ideas on half of the senses, and the other for the remainder: Write a description of a walk recounting the sights seen, sounds heard, feel of the pavement, smells of the environment and sense of movement striding along. If eating at the same time, or tasting the pollution in the air, or the salt near the sea, then all senses can be evoked.

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Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities

Learning resources unusual adjectives and adverbs.

Candidates are required to use: vocabulary figurative language (e.g. use of
metaphor and simile)

10. W orking with description (2): comparison and figurative language The most effective writing often employs comparative figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor and personification, which are all a form of metaphor. This is sometimes known as imagery, and will be useful in Paper 1 too. Using it will help learners to identify it in others’ work. Descriptive work is rarely literal in its methods and effects. Symbolism – the use of physical objects or situations to represent feelings – is an effective method in descriptive writing, as well as useful for drawing together the threads of a story. (See 8. above).

Learners need to appreciate the difference between straightforward description – using precise but literal choices of vocabulary – and language used figuratively. (a) Working in pairs on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, they could list different linguistic features of description: • unusual adjectives • expressive verbs • similes • metaphors/symbols • any other linguistic features they find. (b) The cloze exercise – a procedure in which individual words and phrases are removed from texts and the learner must find an alternative – is encouraging to the descriptive faculties, as well as stimulating discussion. Teachers might photocopy poems and blank out descriptive words and phrases – or learners might do this for themselves, working in groups or pairs.

Descriptive sentences can be enhanced with the judicious use of repeated sounds, or by the use of words whose sounds echo meaning. Learners can remember alliteration and its effects by writing a sentence about themselves: beginning with their first name, all the following words with lexical content must alliterate with it (e.g. Louisa loves lounging on a lilo in the lake, licking a lemon lolly). This exercise could also be used to reinforce understanding of word-classes, and to underline the difference between lexical and grammatical items. On this subject, as on many others of linguistic interest, the web pages of the University of Lancaster are excellent. They are accurate, and they contain many activities which can be used inter-actively: www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylis tics/topic5a/7allit&rhyme.htm The opening of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens has some notable ‘sound effects’. Comic verse frequently uses alliteration.

Candidates are required to: use language to create deliberate effects

11. Using sound effects such as alliteration and onomatopoeia Sound repetitions are a distinctive feature of poetry, but they are also effective in prose. NOTE: Although understanding of the concept is always more important than simple use of the terminology, it is as easy to get these things right from the start as it is to get them wrong! So, learners need to be able to distinguish alliteration (consonants) from assonance (vowels) and to spell correctly onomatopoeia.

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Learning objectives 12. Creating an atmosphere Descriptions of places can be framed in such a way that individual sense images, descriptive words and metaphors or similes all work together to create a distinctive atmosphere.

Suggested teaching activities Practise writing for atmosphere by altering all the descriptive elements in a written exercise to change the prevailing mood. This can be an effective pairs or group exercise, and is helpful for vocabulary building. e.g. ‘It was a dark and stormy night …’ becomes ‘It was a bright and peaceful evening …’. Again, an exercise that can be used to practise identification of word-classes, and to explore aspects of vocabulary and semantics such as antonyms and synonyms.

Learning resources BBC Learning Zone has various resources which learners can access independently. For example, there is a series of clips which include the author Michael Morpurgo reading the opening of his book The Ghost of
Grania O’Malley at: www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/at mospheric-writing-pt-1-6/4468.html Try the free writing exercise at: http://writesite.cuny.edu/projects/sta ges/start/freewrite/index.html

Candidates are required to: write imaginatively use language to create deliberate effects

13. W orking with the imagination Not all learners find it easy to use their imaginations, and different exercises should be used to stimulate imagination. A helpful starting point can be a described place or situation that seems ordinary, into which something surprising or strange intrudes or erupts. The surreal atmosphere of our dreams can be used effectively here. Even the most prosaic learner has dreams that are surreal or fantastic, and this is a good starting point. Imagining that you are another kind of being, such as an animal or object telling its story, is also a stimulus to the imagination. Imaginative response to another writer’s work is an effective stimulus to the affective rather than the cognitive brain. It also provides excellent practice for Paper 1 Question 2.

Free Writing – five or ten minutes of writing without structure or punctuation anything and everything that comes into the head – is an effective warm-up exercise: • it is entirely private and can be discarded • then a more structured task can be tackled • it clears the mind and helps anxious writers to free their blockages. Stream of consciousness writing can reflect the complex activities of the brain, but is generally a carefully-chosen strategy, and not the same as free writing. Some learners may wish to discuss the psycho-sexual content of their dreams, and may need to be channelled away from such discussions. Imaginative responses can take the form of :

• poems (or part-poems) written in the style of the original • a continuation of dialogue or scene that isn’t in the original play • another paragraph or two from a novel. The learner can imagine s/he is an object or an animal, and tell their story. ‘Empathy’ work – in which a story or play is told from the point of view of a character different from the original focus – can be very stimulating.

Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse is often seen as a prime example of the stream of consciousness style. Ebook at: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woo lf/virginia/w91t/part1.html#part1 ‘

Many literary works are suitable for such extension work and learners find it very enjoyable.

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Learning objectives 14. Good practice Analysing Reading Writing Sharing

Suggested teaching activities Analyse the pieces of imaginative and descriptive writing suggested in the resources, and discuss their effectiveness. Read as many good descriptions as possible. Read imaginative stories out loud and discuss their effectiveness. Do as much timed practice as possible before the examination, especially plans and opening paragraphs. Read and comment on each other’s work. Display good examples on the walls of the classroom. Make a booklet of the best imaginative writing.

Learning resources Teacher Support is a secure online resource bank and community forum for Cambridge teachers. Go to: http://teachers.cie.org.uk/:

15. The examination tasks In the examination, candidates will have to choose one out of three questions. Each question will require a narrative or descriptive piece of continuous writing of 600–900 words (or two shorter linked pieces of 300–450 words). A short story of 600–900 words cannot have a plot that is too complicated. Learners therefore need to develop strategies – as outlined in Sections 1 to 8 above – to make the task manageable and to allow them to perform to the best of their ability. NOTE:

Exam candidates should not retell the stories of films they have seen – however tempting this may be – as this will inevitably be far too ambitious for the time allowed, and will seem secondhand to the examiner.

Exam practice The specimen paper offers the following narrative task and prompt: • Write the opening to a novel called Escape from the City, in which a narrator describes her or his experiences of moving to a rural area. In your writing create a sense of the narrator’s outlook and mood.

9093 Specimen papers available at: http://teachers.cie.org.uk/:

The specimen paper offers the following descriptive tasks and prompts: • Write two contrasting pieces (between 300–450 words each), the first about a place before a flood and the second about the same place after a flood. In your writing create a mood and a sense of place. Write a descriptive piece called The Workplace. In your writing focus on colours, sounds and textures to help your reader imagine the scene.

•

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 5: Writing for an audience (discursive/argumentative)

Recommended prior knowledge A competence of written English, demonstrated through success at O Level/IGCSE. Some appreciation of how different forms of written English are required in different contexts. Context This unit has as its subject the acquisition of skills for Paper 2 Section B, and might be best studied towards the end of the AS Level course, as learners often find it the most challenging aspect. Outline This unit addresses writing for an audience, with the outcome being a discursive or argumentative essay of
600–900 words, written in one hour under examination conditions. This may sometimes be in letter form. Syllabus ref Paper 2 Section B Candidates are required to: write for a specific audience

Learning objectives 1. Discursive/argumentative Although dictionary definitions of these terms make them seem very similar, a discussion of a topic takes a broad and thoughtful view which considers both or all sides of the topic; an argument usually presents a forceful set of reasons for adopting one point of view. Both forms demand a high level of logic in the structure if they are to be successful. Practice is essential for successful achievement in this unit.

