This document provides guidance for an English Language B A2 exam preparation. It discusses key assessment objectives, contextual influences on language, and concepts related to language development. It provides examples of how to apply the assessment objectives to sample exam questions on children's writing and language change. Higher performing responses are able to strike a balance between the objectives, select the most relevant linguistic methods and concepts, and link language features to contextual influences. Understanding genre is important for focusing on meaningful linguistic features and language concepts for exam questions.

1. English Language B
A2 Exam Preparation

2. ENGB3: Key Issues
• Dominant Assessment Objective AO1 (linguistic
methods)
• A2 theories & synoptic Links AO2 (language
concepts and issues)
• Reduced weighting of context (from AS )

3. Contextual Influences: what are they?
Language Acquisition
• Spoken Language Acquisition: situational (setting, activity, purposes,
participants – relationships/roles), developmental (age) and other
factors (gender, cultural influences)
• Literacy Acquisition: situational (school, home) developmental (age);
mode of production/reception (task, activity, audience, purpose,
genre.
• Language Change: mode of production/reception; audience; purpose;
attitudes; social and political influences

4. What’s the context?

5. Language Concepts: synopticity
Key questions:
• What concepts / ideas from the study of gender are relevant to the
data?
• What concepts / ideas from the study of power are relevant to the
data?
• What concepts / ideas from study of technology are relevant to
the data?

6. Language Development: A2 concepts
Some examples
Acquisition Change
Big Ideas: Nature V Nurture
Perspectives: Nativist,
Behaviourist, Interactionist,
Cognitive
Individuals: Chomsky, Skinner,
Piaget, Vygotsky etc.
Studies: ‘Wug’, ‘Fis’ etc.
Stages of Development
Lexical & Semantic Processes
Standardisation / Codification
Prescriptive / descriptive
attitudes
Individuals: Fairclough, Labov
etc.

7. Language Development: AO1
• Systematic & evaluative exploration of data using linguistic methods / Accurate &
perceptive linguistic knowledge / Appropriate, controlled & accurate expression
(22-24)
• Uses linguistic methods in a systematic way / Appropriate & accurate linguistic
knowledge / Controlled & accurate expression (16-21)
• Applies & explores some linguistic methods / Some appropriate linguistic
knowledge / Generally accurate written communication (10-15)
• Basic linguistic methods applied, but not convincing / Limited linguistic knowledge
& understanding / Inconsistent clarity & accuracy in communication (4-9)
• Rudimentary linguistic knowledge / Linguistic methods applied inaccurate or not at
all / Lapses in written communication (1-3)
Levels of attainment:

8. Bringing it all together
Key issues:
• Striking the right balance for Assessment Objectives
• Selecting the right information from the data
• Packaging it together

9. Applying AOs – Children’s Writing (June 2011)
•AO1 AO2 AO3
Spelling examples Taught strategies literacy
practices (phonics)
Influence of school and
teachers
Discourse structure /
graphology
Genre conventions Audience / purpose
Non-standard spellings
e.g. cya
Sociolect / modality Peer influence/ speed/
private context /personal
audience
Topics Gender theories Context of diary writing
(audience/purpose)
Conjunctions Kroll’s stages Awareness of audience

10. Applying AOs – Change (June 2011)
AO1 AO2 AO3
Lexical examples Lexical / semantic change
processes e.g. Borrowing
Globalisation / social /
technological change
Topics / register / tone Prescriptive/descriptive
debates
attitudes
Discourse structure
Graphology / lexis
Genre
Multi-modality
Mode of reception –
medium (e.g. internet),
audience
Syntax / modal verbs Power – face/politeness Social change
Spelling / orthography Standardisation /
informalisation
Social/cultural change

11. Bringing it all together
Higher performance
• Aware that the data should be treated as a whole working from the big
picture to smaller detail
• Most relevant methods selected organised / structured to demonstrate
understanding of the ‘layers’ in a piece of data. All methods add interest
/ value to the analysis
• Clustering of points – e.g. all comment on phonological features
together so sensible comparisons can be drawn and evaluation is
possible
• Use of clusters of exemplification integrated into the body of the
analysis

12. Bringing it all together
Higher performance
• A precise and consistent degree of accuracy in use of technical detail
and terms (AO1)
• Understanding of relevant concepts to data and willingness to apply
tentatively to the data
• Salient selection from the data to exemplify language concepts
• Willingness to see data as supporting/challenging language concepts
• Consistent & relevant identification of how language features exemplify
contextual issues/link to concepts

13. Bringing it all together
Middle range performance
• Covers ground with the data in terms of comments – with little sense of
the big picture / trends
• Able to identify and extract a number of methods (some more relevant
than others) and offer some analysis – not able to prioritise the
methods (all treated with the same weight)
• Points / analysis less cohesively structured – may work through the
data, in a line-by-line approach or in a ‘random’ way without a sense
that the analysis leads towards evaluation. Few comparisons drawn
across examples of a method or patterns / trends identified

14. Bringing it all together
Middle range performance
• Uses exemplification to support – may be less frequent / relevant – or
bigger examples which reduce the accuracy or precision of the point
made
• Will be able link the points made to context (to greater / lesser extent),
but may lack a consistent approach or be repetitive in terms of how
context has influenced language choices
• Mainly accurate use of terminology to label chosen features (AO1)
• Applies a range of relevant concepts, but with a little
development/discussion. Can see links between concepts learned and
examples in the data

15. Assessment Feedback
Question 1
AO1 AO2 AO3
14 10 5
Explores some linguistic
methods and some
interesting features. Some
more developed discussion
but range is limited and
response is a little
repetitive.
Some productive discussion
of CDS and gender. More
limited on child language
acquisition concepts/
theories.
Some good discussion of
mother’s role and context
of book.

16. Assessment Feedback
Question 4
AO1 AO2 AO3
12 7 3
A number of relevant
language features
identified. Points tend to
remain undeveloped,
straightforward and
sometimes less accurate.
Some appropriate
linguistic knowledge
shown in places.
Deals with synoptic
element of power but
lacks clear language
change focus – some
discussion of
standardisation issues but
not fully explored.
Response refers to class,
audience and education.
Some limited attempt to
analyse contextual factors
but remains brief.

17. Genre: underpinning understanding texts
Exam Report June 2011
• Candidates performed best in their Change answers – as with the literacy
question- if they had considered the genres of the texts. This then assisted
them to focus on interesting linguistic features and select relevant language
concepts, instead of feature spotting. Those candidates with an awareness
of why writers of texts might use certain language features, or why they
might adopt a particular style or register, could engage both with linguistic
choices and make sensible comments on changes over time
• Indeed, those who could identify the genre conventions used in Sam’s
planning sheets and character study, and within the articles or problem
page tended to score more highly on AO2. This was much more helpful and
relevant than pages of historical summaries from Caxton onwards or
feature spotting every non-standard spelling