A level choices

In the first instance, the situation might depend a bit on whether you want to be a primary teacher or a secondary teacher. If you want to be a primary teacher then either should be fine - some concepts from A-level English Language might be useful at some point but you will learn anything you need to know about the material you will be teaching on your QTS course. Your best option in either case though might be, if your school offers it, to take the A-level English Literature & Language course, which includes both sides.

If you want to be a secondary teacher and teach English literature, you should be aware that many if not most PGCEs require you to have studied a degree where at least 50% of your degree content is in the area of your PGCE (so an English lit PGCE would probably expect you to have studied at least half your course in literature). Most English lit degrees (joint honours or single honours) require A-level English lit or the joint lit-lang course.

@04MR17 might be able to offer some advice?

Hi, I would like to be a secondary school teacher rather than primary teacher so if I do take English literature by itself would that be fine to get my teaching degree in universities or would they need for me to have chosen the joint A-level?

You wouldn't need to do a joint A-level, but for secondary teaching the teaching qualification is a postgrad qualification, the PGCE. You would need to get your first degree in (broadly) the area you intend to teach, e.g. a degree in English literature if you wanted to teach English literature (or at least half English literature). It is sometimes possible to do a degree in a related area and do a pre-sessional course before your PGCE to bridge the gap; this is more common for those wanting to do maths teaching who did a degree in e.g. physics or engineering, which has a lot of maths in it but might have missed some things needed for teaching.

I'm not too sure exactly the extent to which SKEs may be available for English (literature or language) teaching, and I would expect honestly that a lot of A-level and GCSE English lit teachers would also teach at least GCSE English language (if not necessarily the A-level). So the PGCEs in English may cover both sides and accept people from either more of a language or a literature background. In any case, degrees in English language, or linguistics (English or general) do not normally have any subject prerequisites at A-level, while degrees in English literature do normally. So in that sense, I might suggest doing English Literature or the joint LitLang A-level, as both will satisfy the English lit degree entry criteria.

The LitLang course suggestion was not because it's required, just because it meets the requirements of an English lit degree, and might also cater to your interests in English language, as you indicated you were considering that course as well. The joint course just gives you the best of both worlds if it's an option for you, it's neither better nor worse than English lit by itself, just an alternative option to A-level English lit for those degrees which require English lit.

Ah, thank you so much! I understand how it works now and right now I just have to think to myself which A level should I go for, either English literature/language a level or the Literature only. Thank you again for taking your time to reply to me!

No problem, hopefully it was helpful

One thing I would note though, if you want to do A-level English Lit (and certainly a literature degree!) you do need to enjoy doing literary analysis. A-level English Lit (and degrees in the subject) isn't a course in just reading generally, but in close reading and literary analysis. So if you don't really like breaking down individual sentences into all the different literary devices, analysing those in just the context of that sentence, and then relating that analysis to the broader themes of the text, you may not find A-level English Lit that enjoyable (and it is probably not a good option if so!). If you only really prefer the broader thematic and character analysis of GCSE English then A-level English Lit might be a bit of a rude awakening! I found I didn't really enjoy my IB HL English Lit for this reason, because I didn't really know what to expect from it and then found it didn't meet whatever expectations I did have.

So if you don't really like that kind of close reading, I wouldn't recommend A-level English Lit (or a literature degree), in which case A-level English Language might be more appealing to you. Since if you don't like that kind of literary analysis you almost certainly wouldn't be considering a literature based degree, not having A-level English Lit wouldn't make a difference - of course this might limit you for PGCE options later as far as English goes. However if you ended up doing a history degree after your A-level History course, you could well end up doing a history PGCE and working as a history teacher HI

Hi,

This was very helpful and actually I have always enjoyed literature more then language, I just wasn't sure and wasn't understanding which one is most suitable for my career however now I know and I have finally chose the A-level! thank you very much for the help and breaking down each subject throughly for me to understand.

Have a nice day,

Sweet Irene

Glad it helped! If you do enjoy that literary analysis I expect you'll find the A-level rewarding, and will probably enjoy a very text based degree like an literature degree too! Good luck with your A-levels next year

Hi everyone I am a year 11 student in the midst of a pandemic trying to choose my A level choices, my dream job is to become a teacher, an English teacher. However I am stuck in which a levels to choose, especially literature or language. I have already chosen history and sociology for my other 2 A-levels however I do not know which English to pick. What advice would you guys give me? Thank you for taking your time and answering )

No problem, hopefully it was helpful

One thing I would note though, if you want to do A-level English Lit (and certainly a literature degree!) you do need to enjoy doing literary analysis. A-level English Lit (and degrees in the subject) isn't a course in just reading generally, but in close reading and literary analysis. So if you don't really like breaking down individual sentences into all the different literary devices, analysing those in just the context of that sentence, and then relating that analysis to the broader themes of the text, you may not find A-level English Lit that enjoyable (and it is probably not a good option if so!). If you only really prefer the broader thematic and character analysis of GCSE English then A-level English Lit might be a bit of a rude awakening! I found I didn't really enjoy my IB HL English Lit for this reason, because I didn't really know what to expect from it and then found it didn't meet whatever expectations I did have.

So if you don't really like that kind of close reading, I wouldn't recommend A-level English Lit (or a literature degree), in which case A-level English Language might be more appealing to you. Since if you don't like that kind of literary analysis you almost certainly wouldn't be considering a literature based degree, not having A-level English Lit wouldn't make a difference - of course this might limit you for PGCE options later as far as English goes. However if you ended up doing a history degree after your A-level History course, you could well end up doing a history PGCE and working as a history teacher

OMGGGG ME TOOO I wanna do teaching too I’m going into college this year I chose English language English literature sociology and religious studies u have the same goals as me I chose 4 different A levels we should be friends do you have snap

OMGGGG ME TOOO I wanna do teaching too I’m going into college this year I chose English language English literature sociology and religious studies u have the same goals as me I chose 4 different A levels we should be friends.

WHATTT is that even a thing I didn’t known I’m new to tsr

Hi everyone I am a year 11 student in the midst of a pandemic trying to choose my A level choices, my dream job is to become a teacher, an English teacher. However I am stuck in which a levels to choose, especially literature or language. I have already chosen history and sociology for my other 2 A-levels however I do not know which English to pick. What advice would you guys give me? Thank you for taking your time and answering )

Hi, I would like to be a secondary school teacher rather than primary teacher so if I do take English literature by itself would that be fine to get my teaching degree in universities or would they need for me to have chosen the joint A-level?

Hi everyone I am a year 11 student in the midst of a pandemic trying to choose my A level choices, my dream job is to become a teacher, an English teacher. However I am stuck in which a levels to choose, especially literature or language. I have already chosen history and sociology for my other 2 A-levels however I do not know which English to pick. What advice would you guys give me? Thank you for taking your time and answering )