Suggested teaching activities This unit is often seen as very demanding, but it offers much scope for class discussion and debate, including formal debates with proposers and seconders to a motion. Individual speeches can also be given to the class group.

Consider some issues which inspire strong feelings, and debate to what extent they can be discussed in a balanced way, and how far they are felt to demand an argumentative approach. Introduce the idea of ‘playing devil’s advocate’ and try to encourage learners to adopt and develop arguments that they do not personally subscribe to. This helps to develop objectivity and a logical approach to controversy. A two-column ‘binary opposites’ approach to planning can be helpful. Learners should be encouraged to imagine and anticipate the opposite point of view.

Learning resources As usual, there is a wealth of potentially useful resources on the internet, some good and some inappropriate. Basic level Some basic, simple guidance is available at: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize /english/writing/genreaudiencerev1.s html More challenging level This website has some interesting ideas on essay planning in general: www.mrsclaassen.co.za/1852/154301.html

present a view clearly, construct an argument carefully, and write coherently

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Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities

Learning resources

Candidates are required to:

2. Successful pre-planning a) Generating relevant ideas In the examination situation, learners will have to generate ideas quickly, under pressure. Before attempting even to plan, the key words of the essay title should be highlighted so that relevance is ensured. b) Brainstorming or mind mapping. This is the activity in which all of a writer’s ideas on a topic are allowed to flow onto the page and be recorded. These may take the form of a patterned plan – a spider diagram or brain pattern. One idea leads to another and all the interconnections are shown, sometimes covering the page in a network of ideas. It should feel like a creative activity. Not all learners find this form of brainstorming helpful – some feel more comfortable making a list.

Work through lists of discursive essays, highlighting the key words in the title. See if any patterns of essay type emerge. Mind maps/spider diagrams can be drawn on the board, with the whole group contributing ideas, and learning to let them flow and develop into new areas. This is a very useful group activity and encourages more diffident learners who lack confidence in their own ideas, when they see their incipient thoughts grasped and furthered by others. Lists can be created under headings from the spider plan, for those who work better in a more linear fashion. It must be remembered that a written essay is a linear form, so the ideas will eventually have to be processed in a linear way.

Exercises in summary – in which key points are identified – are helpful for learning how to achieve clear focus in an argument. Learners could ‘warm up’ for the exam practice task (see the section below) by first summarising the material at: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/audio/geography/pdf/fo reign_aid.pdf and then using it (as much or as little as needed) in the writing. Exam practice: Specimen paper task number 5: Two politicians have been invited to contribute to a debate on the theme “Giving Aid to the Poor Does More Harm Than Good”. Write the text of their speeches (between 300–450 words each). In your writing create a sense of opposing attitudes

present a view clearly construct an argument carefully write coherently and persuasively

Past examination essay titles from all levels can be used, but the 8693 series has a particularly extensive range. Go to Teacher Support at: http://teachers.cie.org.uk/ The BBC BrainSmart website has a range of ‘self help’ activities, including revision as well as ‘mind mapping’, at: www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/brainsmart/m emory/how_to_learn.shtml James Cook University has more extensive mind mapping support at: www.jcu.edu.au/tldinfo/learningskills/ mindmap/howto.html

Candidates are required to:

3. Essential planning From all the ideas generated by their preplanning, learners must select the material most relevant to the essay title, guided by the key words which they have highlighted. Inevitably some material will have to be abandoned. Learners find this a difficult

write in a a specified form for a

Many reputable university websites have ‘study skills’ sections, including advice and exercises on essay planning. For example: http://studentzone.roehampton.ac.uk /howtostudy/academicwriting/unit5/i ndex.html

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Learning objectives discipline, as they do in other subjects where they are trying to cram as much in as possible. It will be interesting – for learners and teachers – to compare the plan with the final essay, noting points not used. 4. Essential paragraphing At this stage, it is better not to focus on the introductory and concluding paragraphs of the essay. The material must be selected and then developed into paragraphs – groups of sentences which contain one controlling idea and sentences which support that idea. The sentence which contains the main idea of the paragraph is sometimes known as the topic sentence.

There may be four or five sentences in a paragraph, though it will depend on the subject matter. In summary: • one main idea clearly stated • • supported with examples • linking with the previous paragraph and the one that follows (see next section for signposting)

Suggested teaching activities and viewpoints. The politicians may be real or invented. Learners make a two-column list of matching/opposing points, put points in logical order – number them, write each speech, thinking about how choices of language will create ‘voice’ and attitude. Basic level Practice in organisation can begin with examples of successful essays being physically cut into paragraphs. Learners then reassemble them in the correct order and give reasons for their decisions. Writing paragraphs on single topics can be practised.

There should be one topic sentence and the rest should be in support of it. This work is an essential groundwork for writing a logically structured, well-planned essay. It is suitable for group work, where the group can monitor each other’s contributions. More challenging level Bearing in mind the requirement to write in a specified form (e.g. a magazine feature, article, review, letter to a newspaper, scripted speech, voice over) for a specified audience, more able learners might practise the paragraphon-single-topic exercise with a clearly defined audience in mind. Audience will always determine choices of language: it’s important for learners to be able to adopt a suitable tone/voice right from the start. These activities lead naturally on to 5. Essential signposting.

Learning resources Planning and writing exercises in which only five main points (with supporting examples) are allowed will also help in prioritising material. Such points form an essay plan. More challenging level Learners who can be relied on to work independently will find plenty of support in university webpages dedicated to teaching learners how to write a formal academic essay. The following offer clear and helpful guidance: http://studentzone.roehampton.ac.uk /howtostudy/academicwriting/What %20is%20a%20paragraph.pdf

http://studentzone.roehampton.ac.uk /howtostudy/academicwriting/unit3/i ndex.html http://studentzone.roehampton.ac.uk /howtostudy/academicwriting/paragr aphs-excercise.pdf

Candidates are required to:

construct an argument carefully write coherently and persuasively write in a specified form for a specified audience

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Candidates are required to:

Learning objectives 5. Essential signposting Paragraphs need to be arranged in a form for maximum effectiveness. The direction of the argument must be signposted so that the reader can follow the structure of the argument, seeing its logic – where it is going. Signposts – sometimes called discourse markers – are usually to be found at the beginning of the paragraph. They may be single words (but/however/similarly) or phrases (on the other hand/another way in which … )

Suggested teaching activities Individually or in pairs, learners could research and analyse (good) letters to the editor of a newspaper and examples of (good) leader or article writers, to see (good) signposting at work. More able learners could evaluate what is successful and what is not; less confident learners might need to be directed to examples of successful structuring.

Learners must try these signposting devices themselves, starting with simple accumulating arguments. e.g. ‘Give reasons why you enjoy a particular sport’ could begin ‘The main reason’, followed by ‘another reason’, followed by ‘I also like’ followed by ‘But my main reason is …’.

