ENGB3 AQA 3rd June 2013

OP

Anyone have advice for Language Change in particular?
Other than knowing dates..it seems a bit of a hit or miss in the exam

EDIT: is it also better to go for the two comparison texts or the singular text for change?

Reply 21

Jade10128

OP

Original post by kieran1502

Any got an any tips of structure, I sat this paper in Jan and got an E and although I don't know all the content admittedly I know enough to warrant a better grade than an E. I just panic when I see the sources and never know where to start? any advice?

Found this posted in a thread from a couple of years ago (very useful):

Learn some of the theories but don't overload your answer with them. You're better off mentioning them and using them as a 'springboard' than you are using them as the main bulk of your answer.

Know your grammar. Write about tenses, inflections, non-standard forms, etc. This is particularly useful in the language change paper because you can write about how they were used in one text compared to another. If you know enough about each grammar topic, you won't run out of things to write about.

Knowing about different types of words is really useful - you can start a paragraph by saying "the use of possessive pronouns in this text is interesting", for example. That will give you a clear structure in your head so that you can expand on one idea whilst writing.

What's also important is that you structure your paragraphs well. Begin by introducing the paragraph with a topic sentence. Then choose an example of this in use. After that, you can go on to say why this might be used and perhaps contrast between the use of the language function in the same text or another text. Then you can try linking it to another aspect of language and, hey presto, you have your next paragraph topic.

I really hope this helps. I also found that doing my own research by reading David Crystal's Encyclopedia of the English Language and the Encyclopedia of Language gave me a wider knowledge and more ideas that we didn't have time to go over in the classroom. It's really worth doing extra reading because it gives you more to say and, as the topics are really interesting (in my opinion :p:

), it's not too much of a chore.

Good luck!

Edit - just to reiterate - everyone who's said "be descriptive as opposed to prescriptive" is right. If a child does make a 'mistake', it's worth mentioning it. But you're better off saying "this is non-standard" and then going into the reasons behind why you think it has happened. It's really important to be tentative. Also, make sure you remember things from AS. As _tiggy_ said, one of our questions on language change was very gender-orientated. It was quite handy because we could also write about how attitudes have changed, as well as just language.

That's also really important - make sure you relate EVERYTHING back to the context in which the text was produced.

Reply 22

amyjones15

I am doing a blog that helps with revision for both language change and acquistion.
It just has some notes typed up, theorists and interesting articles etc.
www.amyjonesenglishlanguage.blogspot.co.uk
Hope this helps with some revision!

Reply 23

ColdHugs22

sat the AS in jan got 147/200
Sitting the A2 in june. find aquisition a big drag but the questions easier to answer compared to language change :unimpressed:

Reply 24

ColdHugs22

Original post by amyjones15

I am doing a blog that helps with revision for both language change and acquistion.
It just has some notes typed up, theorists and interesting articles etc.
www.amyjonesenglishlanguage.blogspot.co.uk
Hope this helps with some revision!

had a look at your blog, pretty interesting and helpful :wink:

Reply 25

Jade10128

OP

Original post by ColdHugs22

sat the AS in jan got 147/200
Sitting the A2 in june. find aquisition a big drag but the questions easier to answer compared to language change :unimpressed:

Agreed! Language change is such a hit or miss for me :frown:

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Reply 26

JoeWill

You guys have gotten me really concerned now! I've done bare minimum revision for this topic and in a mock recently I got 92/96?! In the AS I got 190/200 but I felt like I had revised and prepared a lot more. I'm concerned that my teachers are marking generously despite them claiming they're harsh. Ohhhh, no!

Reply 27

Jade10128

OP

Has ANYONE got any tips for change?? Its such a large variation of texts we could get.
Also, any key theorists we should know?
My teacher is so useless

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Reply 28

D-Box

3

Original post by Jade10128

Has ANYONE got any tips for change?? Its such a large variation of texts we could get.
Also, any key theorists we should know?
My teacher is so useless

I've attached a document I found online where somebody has put the key themes and terms you need to know for the language change question. As for theories on acquisition, you should know social interactionalist (Bruner), imitation (Skinner), cognitive (Piaget) and innateness (Chomsky). You can still get top marks without mentioning theories so only refer to them if they're actually relevant (i.e. don't go into the exam thinking you have to talk about each one to get an A).

English Language - language change - REVISION.doc37.4KB

Reply 29

Jade10128

OP

Original post by D-Box

I've attached a document I found online where somebody has put the key themes and terms you need to know for the language change question. As for theories on acquisition, you should know social interactionalist (Bruner), imitation (Skinner), cognitive (Piaget) and innateness (Chomsky). You can still get top marks without mentioning theories so only refer to them if they're actually relevant (i.e. don't go into the exam thinking you have to talk about each one to get an A).

Thank you

Reply 30

Jade10128

OP

Are there any theories we need to know specifically for language change?

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Reply 31

Anna.Karenina

20

Just got my mock back - 90/96 :biggrin:

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 32

judevorhand

Hi, Doing the A-Level on the Monday 3rd of June - i tend to write notes on all subjects and they are generally A* and marked by top quality Honorary teachers. Those who would like a copy please reply to this comment. I use the AQA Book.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys / girls. :smile:

Reply 33

TopStudent258

Original post by judevorhand

Hi, Doing the A-Level on the Monday 3rd of June - i tend to write notes on all subjects and they are generally A* and marked by top quality Honorary teachers. Those who would like a copy please reply to this comment. I use the AQA Book.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys / girls. :smile:

Me please! :smile:

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Reply 34

lidiya

Me too.. if you don't mind :smile:

Original post by TopStudent258

Me please! :smile:

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Reply 35

lidiya

Hey guys! Can anyone tell me please how to structure a CLA (speech question) and particularly when there are like 3 texts with different participants. Our teacher taught us that we have to be selective and look through the key features emerging and how they tend to appear but in fact we haven't done any practice essays regarding the numerous texts. :frown:

I will be very grateful if somebody tell me. Thanks guys!

Reply 36

TopStudent258

Original post by lidiya

Hey guys! Can anyone tell me please how to structure a CLA (speech question) and particularly when there are like 3 texts with different participants. Our teacher taught us that we have to be selective and look through the key features emerging and how they tend to appear but in fact we haven't done any practice essays regarding the numerous texts. :frown:

I will be very grateful if somebody tell me. Thanks guys!

First off all start by writing an intro saying what stage you expect them to be at due to their age e.g. telegraphic stage with the use of mostly nouns. Then pick out features of what they are good at or not so good at and speculate why e.g. fred talk could be used to improve their pronunciation or they may have problems due to not focusing enough on certain phonics.

Reply 37

ColdHugs22

Original post by judevorhand

Hi, Doing the A-Level on the Monday 3rd of June - i tend to write notes on all subjects and they are generally A* and marked by top quality Honorary teachers. Those who would like a copy please reply to this comment. I use the AQA Book.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys / girls. :smile:

me please

Reply 38

lidiya

Hey guys anyone have the ENGB3 January 2013 paper..?