I gave them a normal exam question (narrative) but I told them to change the ending into a romantic or thriller or comedic one. Got them thinking real hard.
I gave them a normal exam question (narrative) but I told them to change the ending into a romantic or thriller or comedic one. Got them thinking real hard.
Introduction
What do the examiners say?
What is it all about?
Persuasive techniques in language
Influential power - advertising
Advertising and special lexis
Grammar and advertising
Semantics and advertising
Pragmatics and advertising
Discourse structures in advertising
Finding more
Influential power - politics
Political rhetoric
Parliamentary language
Special lexis in politics
The sound bite
Influential power - media
Lexis and semantics in the media
Pragmatics in the media
Grammar in the media
Structures in media texts
Influential power - culture
Instrumental power - law
The lexicon of law
The structures of legal language
Advocacy
Instrumental power - education
Classroom management
Instrumental power - business
Special lexis in business
Buzzwords
Forms of address in business
Business discourse structures
Corporate language
Specimen exam questions
Example texts with interpretation
Printing and copying this guide
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This guide is written for students who are following GCE Advanced level (AS and A2) syllabuses in English Language. This resource may also be of general interest to language students on university degree courses, trainee teachers and anyone with a general interest in language science.
On this page I use red type for emphasis. Brown type is used where italics would appear in print (in this screen font, italic looks like this, and is unkind on most readers).
the French educational system is highly centralized
Ministry of National Education establishes the national curriculum followed by a very large
majority of the country's schools
very well developed learning program for children starting at three years of age (see grades and cycles below). Though school is not obligatory before a child turns six , 99% of the three-year-olds in France go to school at least part-time, and by four they attend school full time, from 8:30am to 4:30pm
very important baccalaureate exam at the end of secondary school and the prestigious Grandes Ecoles which provide higher education for the country's elite are two other factors that mark the French system.
in a majority of the countries schools, students receive a good, albeit traditional, education.
In primary school rote learning, memorization and a tidy, well-presented written page are a big part of learning
As children move on to secondary school long written exams, as opposed to multiple choice or fill in the blank questions, competitiveness and a certain reverence for math as well as for a neat presentation are common. At this level also, knowledge goes from the top down. Students are encouraged to study and understand what their teachers and the experts have to say on a particular subject, then, within an established framework, they can carefully offer their point of view. Advanced math classes, where students are often encouraged to think for themselves and to find original solutions, are about the only exception to these somewhat austere learning practices.
the large majority of schools in France are French system schools
Public Schools, Private Schools sous contrat (state funded) or hors contrat (not state funded), - bilingual schools and many of those referred to as international schools follow the French national curriculum
Only the schools which apply the methods of well-known pedagogues (Montessori, Steiner, etc) or those adhering to curriculums from other countries (British School of Paris, The International School of Paris, Marymount) don't fall into this category
Public schools are free of charge, you pay only for your child's personal supplies
rivate schools vary. The sous-contrat private schools that are religious (Catholic for the most part) are the least expensive of the state funded schools with an annual tuition between for most 1200 and 2000 euros a year, depending on your child's grade level. Extra expenses such as registration fee, insurance, class outings and extra curricular activities can add up to between 100 and 500 euros a year while a school lunch will cost at around 5,50 euros a day
In state funded secular schools the annual tuition starts at around 3000 euros plus the extra expenses which can exceed those mentioned above
The most expensive schools are those that are not state funded. The tuition in schools belonging to this category, which includes those following curriculums from other countries, range between 5000 and 20, 000 euros a year plus the extra expenses
Malaysia apparently has the best English language speakers in Asia, beating out Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China and Kazakhstan - according to a Singapore-based English Language school.
The school, Education First, which released the findings of their English Proficiency Index on their website Wednesday, ranked Malaysia as having the highest level of English proficiency out of 13 countries in Asia.
On the global scale, Malaysia was ranked 11th out of 60 countries, with four of the top five slots going to Scandinavian countries, with Sweden and Norway taking the top two spots and Malaysia outperforming Singapore, Belgium, Germany, Latvia and Switzerland - countries which took the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th spots respectively.
"China has also improved, although less dramatically. Japan and South Korea, despite enormous private investment, have declined slightly.
Across the board, English language skills are improving in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). "This year, India and Russia have moved ahead of China, and Brazil is closing in fast," said Education First.
The school went on to say that their Index found the Middle East and North Africa to be the regions with the weakest English proficiency.