Learning resources www.schoolportal.co.uk/GroupDownloadFile.asp ?GroupID=1059703&ResourceId=3 459104 The simple formula in the middle column can be extended to serve the more complex set of arguments that would be needed for a title such as ‘Discuss the idea that television does more harm than good.’ Such an essay will almost certainly demand ‘0n the other hand …’.

construct an argument carefully write coherently and persuasively

Candidates are required to:

6. Writing Check that ideas are in the right order, then try writing them in paragraphs following the guidelines given above, omitting the introduction and conclusion. The four or five paragraphs that result are often known as the main body of the essay. The ideas should follow a logical sequence and the structure of the essay should be clear.

present a view clearly construct an argument carefully

Start by offering learners a paragraph plan that will work. This may be: • a
plan produced by the teacher • a plan produced by an individual learner or pair/group. As much practice as possible will make essay writing more enjoyable. Plans and openings need to be practised most of all. Learners need to feel comfortable enough NOT to panic and write unplanned essays when they get into the examination.

More useful academic guidance can be found at: www.kcl.ac.uk/teares/nmvc/studyskill s/academicwriting/page_21.htm www.ncl.ac.uk/students/wdc/learnin g/academic/analytic.htm

7. Introductions and conclusions An introduction should show the reader that the question is going to be addressed and how the writer is going to discuss the topic. It should make the reader want to read on. It does not have to be very long, provided that it is clear. A good conclusion should be strong, pulling

Give a range of essay topics, audiences and formats. Learners practise writing introductions: they can be taken in and read out loud, with the merits of each one discussed, anonymously if required. This exercise cannot be exactly duplicated with conclusions, since they depend on the thrust and direction of the preceding essay. However, learners can still comment helpfully

Student Handbook for English (Durran and Stewart) ISBN: 9781857495850 Study advice – writing your essay: www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadv ice/Studyresources/Essays/stawritingessay.aspx#introductions

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Learning objectives the essay together. It is a pity if all it does is to repeat the earlier arguments; a good conclusion can add something else to the argument, saving a good point to the end. 8. Editing: an important final check Especially under exam conditions – but as a matter of course, every day, with class work or home work – learners must check that meaning is clear. • • Are grammar and spelling accurate? Have any words – or word endings – been missed out?

Suggested teaching activities on each other’s work. Plans can be created with the introduction and conclusion written in full, and the main body in point form.

Learning resources

Every piece of work should be checked as a matter of course. Checking needs to become second nature – if indeed it isn’t already – for learners, a necessary habit of personal hygiene like cleaning your teeth. A piece of work isn’t ‘finished’ if it hasn’t been actively checked. Learners should know their own frailties – for example, are they inconsistent with sentence boundaries? – and look actively to locate and correct their mistakes.

Improve Your Punctuation and Grammar: (Marion Field) How To Books, 2009 ISBN: 9781845283292

Candidates are required to:

9. The letter form Every day, in quality newspapers all over the world, letters are printed expressing a point of view or argument. Letters of complaint are written to all manner of agencies and public departments, setting out logical arguments in order to persuade the reader of the validity of a point of view. These are argumentative essays, and require introductions, main bodies and conclusions as suggested above. However, the recipient of the letter must always be kept in mind, even when (s)he is not in effect the audience. For example, the editor of the newspaper is not the audience for a letter about world poverty – the readers of the letter column/page are – whereas the complaints department of an airline is the audience for an email criticizing the company for its lack of environmental concern.

Reading and writing letters of argument and complaint must be practised. Suitable advice on layout (address, introduction and closure) should be given, including email format. Various local, national and international newspapers and magazines accept letters from members of the public in their print and online editions.

For an example of a structured letter on a controversial subject (women being allowed in the armed forces) see: www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/4258993/A-tank-is-noplace-for-women-during-battle.html Learners could be given this letter (or any similar letter) as: • a Paper 1-style exercise in commentary and directed writing • a Paper 2 exercise in summary followed by writing for an audience – a response to the letter in similar format, taking the arguments offered by the writer and

understand and analyse texts in a variety of forms write clearly, accurately, creatively and effectively for different purposes and audiences, using different forms

More challenging level Able learners may be interested in research on how electronic communication is changing manners and practice in formal and less formal letters, and their e-equivalents. See, for example: www.llas.ac.uk/resourcedownloads/3 088/mackevic1.pdf

See also style guides such as: www.eeducation.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c7 _p2.html

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Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities making the opposite case.

Learning resources

Candidates are required to develop:

10. Material for practice Learners are (of course) to be encouraged in anything which helps them become more responsive to the world and its issues. The ability to read critically and thoughtfully is crucial to their development: responsiveness to language is a measure of intellectual and personal development. Reading widely will extend the potential scope of their arguments, and sharpen their analytical ability.

critical and informed response to texts in a range of forms, styles and contexts firm foundation for further study of language and linguistics Candidates are required to:

A regular class time ‘slot’ in which learners take it in turns – perhaps in pairs/small groups – to present a linguistic slant on items of world news could be built into the timetable. These presentations could feed into work from the other units. English language blogs naturally feature items which are current in world news. Recent items could be displayed on interactive whiteboards, and learners made responsible for researching and updating their content.

http://englishlangsfx.blogspot.co.uk/ www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/alevel/ http://languagelegend.blogspot.co.uk/ www.waywordradio.org/ The Global Language Monitor website at: www.languagemonitor.com/

11. Reading Writing Sharing

Do as much timed practice as possible before the exam, including essay plans.

Read and comment on each other’s work. Display good examples on the walls of the classroom or on interactive displays. Conduct formal debates as well as general discussions. Listen to each other’s points of view. Try to argue with logic as well as passion.

develop interdependent skills of reading, analysis and research

Cambridge International Examinations AS Level English Language and Literature (Toner and Whittome) – sample at: http://education.cambridge.org/media/

12. 9093 Specimen papers Q4: A technology journalist writes an article called The Future is Being Revolutionised. The article describes how new inventions are

Remember that the overarching requirement of Section B is Writing for an audience. The activities above may be applied to the 9093 specimen papers which can be found on Teacher Support at

Cambridge International Examinations AS Level English Language and Literature (Toner and Whittome) – sample at: http://education.cambridge.org/media/

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Learning objectives going to shape the next twenty years and the benefits they will bring. Write the text for the article. In your writing create a sense of enthusiasm and excitement. Q5: Two politicians have been invited to contribute to a debate on the theme Giving Aid to the Poor Does More Harm Than Good. Write the text of their speeches (between 300–450 words each). In your writing create a sense of opposing attitudes and viewpoints.

The politicians may be real or invented. Q6: Write the script for a voiceover of a TV documentary called You’re Only Young Once. The script is aimed at a youth market. In your writing create a sense of the joys and troubles that life at this age can bring.

Suggested teaching activities http://teachers.cie.org.uk/

Learning resources

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 6: Text analysis
Recommended prior knowledge Experience of a wide range of text types at AS Level and proficient command of written English. Context This unit builds on the reading and writing skills developed at AS Level. The potential range of material for reading and analysis is wider, and includes transcriptions of natural (spontaneous and semi-spontaneous) speech as well as prepared/scripted speech. In the directed writing task, skills of commentary are extended to cover comparison of the candidate’s own style and language with the style and language of original texts. Outline An element of comparison is required in Paper 3 in the analysis of specific features of form and style, and of how these features relate to purpose, audience and context in a range of text types. Syllabus ref Paper 3 Question 1(a) write for a specific purpose and/or audience using appropriate vocabulary, tone, and style understand spoken and/or written Learning objectives

