Which English is the most applicable to real life?

[jammol7]

Hi,

I've read through many threads on the differences between the 3 english subjects but I'm still unsure on which one to go for.
I'm not aiming for anything english/hums related and my VCE subjects are mostly science/health. Because of this tons of people recommend me to do EL. The scaling is tempting and I've been told it's the one STEM kids usually go for as it's the most "scientific" subject out of the three, but at the same time the content seems a bit boring?

I'm more of a STEM person but I like english, currently averaging 85~90% at school. I'm also currently doing a lit elective which is similar to VCE lit and I'm loving it. But I think it'll be a lot harder to score high in. On the other hand I really don't want to do mainstream english because of the scaling and the fact that the final exam is 3 hours long (I know this is petty but how do you sit still for 3 hours??).

ATM I'm kinda stuck between EL and Lit, (haven't completely ruled out english). I guess my question is, which english would be the most useful/applicable to real life? And if I'm decent at year 10 english, which would be most suitable?

Thanks.

ETA: I'm in year 10 doing 3&4 bio and PE; next year I'm doing 3&4 chem and most likely HHD. Aiming for monash med.
Also my sister did lit last year and got a 50; and reading through her essays, I don't think I'll ever get to that level lol.

[Seamus Wong]

Hi,

I've read through many threads on the differences between the 3 english subjects but I'm still unsure on which one to go for.
I'm not aiming for anything english/hums related and my VCE subjects are mostly science/health. Because of this tons of people recommend me to do EL. The scaling is tempting and I've been told it's the one STEM kids usually go for as it's the most "scientific" subject out of the three, but at the same time the content seems a bit boring?

I'm more of a STEM person but I like english, currently averaging 85~90% at school. I'm also currently doing a lit elective which is similar to VCE lit and I'm loving it. But I think it'll be a lot harder to score high in. On the other hand I really don't want to do mainstream english because of the scaling and the fact that the final exam is 3 hours long (I know this is petty but how do you sit still for 3 hours??).

ATM I'm kinda stuck between EL and Lit, (haven't completely ruled out english). I guess my question is, which english would be the most useful/applicable to real life? And if I'm decent at year 10 english, which would be most suitable?

Thanks.

ETA: I'm in year 10 doing 3&4 bio and PE; next year I'm doing 3&4 chem and most likely HHD. Aiming for monash med.
Also my sister did lit last year and got a 50; and reading through her essays, I don't think I'll ever get to that level lol.

All of them can be applied in some shape of form to the real world, but to answer your question specifically, I would say that English Language is most applicable to the real world or at least appears, on the surface, to be most applicable. This is due to the fact that it essentially is built around how individuals and groups within society employ language according to the social context in which they're situated. This means that while studying the subject, you are able to analyse in detail how people around you subconsciously use the linguistic strategies and features - that you've learnt about in the subject - and thus determine the reasons behind their language choices. 

[brenden]

Taking in all the information you’ve provided I’d tell you to do English. If you like it enough that you can stomach Lit, you’ve got the potential enough to do well in the subject and the scaling won’t be relevant (not that scaling should ever be a relevant factor deciding subjects).  Lit is more competitive than the scaling suggests, I think, and it is straightforward to score well in English if you’re intuitively there already.