Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

GCSE English - Spoken Language Controlled Assessment

In the next couple of weeks I am to be writing a Controlled Assessment on spoken language within the workplace. We have two transcripts given to us and one original/personal one, I am worried about it. As I am predicted an A, how do I achieve this mark? I always struggle in controlled assessments about what actually I have to do. If anyone could shed some light on a GOOD spoken language controlled assessment, that would be a real help.

Thanks.

Reply 1

Sataris

Do you which specific question you will be given to answer?

Reply 2

TomMatharr

The specific question is "How do Jason and Joseph (the two characters in the transcript) use language to show power in the workplace?"

Reply 3

TomMatharr

And the original transcript can be anything, film, tv, home life, etc.

Reply 4

siamaaa

I'm currently doing spoken language aswell, but my question is waayyy different to yours. Um i think you should look at your marking criteria and see how you can achieve the top marks. :smile:

Reply 5

TomMatharr

Thats the problem, the mark scheme is so complex its impossible to tell what it actually means...

Reply 6

Sataris

You need to really analyse the way these people speak. If they are trying to show their power, talk about the words they use and how they say them. Instead of just stating the obvious about their language, you need to "demonstrate perceptive analysis", which means delving deep into the meaning behind those words. A lot of the things you will write in this will be utter BS - there's no chance the person speaking actually meant to imply what you're talking about. Still, detailed analysis is what will get you top marks.

Identify key themes as well, such as interruptions or passive-aggressiveness or swearing, whatever you can find in the transcript. Link these to the language used, to show how the speakers conveys messages and emotions to each other.

And then comes the context. My class just finished redoing a literature CA, mostly because we lost marks for lack of context. Relate the details you've explored to the society in which the transcript is based (in your case, a modern day workplace). Talk about any similarities that your speech may have to these guys, especially when you are asserting power (again, make something up if you have to). Show that you can analyse the public response to the language used in the transcript.

Reply 7

Jay-Dee

Mine was similar to this, it's all about domination.

Who dominates the conversation? Who interjects (negatively to interrupt or positive to agree)?
Who leads the structure of the conversation?
Who talks the most?

Is there any upwards or downwards convergence? (talking with higher vocabulary and sophistication to someone you look up to, opposite for downwards convergence as you speak commonly with friends ect...)

Identify the language that supports your idea. Essentially you structure it the same as an English Language/Literature response, such as PEE...

As someone else said, context is also important. What age are the characters? How does this relate to their lifestyle?
More importantly, how does the language used by a typical person of their age differ from the language they use in the extract? Use this to make a perceptive point about how language changes depending on setting and higher/lower authority.

What about the setting though, I mean, why does their language change just because they are in the 'workplace'? What responsibilities do they have? What social figures do they have to live up to? (I mean as being a mature adult ready for work, they need to use less colloquial language than they usually would).

The mark schemes won't help you, they are very generic, heed the advice of mine and the post above this.

Btw, I got full marks for this controlled assessment! Hope that helps.

Reply 8

Talioe

I remember doing something similar to this last year, and I just scraped an A. All I tried to do was draw on the points of the conversation (like Jay-Dee mentioned, domination) and then get everything you can from each quote and how it relates to each other and the question.

In ours, we drew on their dialect, the language they used (such as slang, showing that they're young, or lack of slang).

I found it helped a lot when I had a clear plan in my mind too of each quote, point and explanation I was going to put. It meant that I felt slightly more relaxed with the time limit, leaving me more time to put a lot more detail in.

Reply 9

Mohammad hussain

How successful is the communication between Jason and Joseph? Explore the power relationship between each pair in their different contexts showing the effects on their language choices.