1. Directed writing task (1) In Question 1(a) of Paper 3, candidates are required to undertake a directed writing task:

• of 120–150 words

• based on an original text printed on the paper • for a specific purpose/audience • using appropriate vocabulary, tone, and style. NOTE: In contrast to the format of Paper 1, where the directed writing task comes after the commentary task, in Paper 3 candidates are required to do the writing task first. Rationale: A piece of writing which responds to an original text has for some time been seen in assessment terms as an acceptable Suggested teaching activities All of the work and activities suggested in Unit 3 for directed writing tasks set for Paper 1 may be re-visited or adapted. NOTE: The exam task is a short (120–150 words) piece of writing, and may be only one part – e.g. an introduction or an opening or a conclusion – of a potentially longer piece. Learners therefore need to practise the skills of: • ‘tuning in’ quickly to a style/format

• showing an implicit appreciation of the style and language of the original text. As a regular ‘starter’ activity, learners need to be made accustomed to responding to particular text types by doing a short directed writing task. NOTE: These should include spoken texts, both prepared and spontaneous. Individual learners could take it in turns to find and bring a Learning resources Learners should research sources of texts covering the full range in the syllabus: transcriptions of speech/spoken material/scripted speech (e.g. a campaigning broadcast or political speech), advertisements, brochures, leaflets, editorials, news stories, articles, reviews, blogs, investigative journalism, letters, podcasts, (auto) biographies, diaries, essays, and narrative/descriptive writing. Some of these may emerge from the individual hobbies and interests of particular learners – e.g. music and film reviews, fashion journalism, interviews with sports stars – while others may be found by thoughtful

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Syllabus ref language distinguishing features of written and spoken language linguistic concepts understood and applied in helpful ways linguistic concepts relevant to spoken texts

Learning objectives form of textual analysis. The analytical element is implicit in the choices of language made in the candidate’s own writing.

2. Directed writing task (2) The specimen mark scheme for the directed writing task indicates that knowledge and understanding of spoken/written language should be implicit in candidates’ writing. Careful attention to the requirements of the task should cover understanding of the original textual material, and an appreciation of how it needs to be re-worked in terms of • audience and purpose • form, including conventions • style and effects.

The syllabus requires learners to identify and analyse distinguishing features of written and spoken language in the text(s), such as • vocabulary

• word order and the structure of sentences/utterances • figurative language (e.g. use of metaphor and simile) • formality/informality of tone • communication of attitudes, bias or prejudice. Basic linguistic concepts relevant to directed writing based on spoken text: • verb-tense, e.g. shift from present into past • proper nouns > common nouns > pronouns, e.g. When Eddie Izzard

Suggested teaching activities text to class in preparation for the next lesson, together with a directed writing task based on that text. This will need to be done at least a lesson in advance so that the teacher can be sure that text and task match the syllabus requirements. Written text: Use Passage 1 for Paper 3 (Appendix 1). Before giving learners the passage and task, brainstorm and list features which would be expected of a newspaper story about a current natural disaster. Learners working at a basic level could be provided with a series of prompts based on the distinguishing features bullet-point list in the Learning Objectives column, and then given 10 minutes to read and annotate the passage. More confident learners working at a more challenging level could be left to study the passage in pairs or groups, to locate significant linguistic features and to annotate these.

They could then write just the opening 25–35 words for their own directed writing task. Whole class work: Display all the opening sentences, then display the directed writing task instruction again: ‘… produce a brief information sheet, advising people what to do …’ Ask learners to consider how well these opening 25–35 words relate to the function and context of the directed writing task. Learners can have several attempts at writing the opening, if necessary. When they are ready, they can complete the task, keeping strictly to the word limit. Spoken text: Use Passage 2 for Paper 3 (Appendix 3). Before giving learners the passage, tell them the task, and brainstorm a list of features of style/format which you would expect to find in a television news report. Confident learners working at a more challenging level

Learning resources searching of the internet. Possible sources listed below. TV and film script websites: www.dailyscript.com/movie.html www.imsdb.com/ www.moviepage.com/movie_scripts.htm www.mymoviescripts.com/

Scripted speeches: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit ics/gordon-brown-i-joined-this-partyas-a-teenager–its-values-are-mymoral-compass-454560.html

Differences between scripted and spontaneous/semi-spontaneous speech: www.englishandmedia.co.uk/publicati ons/downloads/pdfs/Inv%20Lang%20 SL_SAMPLE.pdf

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Syllabus ref

Learning objectives met Prime Minister earlier today, the comedian asked the politician to explain to him … vague language and precise language, e.g. huge amount of stuff contrasted with crestfallen signs of shared knowledge in face-toface conversation, e.g. every so often (.) you know (.) for some reason though it went on for two or three days (.) which is longer than normal (.) and the leaders would go out of the room (.) you know (.) go and watch the latest game (.) and then they would come back disappointed (.) you know (.).

Suggested teaching activities could be left to do this in pairs or groups. Learners working at a basic level could be provided with a series of prompts based on the basic linguistic concepts bullet-point list in the Learning Objectives column. Finally, learners write their response – the text for the news report – in 120–150 words. Further practice Encourage learners to make their own transcriptions of discussion/conversation, Revisit resources and ideas on speeches from Unit 3.

Learning resources

• •

Analysing language and style The University of Lancaster hosts a very supportive course on language and style at: www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylistic s/index.htm

Paper 3 Question 1(b) relate features to the function and context of the texts identify and analyse distinguishing features of written and/or spoken language organise information

Compare the style and language of learner’s response with the style and language of the original text: • • • • • awareness of audience/conventions awareness of form and style awareness of purpose selective and relevant quotation use of and reference to texts.

Learners need to develop the ability to apply informed critical response to their own writing. This is a progression from AS Level, where the analysis is applied to the writings of others. Learners working at a basic level should complete and hand in part 1(a) of the directed writing task before the end of a lesson. At the start of the next lesson, they should be given back their work and told to annotate it in pencil as if it were a text for analysis written by a third party.

They should then complete part 1(b) of the task, as worded in the Learning Objectives column. More confident learners working at a more challenging level might work in pairs to read and ‘critique’ (and annotate) each other’s work. The intention should be to move learners to a position where they can look at their own writing objectively and see it in comparison with the original text in terms of style and

The shifts which need to occur from the original text in Question 1 to the directed writing are movements in: • audience • format • purpose. Learners will be familiar with directed writing tasks from O Level/IGCSE as well as from AS Level.

The skills and approaches required to do Question 1(b) are clearly very similar to those required for Question 2 – so please see the section below. NOTE: The ‘prompt’ or ‘command’ word in both of these questions is Compare … However, it must be remembered that the topic of Paper 3 is Textual Analysis, so the method must be analytical. It is up to

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Syllabus ref coherently in their answers

Learning objectives candidates to organise their answers in a way that allows them to analyse style and language. The comparison may be made in any way that helps the analysis – so there is no advantage in starting with one text rather than the other, or in sticking to a particular order, such as always dealing with a spoken text first. Question 2 is based on two longer texts (300–400 words each). The texts will have some thematic connection, but will be from different types of source/form. Candidates are required to compare style and language of the texts.

The point of the thematic connection is that candidates need not spend (=waste!) time exploring similarities or differences of content. The focus of their answers must be analysis of how choices of language combine to construct meaning. The column on the left refers to aspects of language which candidates need to be thinking about. What the syllabus aims call a critical and informed response means a habit of reading where the learner automatically looks for distinguishing features of language. Syllabus coverage The syllabus states that for Paper 3 one of the texts (either for Question 1 or Question 2) will be a transcription of speech/spoken material/scripted speech (e.g. a campaigning broadcast or political speech). So candidates

Suggested teaching activities language. The skills and approaches required to do Question 1(b) are clearly very similar to those required for Question 2 – so please see the section below.

Learning resources Learners who are thought capable of working independently at a more challenging level might be encouraged to investigate website resources for themselves.