On the mechanics of the Index, the school said the Index calculated a country's average adult English skill level using data from two Education First tests.
The second is a 70-question online placement test used by EF during the enrolment process before students start an English course. Both include grammar, vocabulary, reading, and listening sections
One test is open to any Internet user for free
The open online test is a 30-question adaptive exam, so each test-taker’s questions are adjusted in difficulty according to his or her previous correct and incorrect answers
The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language
The Curse by Lee Su Ann
Step by Wicked Step by Ann Fine.
Catch Us If You Can by Catherine McPhail
Based on one novel above, write about the following.
Provide evidence from the text to support your answer.
Your response should be:
Not less than 50 words
In continuous writing (not in note form)
Practice 1
Based on one novel above, discuss one of the themes in the story. Provide evidence from the text to support your answer
Practice 1
Based on one novel above, discuss one of the themes in the story. Provide evidence from the text to support your answer
Practice 2
Write about a character that you find most interesting.
Support your answer with evidence from the novel.
Practice 3
Write about a moral value you have learnt in the story.
Support your answer with evidence from the novel
Practice 4
Based on one novel above, write about an episode that is memorable in the story. Provide evidence from the text to support your answer.
Practice 5
Based on the novel of your choice, discuss the problems faced by a character. How does he/she overcome the problems?
Practice 6
Compare two characters in the novel you have studied. How are they similar?
Practice 3
The value in life that I have learnt in the novel- Catch us if you can is “The Importance of Family”. Sacrifices for family are honoured and explored, as are the family bonds that survive adversity. Family responsibility in the novel is best displayed by Rory’s constant care of his grandfather. Very early in age, Rory has realised that ‘there was only Granda and me’ to make up a family. Rory does not know any other family love. His father had left them when he was very young. Granda had taken care of him all his life and now, as Granda is getting old and forgetful, and is never quite well, it is his turn to look after him.
Practice 4
The incident which is memorable in – Catch us if you can is when Granda is sent to Rachnadar, Rory knows that he has to get him away from that place. Though torn with desperation at times ( Granda’s carelessness with the chip pan had landed him in hospital and Rory atCastle Street), Rory plans the Great Escape and gets him away from the hospital where they put old people in.
The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language:
1. The Curse by Lee Su Ann
2. Step by Wicked Step by Ann Fine.
3. Catch Us If You Can by Catherine McPhail
Based on one novel above, write about the following.
Provide evidence from the text to support your answer.
Your response should be:
- Not less than 50 words
- In continuous writing (not in note form)
institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal
The concept originally came from the Danish writer, poet, philosopher and pastor N. F. S. Grundtvig
Folk high schools in Germany and Sweden are in fact much closer to the institutions known as folkeuniversitet or folkuniversitet in Norway and Denmark which provide adult education. However, unlike the folkuniversitet, folk high schools in Sweden are not connected to a regular university.
Grundtvig, regarded as the founder of the folk high school, received inspiration for the concept from the English boarding schools, but Grundtvig's focus was not on formal education but on popular education and enlightenment.
give the peasantry and other people from the lower echelons of society a higher educational level through personal development; what Grundtvig called "the living word"
The folk high school movement was an act against a conservative ideal of both education and culture. An act against an ideal of literacy and book-learning, a use of language unknown to common people and a learning ideal where the primary relation was between the individual and the book alone.
Grundtvig fought for a public education as an alternative to the university elite
The folk high schools should be for those wanting to learn in general and to help people form part of human relations and society
One of the main concepts still to be found at the folk high schools today is "lifelong learning". The schools should educate for life. They should shed light on basic questions surrounding life of people both as individuals and as members of society.
To Grundtvig the ideal was to give the students a sense of a common best and focusing on life as it really is
Grundtvig never set down guidelines for the future schools or a detailed description of how they should be run. He declared that the folk high schools should be arranged and developed according to life as it is and the schools should not hold exams because the education and enlightenment was a sufficient reward.
The first folk high school was founded in Rødding, Denmark, in 1844. It began on the initiative of Christen Kold, who was a follower of Grundtvig
The school was inspired by the need to educate those not fortunate enough to have an education and the poor, or peasantry, who could not spare the time or the money to attend a university
The first folk high schools in Sweden were established in 1868. As of 2008, there are about 150 folk high schools throughout the country, most of which are situated in the countryside, often in remote areas
Tuition is free, and the students are eligible for normal financial aid for expenses such as accommodation and other school costs. After graduating, the students are eligible to study at a university.