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ENGB3 AQA 3rd June 2013

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Reply 80

ColdHugs22

Original post by NatalieMorrissey

Is it just me or is there less for Change than Aquisition?

felt the same.....

Reply 81

Francis W

Original post by lidiya

Do you know what was the 2nd question of the CLA section? :smile:

It was quite weird - a transcript of a literacy lesson taking place in a reception class with the kids reading some book. The question asks you to look at their literacy development.

Reply 82

judevorhand

Original post by ColdHugs22

really good especially the essay structuring bits .... thanks for sharing :smile:

do you have any full essays that you could share please :colondollar:

I am afraid i don't.

Reply 83

Revise1234

Does anyone have Language Change model answers. I'm really unsure what to discuss concerning specifically language change. It seems rather limited - what else can we say other than that, for example, the meaning of a specific word has changed (narrowing) or that standard, formal language is used and relate it to the popularity of a particular dictionary that was published near the time that text was created (which is actually more to do with context than change)

Reply 84

philippa26804

Does anyone think that reading (transcript) will come up for the reading/writing section?
I HATE transcripts and am praying for a written texts!!!

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Reply 85

izz_yanes

Original post by Jade10128

I'm finding this exam so awkward to revise for..under a week to go now! What are everyones revision methods?

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Me too!! I've made posters with all the different stages of development from speaking, writing and reading because they're easy to look at and revise from, then I've made mindmaps and notes on theorists, and flashcards for key terms!! I'm a bit stuck on language change though, I've done a bit about standardisation and the introduction of dictionaries and the long 's' but it's so varied and anything could come up!!! SO worried for this exam!!

Reply 86

izz_yanes

Original post by sarahjames123

Hey, what do you all think? is there any point in learning reading and writing? Will speech definitely come up?

I'd say it's best to look at all three then you have more of a choice in the exam, and the three are closely linked so knowing things from one can benefit others, but some people do decide to skip some of them out

Reply 87

sarahjames123

does anyone know past grade boundaries? :smile:

Reply 88

Jade10128

Original post by izz_yanes

Same! Language change is such *******s

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Reply 89

njaysharpie

I know this is a bit late, but be cautious if you're thinking of narrowing your revision to focus on only/mainly speaking I just had a look at the past papers and this one: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-ENGB3-W-QP-JAN11.PDF from January 2011 had a question on writing and one which was a mixture of speaking (well, more 'interactions between parent and child') and reading, which looked like a tricky question and obviously required more than just knowledge of speaking alone

Reply 90

ColdHugs22

Original post by njaysharpie

i think this paper was one of the trickiest :s-smilie:

Reply 91

Jade10128

Original post by njaysharpie

Yep thats AQA for you, they love to catch us out :wink:

I'm doing reading and speech together, there is not as much to know for reading compared to speech and they overlap quite nicely. Not touching writing

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Reply 92

muyiwaolu

Original post by Jade10128

Yep thats AQA for you, they love to catch us out :wink:

I'm doing reading and speech together, there is not as much to know for reading compared to speech and they overlap quite nicely. Not touching writing

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Just wondering why you're not touching writing as I believe that there's a high likelihood of it coming up. The most recent paper that had been done - January 2013, if I'm not mistaken, had a reading and speech question which means that the last time they had a writing question was in June 2012. I find it unlikely therefore that they will miss out writing again haha. Unless you're just not feeling confident for it and going for the other half of question 1? :P

Also, I don't know how relevant this is, but I attached an answer that I did earlier today as revision for this paper and I was wondering if I could get feedback on it. It was question 1 of the January 2012 paper (the question is here).

I also attached a guide that I created earlier in the year to CLA writing - check if out if you find it useful. :smile:

CLA Exam Practice.docx19.3KB

Guide to CLA writing.docx38.6KB

Reply 93

njaysharpie

Original post by Jade10128

Not touching writing

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Me neither! We hardly learnt anything about writing and I just find there's hardly anything to say compared to speaking/reading

Reply 94

Jade10128

Original post by njaysharpie

Me neither! We hardly learnt anything about writing and I just find there's hardly anything to say compared to speaking/reading

We weren't even taught anything about writing :/ yeah same here!

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Reply 95

Kalds

Hey guys

I've only wrote practice exams for language change so i'm struggling with how to set out a acquisition essay.. do i include theorists WHEREVER relevant or include the relevant theorists right at the end of the essay?

Reply 96

badbodydouble

Original post by sarahjames123

does anyone know past grade boundaries? :smile:

In January this year when I sat the exam you needed 77/96 for an A*, 67/96 for an A, 57 for a B, 47 for a C :smile:

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Reply 97

judevorhand

Really Useful Notes Below!!!

English A2 Notes.pdf631.9KB

Reply 98

muyiwaolu

Original post by Jade10128

We weren't even taught anything about writing :/ yeah same here!

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Original post by njaysharpie

Me neither! We hardly learnt anything about writing and I just find there's hardly anything to say compared to speaking/reading

It's a shame that you guys aren't looking at writing at all because, like I said in my previous post, there is a higher likelihood of it coming up.

That being said, you still have to other half of the question to look at if you really don't want to do writing. However it is a shame, because I personally find writing to be the more interesting topic when compared to reading and speaking; and with the knowledge that less people tend to do the writing question in the exam, there is less of a chance mathematically of you making the same points as another student; therefore increasing your chances of earning the perceptive marks which appear in the top band 6 category.

If any of you need any help with writing, just ask and I could give you my two cents. I also included a study guide attached to the post I made earlier.

Original post by Kalds

Wherever relevant is always a good start but make sure they are throughout the essay. If you take a look at the mark schemes, to get a band 6 (A grade) in the AO1 targets what they look for is:

"Select and apply a range of linguistic methods, to communicate relevant knowledge using appropriate terminology and coherent, accurate written expression."

"Appropriate, controlled and accurate expression."

The key words, to me anyway, are highlighted in bold above. Relevant and appropriate knowledge is vital if you want to hit band 6 - you can't just throw in any old theory because it might show your understanding of that particular theory, but now how the theory applies to the data at hand. Furthermore, and vitally important, is controlled and accurate expression which basically means: don't litter your essay with descriptions and terminology. You need a good amount, but not enough that it starts to become a dictionary of what you learnt over the year.

An example of what I think may be a good show case of this is below (although I'm not sure it it's band 6 or band 5, what do you guys think? And why?)

Child Directed Speech, or parentese, is the language used by adults when speaking to a child. In the case of this transcript, the mother shows evidence of using a Language Acquisition Support System, or LASS to help the children’s language development. LASS is a theory coined by Jerome Bruner that is described as the set of interactions and relationships that supports and encourages a child’s progress.

I hope that helped somewhat!