Paper 3 Question 2 identify and analyse distinguishing features of written and/or spoken language in the text(s) vocabulary, word order and the structure of sentences/ utterances figurative language (e.g. use of metaphor and simile) formality/ informality of tone

Outline the structure of Paper 3 at the very start of the A Level year. Make sure learners understand the requirements: see the syllabus. Over a planned length of time – e.g. the first half-term – learners take it in turns to find and bring in three texts of 300– 500 words, linked by a common theme, one of which must be a spoken text. This needs to be done a week in advance of the planned lesson in each case, so that the teacher has time to establish that the texts are of suitable length, demand and content. If not, individual learners may need further guidance.

This should ensure a steady stream of material on which learners can practise. Otherwise the strain on teachers of finding endless textual material is considerable. All of the material and activities in the Media Texts and Spoken Texts sections of the Unit 2 scheme of work can be adapted and used for Paper 3. Material which was earlier found to be too difficult for learners working at a basic level might be used at this stage.

More challenging level If the school has a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), more independent and capable learners can be encouraged to set up a blogspot to which they contribute topical items. (Enterprising learners might set up their own blog without a VLE – or a teacher might create one for the learners.) The items appearing might be as simple as a sign learners have seen with an interesting use of language, or a news item with a linguistic slant. (This will be even more useful for Paper 4.) For inspiration, and an idea of what can be done, they could look at: http://englishlangsfx.blogspot.co.uk/ or www.worldwidewords.org/

Syllabus coverage The list of text-types which may figure in Paper 3 is openended: ‘texts will be drawn from forms such as …’ This needs to be treated as an opportunity, not a problem: the examination will test learners’ analytical skills rather than their

Spoken language A succinct summary of structural features of speech can be found at: www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/sp eech.htm

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Syllabus ref
how attitudes, bias or prejudice are communicated

Learning objectives need to be familiar with both spontaneous and planned speech – though they cannot be sure in which question they will encounter the spoken text. The other texts will be drawn from forms such as advertisements, brochures, leaflets, editorials, news stories, articles, reviews, blogs, investigative journalism, letters, podcasts, (auto) biographies, diaries, essays, and narrative/descriptive writing.

Suggested teaching activities knowledge of a particular text-type. The only element in the left-hand column which is ‘new’ at this level is the analysis of spontaneous speech – and this will have been touched on in Unit 2. The mode which learners regularly find hardest is ironic or satirical writing –
and this is often how attitudes, bias or prejudice are communicated. It’s therefore essential to expose learners to texts which adopt a lighthearted tone.

Learning resources

Satire Craig Brown often targets celebrity culture in the UK and USA – e.g. at: www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2 009/09/vanities-paltrow200909 More confident learners might enjoy satirical fiction which blends genres, such as How to get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (Mohsin Hamid) – see: www.penguin.com.au/products/97802 41145906/how-get-filthy-rich-risingasia/342924/extract

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) Unit 7: Language topics
Recommended prior knowledge Learners should have an understanding of how language works in a range of contexts; proficient command of written English and an interest in linguistic issues. Context This unit develops interdependent skills of reading, analysis and research, with an increased emphasis on spoken language. Outline Learners require a firm foundation for further study of language and linguistics. Learners are required to focus on two out of three Language Topics A, B and C: Spoken language and social groups; English as a global language; Language acquisition by children and teenagers. Syllabus ref topic areas of linguistic interest Learning objectives Broad understanding of the significance of (two of) the three topic areas. Topic A: Spoken language and social groups Topic B: English as a global language Topic C: Language acquisition by children and teenagers wider reading and research See syllabus NOTE: Relevant areas for study include those listed – but these are not exhaustive lists.

The sections below will make additional suggestions for study and research; learners at this level should also be showing some ability to pursue their own interests. Suggested teaching activities In Paper 4, learners will have to answer two questions out of three. One question, with no choice, is provided for each topic area. Teachers may choose to prepare their learners for all three topics, allowing them choice in the exam, or they may decide to concentrate on two. Each of the topics is of equivalent difficulty. Centres choosing both of the spoken language Topics (A and C) might begin with Topic C. NOTE: The three topics covered here are set for examination in 2014 and 2015. Schools must consult syllabus updates for future years. It may be thought wise to stick to just two topics for learners working at a basic level. An alternative/optional approach for more confident learners working at a more challenging level could be to allow them to study the third topic independently. They may be able to carry out research and wider reading in pairs or groups, preparing themselves for study patterns in higher education.

Suggestions will be Learning resources Generally, learners can access good material and stimulus for their own research from websites belonging to universities worldwide. Some of these will require a measure of independence; others will offer a level of support, for example through interactive ‘tutorials’ or Test Yourself progress tests. For example, the Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies at the University of Southampton offers a series of resources and activities at: www.llas.ac.uk/resources/bankconten ts.html

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Syllabus ref

Learning objectives

Suggested teaching activities made in the Learning Resources column for each
topic.

Learning resources

Examination preparation interdependent skills of: In Paper 4, each question will incorporate a short stimulus (such as a relevant text extract or speech transcription) relating to the topic area. Candidates will be expected to refer to this and to their own wider reading and research in answering. In short, the stimulus material in the exam questions will offer • • research • prompts in terms of relevant issues for discussion material for close analysis opportunities to explore links between the material in the question and learners’ own wider reading and research. Clearly, Topics A and C share a more analytical focus on the mechanics of spoken language, and the questions will reflect that emphasis by offering material (for example speech transcription) for close analysis.

Topic B’s focus is an issue – English as a Global Language – and the question will reflect the range of debate which exists around this topic. For Topics A and C, teachers will need sources of spoken language, transcribed or suitable for transcription. Such material is likely to be used up very quickly, so learners need to be ‘trained’ in the research habit of finding suitable sources. For Topic B, learners require similar ‘training’ in the habit of research and critical inquiry. Issues to do with English as a global language are never out of the news where English is the main or second language. NOTE: There will be overlap in basic knowledge of spoken language between Topics A and C. Teachers could usefully start by re-visiting the Spoken texts section of Unit 2. Suggestions are made there as to how learners could begin to make transcriptions of spoken language from their own environment. Such an independent approach applies more urgently now.

Consolidating existing knowledge Remind learners of transcript conventions. A good place to start is the Transcription Key in the specimen paper. Provide learners with Passage 1 for Paper 4 (Appendix 2). They should work in pairs to identify and annotate any

The specimen paper is available at: http://teachers.cie.org.uk/ Learners working at a basic level need to develop simple research skills, and to feel confident enough to refer to linguistic concepts and studies, e.g. as in David Crystal’s Introduction to Language at: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/97 80415602679/dc-glossary.asp Learners working at a more challenging level could follow the links from this Introduction to the more detailed and scholarly content: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/97 80415602679/dc-intro.asp#lecturers Learners working at a more challenging level could benefit from more developed and detailed glossaries of Spoken Language features, such as the one at: http://linguistics.sllf.qmul.ac.uk/sites/d efault/files/spoken_english_general_p oints.pdf

reading

analysis

Topic A: Spoken language and social groups

Relevant areas for study include: • • • • • • • specific features of spoken language which are influenced by context the use of language to include and exclude group identity, power and status slang, jargon and other non-standard features idiolect/sociolect/dialect speech sounds and accents theories and studies of social variation in language, for example,

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Syllabus ref

Learning objectives variations according to gender, age, occupation, social class. Learners need to be familiar with specific features of spoken language, appreciating that speech has different ‘rules’ from written language. It may help to consider some of these in categories: non-fluency features: fillers, pauses, repetition, false starts lexis: formal/informal lexical choices; slang/colloquialisms; field-specific lexis grammar: interrupted/ incomplete/ disjointed/non-standard constructions context-dependent language: phatic expressions, deictic expressions NOTE: It is important to discourage learners from thinking that spoken language is just an inferior form of written language, or that it is full of ‘mistakes’ which need to be ‘corrected’.