In this essay we are investigating the power relationship between two employees, Jason and Joseph. Jason is the manager of a large Sainsbury’s store near London and Joseph, who was talent spotted has been selected to work alongside Jason.
At the beginning of the transcript, Jason approaches Joseph whilst he is busy unloading pre-packed boxes and says ‘Alright Joseph’. This informal greeting is friendly, but lacks authority; Joseph then replies ‘hello,yep,yep,yeah’ this reply is very dismissive and he shows little respect for his superior. He also continues to unload the boxes and avoids eye contact.
In the next sentence Jason instructs Joseph to ask one of the colleagues to take the bags off for him. During this he uses the filler ‘erm’ and pauses. This suggests that he lacks confidence in what he’s saying, but he has asserted himself and regained the power and control of the conversation. However, during saying this, Joseph interrupts his boss by replying ‘Erm when they’re back off the run, I definitely will for you’ this is very impolite and is not appropriate language which should be used when talking to your boss. As well as showing bad communication skills, Joseph continues to keep his back to Jason and resume his work. His body language is inappropriate, almost hostile, which shows he has no interest in having a conversation with Jason and has taken the power.
Furthermore, the conversation then becomes a clash of voices as Joseph continues to interrupt Jason, who begins to talk about ‘store standards’ . He is very repetitive of the word ‘standards’, which shows that he wants to exaggerate this word to his employee and make him fully aware of his expectations. Joseph replies ‘yeah’. The language he has used portrays that he is not listening and is not interested. Jason then carries on talking about the standards but he begins to hesitate. This could mean he is unprepared for what to say or startled by Joseph’s ignorant behaviour. He then takes the power instantly by ordering ‘no wait, wait, put it down’. This shows he has become irritated by Joseph’s ignorance and he uses his position against him. By using a firm authoritative tone, he is now back in control. However, Joseph replies ‘I wanna get done’ and laughs softly. He has stopped what he was doing to listen to is boss, but continues to be dismissive and disrespectful. Although this does show good work ethic, he is still using inappropriate language which is not suitable in a work environment. Also, his laughter suggests he has become nervous and uneasy and he attempts to loosen up the tension.

In addition to this, Jason remains firm but starts to take authority over Joseph completely, and uses his role as manager of Sainsbury’s to its advantage. This is shown when he says ‘no,no, you’re talking to me now’ it is clear he demands respect from his worker. He then carries on the conversation whilst keeping a powerful tone and instructs again to take the bags off for him. Unlike before, Joseph replies ‘ok fine’ although he has been made aware of his boss’ expectations, he still carries on having the ignorant attitude. He then comments ‘it’s on my to do list’ and smiles. This shows that he has more important things to do than do what he has been asked. He shows no enthusiasm about his job. Also, his smile could suggest sarcasm.
At the end of the transcript Joseph says ‘thank you bye’. This could mean he desperately wants the conversation to finish and he laughs again as if he hasn’t listened. At this point, I think Joseph now has the power back as he has chosen not to listen to Jason or show how any respect for him. This is mirrored in Clip2.
Joseph continuous to have the same attitude and avoids eye contact when Jason asks him to attend an important meeting he says ‘have you spoken to Ginger about all this’ instead of replying appropriately, he demands his own boss. This shows no respect or appreciation and he has regained the power. Also, the use of a nickname isn’t suitable in a work environment. This is continued throughout the whole conversation as Joseph tries to avoid going to the meeting and ignoring his boss’ instructions.
Overall, looking at both transcripts, I think the conversations between Jason and Joseph could be improved. More authority is needed from Jason and the language should be more formal from someone in his position. Also, Joseph should change his attitude and show more enthusiasm about his career and talk appropriately without interrupting. I think if these changes were made, the conversation would have been a lot more successful.
18/20 A*

sweet

Oh my God thank you very much for this dear.

Reply 12

Sa-na

Hi, I'm going to do controlled assessment for spoken language from the Apprentice comparing two spontaneous transcript. Can any one tell me what to write about how language use influence other speaker and audience? And how to make a conclusion at the end? Any help will be really appreciated thanks

Reply 13

moomoo333

I have my controlled assessment soon too. Mine is on an interview between Dizzie Rascal and Jonathon Ross. I am aiming for a C grade. I jut don't understand the question! How do I start the essay? someone please help.

Task
Explore the ways in which the participants use spoken language in the context of a live television debate in order to achieve their aims.
How do social influences and expectations impact on their success in achieving their aims?
Resources
Clips of News night and Jonathan Ross Show.
Transcripts of the talk which can be only ‘lightly annotated’
1 sided A4 sheet page of notes
Guidance:
Students have two hours to complete this task (with extra time where appropriate), spread over two lessons.
The final piece of work should be roughly 800-1000 words (or about four sides of handwritten A4, depending on the size of your handwriting).