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English Language summer work
Overview
Summer Work for English consists of preliminary reading and some concise note-taking.
The work
By completing this reading before you join us in September, you will help yourself to settle in and start your course quickly and effectively. Also, it will enable you to gain a first impression of some of the major topics you will be studying. We expect you to arrive having read the specified sections (see below) of these two books:
- 'Language Myths' ed. Bauer and Trudgill
- ‘Listen to Your Child’ by David Crystal
Both books are easily available in cheap second-hand editions online or at local libraries.
Task 1 (3 hours): For ‘Language Myths', read the following chapters:
- “Women talk too much”
- “Everyone has an accent except me”
- “The meanings of words should not be allowed to vary or change”
- + 2 more chapters of your own choice
- Make 5 bullet points on each chapter, answering these questions: Why do many people believe this myth about language? Why is it a false belief, according to the writer of the chapter?
You will present these notes to other students in one of your lessons in the first two weeks of the Autumn Term
Task 2 (2 hours)
- Read Sections 2 “The First Year” and Section 3 “The Second Year'' of Listen to Your Child.
- Make a note of what Crystal says about the stages that children go through in acquiring language. Summarise this on one side of A4, written in bullet points.
You will be able you use these notes when you study the Child Language topic in Year 12
Digital resources
Please refer to these digital resources as part of your Summer Work preparation.
Recommended course book
| Book title | AQA ENGLISH LANGUAGE A LEVEL and AS DAN CLAYTON OUP |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9780198334002 |
| Digital version | No |