Such a ‘deficit’ approach is wrong and unhelpful. Much more helpful would be a broad appreciation of the main functions of spoken language: • Referential: utterances that provide information • Expressive: utterances that express the speaker’s feelings • Transactional: utterances where the main purpose is to get something done or to acquire something • Interactional: utterances where the

Suggested teaching activities features which are typical of spoken language. (See Spoken Language Features list.) Spoken language and social groups For the purposes of the syllabus, an interaction between two people can illustrate ‘group’ language. In Passage 1 for Paper 4 (Appendix 2), Rod and Shiv share a task and also share the knowledge and language needed to perform that task successfully. In annotating the passage, learners should be able to find examples of spoken language features which correspond to all of the bullet-points from the syllabus:

• Simple declaratives and imperatives as the two speakers give each other information and instructions. References which depend on the immediate context/environment: the one next to … the second one along on the … . Jargon and field-specific lexis: the anti-roll bar … the steering rack … . Non-standard syntax: don’t let there be (.) nothing still attached. Signs of speech sounds and accents: dropping the final -g from stickin, comin, nothing. Overlapping speech as a result of the shared activity and understanding: Shiv interrupts Rod twice to tell him my end’s clear … that’s clear on my side … because he knows this is important information.

Learning resources

specific features of spoken language

Is there a special grammar of spoken English? Learners working at a more challenging level could study the whole article by Geoffrey Leech at: www.tuchemnitz.de/phil/english/chairs/linguis t/real/independent/llc/Conference199 8/Papers/Leech/Leech.htm Learners working at a basic level might focus simply on Leech’s main point – that Spoken English … has its own principles, rules and categories, which are different from those of the written language. Transcripts Past papers and practice materials from other English Language (or combined Language and Literature) syllabuses may be useful. Links to past OCR papers are at: www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-alevel-gce-english-language-h069h469/ Papers to look for with transcribed passages are 2701 and 2706 (legacy specification) and F651 (current). Look also for resources generated by teachers and shared on ‘community’ areas of Cambridge Assessment

•

firm foundation for further study of language and linguistics

• • • •

Working with transcriptions: Creating your own Learners can generate their own material for this topic; indeed, they can exploit their interests and their membership of different groups to produce transcripts of spoken language in a range of contexts and social groups.

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Learning objectives main emphasis is on the social relationship between the participants Phatic: utterances without any ‘real’ serious content; ‘small
talk’.

Suggested teaching activities NOTE: Mobile communication devices make recording of speech very easy, but it is polite and sensible to ensure that speakers are aware they are being recorded and that they give their permission. Such recording can take place during any group or pair work that involves speaking, and the recordings can be transcribed later. Learners need to develop very quickly an interest in how the English language is presented and perceived in local and international media as well as in more academic discourse.

An internet search on any date will produce a number of ‘hits’ showing news or discussion items relevant to English as a Global Language. As a starter activity, get learners to work in pairs and perform such an internet search, then to group their results according to whether the items are • broadly positive or negative about English as a global language • general interest or academic • local or international. These are not mutually-exclusive categories, and they oversimplify the situation, but they will help learners develop an initial perspective. Pairs of learners should now choose the six most interesting of their results and collaborate in writing half a page about each one. This writing should include: • • • the source, and a brief comment on this in terms of text-type/likely audience the headline a brief summary of the substance of the item.

Learning resources websites, e.g. http://social.ocr.org.uk/groups/english /resources/asa2-english-languageand-literature-english-languagetranscripts

•

Topic B: English as a global language interdependent skills of: reading analysis research

Relevant areas for study include: • Issues arising from differing ideas of ‘world’/’global’/‘international’ English. • Kachru’s Three Circles: inner circle, outer circle, expanding circle. • The local status of English – as an ‘official’ (second) language. • ‘Englishes’ – standard and nonstandard varieties. • Cultural effects – especially from e.g. British v. American English. • National government attitudes: language planning policies. • Language death. Learners will need to be comfortable discussing any of the issues above, and adept at exploring how they are presented in a variety of short text extracts. They should have a working knowledge of their local context in terms of these issues, for example: • The relative status of Standard English and any local non-standard variety. • Specific linguistic features of local varieties – grammar, lexis, syntax. • The attitude of their own country’s

There is no shortage of material on the internet, but audience is crucial: learners may find some items are aimed at a highly academic and specialised readership. This may have the benefit of extending the range of learners’ reading for Paper 3. David Crystal is reader-friendly and clear, for example at: www.davidcrystal.com/DC_articles/En glish28.pdf Learners may need guidance in order to appreciate the commercial agenda of some writers on the subject, for example: www.tesol.org/docs/pdf/10884.pdf The British Council has good material, such as a document on Key Issues in English as a global language at: http://ihe.britishcouncil.org/

comment on how writers communicate attitudes, bias or prejudice

For an example of such an item, see the article Polyglots required if we want a place in the global academy which

There’s an account of Kachru’s Three Circles – and links to many other interesting discussions – at:

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Learning objectives • • • • government to English. The risk to indigenous languages from the global spread of English. The effects on the local culture. The educational and economic aspects. Language contact.

Suggested teaching activities appeared in a weekly publication on higher education: www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/comment/opinion/polyglotsrequired-if-we-want-a-place-in-the-globalacademy/2002326.article Teachers may want to use this passage as an initial stimulus, though it is quite academically complex and would be more suitable for learners working at a more challenging level. Learners working at a basic level might begin with a simple comprehension activity on relevant material, such as the one at www.learnenglish.org.uk/prof_mp3/English_The_Global_Lan guage.pdf

Learning resources http://englishlangsfx.blogspot.co.uk/2 011/11/english-for-english-englishesfor-rest.html

Topic C: Language acquisition by children and teenagers

Relevant areas for study include: • The main stages of early development, for example the holophrastic, telegraphic and posttelegraphic stages.

Introduction Divide class into groups, each of which will research a different aspect of Child Language Acquisition: • • • • stages of development functions of child language development of speech sounds main theorists.

The different functions of young people’s language, for example: – instrumental function: language used to fulfil a need – obtaining food, drink and comfort. – regulatory function: asking, commanding, requesting – interactional function: language that develops social relationships – personal function: language that expresses personal opinions – representational function: relaying or requesting information – heuristic function: language that is used to explore the world and to learn and

•

Learners working at a basic level should find the web-site below an excellent and comprehensive overview, which they can refer to at all points during the work on this topic: www.allinfo.org.uk/levelup/enb6aq.ht m Teachers may choose to steer learners away from some aspects which the syllabus does not absolutely require – for example, the use of phonemic symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet – but all of the material on spoken language should be of interest. Learners working at a more challenging level could cope with a more theoretical overview, such as: http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling2

Each group can present its findings to the whole class. Learners should then be re-arranged in groups of four such that each of the aspects above is represented. These groups should then research examples of young children talking, with or without adults, and be given time to transcribe some examples. Copies of these transcriptions should be made available to the whole class. Learners can then work individually or in pairs to study and annotate the transcriptions, leading to whole-class discussion.

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Learning objectives discover – imaginative function: using language to tell stories and create imaginary worlds – knowledge of some of the theories of how children acquire language, such as imitation and reinforcement (Skinner), the language acquisition device (Chomsky), cognitive development (Piaget), childdirected (or ‘caretaker’) speech.

Suggested teaching activities Teachers will need to monitor the coverage of relevant aspects of child language, and provide supplementary material if they notice any aspect(s) not receiving attention. For example, it is often tempting (and sometimes easier) for learners to focus on aspects of vocabulary/lexis and to ignore aspects of grammar/syntax.

Learning resources 01/test4materials/ChildLangAcquisitio n.htm They would also benefit from following English Language blogs like: http://nfgsa2englishlanguage.blogspo t.co.uk/2009_09_01_archive.html Learners might be inspired to start their own, perhaps using a school/college VLE, as suggested in Unit 6.

Older children A Language Development Chart showing likely features from 6 months to 8 years can be found at: http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/childdevelopment/language_development.shtml Interest in the development (or otherwise) of language in older children and teenagers tends to focus in areas of concern to do with social behaviour.

interdependent skills of: reading analysis research

In establishing a firm foundation for further study of language and linguistics, teachers will need to encourage learners to explore the differences between popular notions of language use and development and more academically secure conceptions. For example, the mass media often feature stories about the supposed negative impact of ‘instant’ communication on the language of teenagers – see, for example, the article by BBC presenter John Humphrys on I h8 txt msgs: How texting is wrecking our language At: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-483511/Ih8-txt-msgs-How-texting-wreckinglanguage.html. A brief internet search would generate many more such items. But the research suggests

Language acquisition by teenagers The language development of older children is complicated by other factors, such as: • • • socialisation, and the need to be accepted as members of groups parallel development of written as well as spoken language the development of mobile communication technology.

There is plenty of serious research on how ‘instant’ communication might have affected language, e.g. at: www.psych.ualberta.ca/~varn/Docum ents/VarnhagenMcFall2010.pdf and http://wvuscholar.wvu.edu:8881/e

Revision Many universities have chatty learner-friendly areas of their websites where concepts central to this Topic are outlined. These can be useful for revision, for example: www.unc.edu/~gerfen/Ling30Sp2002/ acquisition.html

Teachers will need to provide learners with opportunities to reflect on their own language development and practices. Useful data might include learners’ own exercise books from earlier in their school careers, examples of the speaking and writing of younger siblings and recordings/transcriptions of their own language with their peers in different social groups. There is clearly an overlap here with Topic 1

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Syllabus ref

Learning objectives that the ‘popular’ view is wrong, and the linguist David Crystal offers a robust reply to Humphrys’s view at: www.davidcrystal.com/DC_articles/Internet16 .pdf

Suggested teaching activities Again, as with language acquisition in younger children, the main data will be transcriptions of interactions. Television programmes which feature older children and young teenagers in group activities and social situations can be useful, for example series like World’s Strictest Parents, which has a related blog at: www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2010/10/worlds-strictestparents.shtml Learners often enjoy exploring the development of figurative and nuanced language in older children. Working in pairs, learners could list idioms and proverbs, and any other examples of non-literal language. For each example, they should explore the linguistic mechanisms at work, such as in metaphors. They are likely to enjoy exploring their own uses of sarcasm and ‘in-group’ language, and thinking back to the stages at which such uses developed.

Learning resources

For learners who have been working at a more challenging level, try: http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/harnad/P apers/Py104/pinker.langacq.html Finally, learners who are considering studying English language at university level might explore some of the resources provided for undergraduates at: www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/ling001/ schedule.html and www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_20 03/ling001/homework.html

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 1: Passage 1 for Paper 3

The text consists of a story from the online edition of the New York Times newspaper, published when Hurricane Sandy was about to hit the East Coast of the United States. www.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/us/east-coast-braces-for-severe-storm-surge.html?_r=0 (a) Imagine you are employed by the Emergency Management Agency. You have been asked to produce a brief information sheet, advising people what to do when the hurricane arrives. Write the text for this information sheet in 120–150 words. (b) Compare the style and language of your response with the style and language of the original article. [15 marks] [10 marks]

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 2: Passage 1 for Paper 4

This is a transcription of an interaction between two men as they try to remove the engine of an old car. They are using an engine hoist to support the weight. Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: WOAH (1) she’s out right out (.) take it all out (.) right out (1) or whatever i got it or whatever you want to do with it WOAH (1) okay (1) now just (.) you (.) if you just support it i’ve got my end i got it here [breathing heavily] mine (1) my end (.) is (.) OUT AAHH [breathing heavily] now (.) can you can you reach (.) on the (.) that black knob (.) on the end of on the hoist (.) the one next to the second one along on the OKAY (1) got it (.) it’s starting to come loose my end [begins to lower his side of engine block] WHOA (1) she’s comin [breathing heavily] she’s stickin on the (.) on the what’s she still tight on (1) is she still comin [puts hand up behind wheel] OH NO (1) please dont be (.) don’t let there be (.) nothing still attached no i can’t see nothin (.) i think that’s just (.) wait till (.) wait till i (.) till i get clear of the back stud yeah [breathing heavily] you all right? yeah (.) go on (.) pull her free from the (.) OH NO (1) all the washers have fallen off (.) they’re everywhere [rocks his side of the engine] i can’t tell whether it’s (.) you know (.) if it’s released all right Shiv: i think we’re clear Rod: it might be just a bit (.) you know (.) tight round this rack [puts hand underneath] Shiv: yeah Rod: but if you start lettin it down (.) that end should just creep past you Shiv: all right mate (.) i’ll take the (.) it might roll to the front slightly (.) cos thats v1 3Y06 Cambridge International AS and A Level English Language (9093) 55

Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod: Shiv: Rod:

like that you mean? yeah (.) it’s just goin that anti-roll bar (.) it’s gonna (.) it’s gonna get a bit in the way but my end’s clear i’ve got a sort of that’s clear on my side i gotta guide it past both (.) i’ve gotta do the anti-roll bar and the thing (.) GO ON [guides subframe by moving the wheel against the pivot on the cradle] YEAH (.) keep it goin Shiv (1) i’m clear of the steering rack i’m clear of the anti-roll bar my side keep goin (.) keep goin (.) nearly clear (.) RIGHT (.) she’s clear (.) that’s it innit? yeah it’s (.) it’s clear WELL DONE MATE

TRANSCRIPTION KEY (1) = pause in seconds [italics] = paralinguistic features (.) = micro-pause [UPPER CASE] = increased volume

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 3: Passage 2 for Paper 3
Eddie Izzard and Prime Minister (June 2006) Podcast
This is a podcast (2006) by the comedian and broadcaster Eddie Izzard. Here he is talking to the British Prime Minister at the time. They are discussing the meeting of the European Council in Brussels, which was taking place at the same time as the 2006 football World Cup. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20060410180538/http://number10.gov.uk/page9747

(a) Imagine you are part of the editorial team for BBC television news. You have been asked to write the text for a brief news report about this meeting between Eddie Izzard and Prime Minister. Write the text for this news report in 120–150 words. (b) Compare the style and language of your response with the style and language of the original podcast. [15 marks] [10 marks]

Appendix 4: Passage for comment 2a
Speech material exemplar – Indian Speech
A passage from a speech given by the Native American Chief Seattle to the
American President in 1854. In it he describes the attitudes of his people towards nature and the environment compared to those of other Americans. www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefsea.html

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 5: Passage for comment 3a
Literary material exemplar – The Great Gatsby
The following passage is taken from the novel The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. In it, the narrator, Nick Carraway, describes his first meeting with his cousin Daisy and her friend Jordan Baker. The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics) F.Scott Fitzgerald Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1992 ISBN: 9781853260414 We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-coloured space, fragilely bound into the house by french windows at either end. The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-coloured rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea. The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon.

They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor.

The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it – indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. The other girl, Daisy, made an attempt to rise – she leaned slightly forward with a conscientious expression – then she laughed, an absurd, charming little laugh, and I laughed too and came forward into the room. ‘I’m p-paralysed with happiness.’ She laughed again, as if she said something very witty, and held my hand for a moment, looking up into my face, promising that there was no one in the world she so much wanted to see. That was a way she had. She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was Baker. (I’ve heard it said

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that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.) At any rate, Miss Baker’s lips fluttered, she nodded at me almost imperceptibly, and then quickly tipped her head back again -the object she was balancing had obviously tottered a little and given her something of a fright. Again a sort of apology arose to my lips. Almost any exhibition of complete selfsufficiency draws a stunned tribute from me.

I looked back at my cousin, who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again. Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered ‘Listen’, a promise that she had done gay, exciting things.

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 6: Passage for comment 4a Advertising material exemplar – Suzuki Have you? the value of experience Well have you? You know, been there, done that? Anyone who tells you the world’s getting smaller hasn’t driven a Suzuki lately. For over 30 years, Suzuki 4 x 4s have been expanding drivers’ horizons, taking them as far as their imagination leads them. And sometimes beyond. For real adventures, you need a real 4 x 4. Like the new Suzuki Grand Vitara. Underneath that smoothly-contoured bodyshell, the Grand Vitara is pure, uncompromising off-road engineering with a ladder-frame chassis that’s strong enough and durable enough to take on the toughest of terrains.

Long~travel suspension and high ground clearance let you ride easily over rocks, ruts and river-beds. The Drive Select 4 x 4 system, giving you all the traction and control you need – with an effortless switch to 2WD when you get back on the tarmac. You can choose from 2.0 litre petrol and Turbo Diesel engines or a gutsy 2.5 V6. Whatever Mother Nature’s throwing at you outside, inside it’s all comfort, space and relaxation. And wherever life takes you, the Grand Vitara offers unparalleled safety, comfort and driver satisfaction, all at a price that’s a world away from other 4 x 4s. If you expect a lot from your car, we expect your call on 01892 707007.

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 7: Passage for comment 5a
Speech material exemplar – Richard Nixon
The passage below is taken from a televised speech given by the American President Richard Nixon in April 1973. www.youtube.com/watch?v=765wvJWdaHw

Nixon is responding to an investigation into Watergate. Watergate was the term used by the media to describe a sequence of events in which employees from Nixon’s own political party had burgled the headquarters of his main political opponents. Nixon had authorised the burglary himself (a serious offence for a President) but he skirts carefully around this issue in his speech “Whatever may have appeared to have been the case before – whatever improper activities may yet be discovered in connexion with this whole sordid affair – I want the American people, I want you, to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that during my term as President, justice will be pursued fairly, fully, and impartially, no matter who is involved.

This office is a sacred trust and I am determined to be worthy of that trust. Who, then, is to blame for what happened in this case? For specific criminal actions by specific individuals, those who committed those actions must, of course, bear the liability and pay the penalty. For the fact that alleged improper actions took place within the White House or within my campaign organization, the easiest course would be for me to blame those to whom I delegated the responsibility to run the campaign. But that would be a cowardly thing to do. I will not place the blame on subordinates, on people whose zeal exceeded their judgement, and who may have done wrong in a cause they deeply believed to be right. In any organization, the man at the top must bear the responsibility.

That responsibility, therefore, belongs here, in this office. I accept it. And I pledge to you tonight, from this office, that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice, and that such abuses are purged from our political processes in the years to come, long after I have left this office. When I think of this office – of what it means – I think of all the things that I want to accomplish for this nation – of all the things I want to accomplish for you. On Christmas Eve, during my terrible personal ordeal of the renewed bombing of North Vietnam, which after twelve years of war, finally helped to bring America peace with honor, I wrote out some of the goals for my second term as President. Let me read them to you.

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‘To make it possible for our children, and for our children’s children, to live in a world of peace. ‘To make this country be more than ever a land of Opportunity, of equal Opportunity, full opportunity for every American. ‘To provide jobs for all who can work, and generous help for all who cannot. ‘To establish a climate of decency, and civility, in which each person respects the feelings and dignity and the God-given rights of his neighbor. ‘To make this a land in which each person can dare to dream, can live his dreams – not in fear, but in hope proud of his community, proud of his country, proud of what America has meant to himself and the world.’

These are great goals. I believe we can, we must work for them. We can achieve them. But we cannot achieve these goals unless we dedicate ourselves to another goal. We must maintain the integrity of the White House, and that integrity must be real, not transparent. There can be no white-wash in the White House. We must reform our political process ridding it not only of violations of the law, but also of the ugly mob violence, and other inexcusable campaign tactics that have been too often practised and too readily accepted by one side to the excesses or expected excesses of the other side. Two wrongs do not make a right. I looked at my own calendar this morning up at Camp David as I was working on this speech. It showed exactly 1,361 days remaining in my term.

I want these to be the best days in America’s history, because I love America. I deeply believe that America is the hope of the world, and I know that in the quality and wisdom of the leadership America gives lies the only hope for millions of people all over the world, that they can live their lives in peace and freedom. We must be worthy of that hope, in every sense of the word. Tonight, I ask for your prayers to help me in everything that I do throughout the days of my Presidency to be worthy of their hopes and of yours. God bless America and God bless each and every one of you.”

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Scheme of work – Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) Appendix 8: Passage for comment 6a
Literary material exemplar – Aunt Daisy
The passage is taken from In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd www.scribd.com/doc/75617298/In-God-We-Trust-All-Others-PayCash#.UfYd9tKThhM and describes the visit of Aunt Daisy to her sister’s family in Chicago. Sometimes, late at night, from the dark of their bedroom, I could hear my mother and father talking in low tones. ‘But we haven’t got room for her,’ my father would argue. ‘And besides, it costs something to board her.’ But my mother, who had not seen her youngest sister for many years, kept at it. The letters piled up. Toward the end of June my father, worn away, gave in. My mother wrote to Boston telling her sister to come, and when the train arrived my oldest brother met Aunt Daisy at the station. He brought her home. My oldest brother, about twenty at the time, was somewhat of a dandy, wore a wide straw sailor with a colored ribbon, and was thus delegated to be the family’s reception committee.

I remember we watched him going up the street toward the trolley on his way to the station, and when he reached the corner he waved back at us because he knew that we were looking, though he really could not see us. He brought Aunt Daisy home. It was late dusk when they came. The street lamps had not yet lit up, and from the windows we could see Milt struggling with two heavy bags while a little woman walked jauntily at his side. In the fading light we couldn’t see her face, and when they got closer to the flat we went away from the front windows because she might look up and see us, so when at last the bell rang we were all excited and her entrance was something of a dramatic event.

I could hear the bags bumping as my brother struggled with them up the stairs Then we opened the door, Milt set the bags down in the hall, and Aunt Daisy, with a little cry, rushed forward into my mother’s arms. My mother couldn’t talk for a while; she hadn’t seen her sister for over fifteen years. Milt came inside, shut the door, and dumped the bags in the parlor. ‘It’s dark here!’ he shouted. ‘What’s the matter?’ and he struck matches and lit the gaslamps in all the rooms of the flat. In the sudden light we looked at our mother’s sister – we

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