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March 30, 2024, 01:46:09 am

Author Topic: English or English Language  (Read 1894 times)  Share 

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ash16

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English or English Language
« on: August 08, 2016, 07:49:31 pm »
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Hey,

I'm thinking of doing English language but I'm not sure if I should do it instead of English. Can you give resources or things to help me decide? I starting Year 11 next year and do not have any space for both English. I soon have to choose in a few days.

Kindergarten

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Re: English or English Language
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2016, 12:54:25 pm »
+3
Hey,

I'm thinking of doing English language but I'm not sure if I should do it instead of English. Can you give resources or things to help me decide? I starting Year 11 next year and do not have any space for both English. I soon have to choose in a few days.

I would 100% recommend doing English Language over English.

Firstly English Langauge is designed to be done without the 1/2 whereas english 3/4 is not meaning you are at an advantage in English Language if you did the 1/2. This also means that reaistically it is not harder than English if you put in the same work (i was a C students in English and i'm a B+ student in English Language).

Also English teachers tend to teacher to the lower end of the class because they can't afford to allow people to fail whereas English language cohorts are generally more competitive meaning you get a better education.

English Language also does not require you to read books although you do need to read newspaper articles (which makes it a lot easier to cram the night before a sac).

anyway if you have any more specific questions about englang just ask


2015: Software Development | Business Management
2016: English language | Informatics | Global Politics| Economics | Legal

literally lauren

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Re: English or English Language
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2016, 03:02:40 pm »
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Hey,

I'm thinking of doing English language but I'm not sure if I should do it instead of English. Can you give resources or things to help me decide? I starting Year 11 next year and do not have any space for both English. I soon have to choose in a few days.
tl;dr if you like science, logic, straight answers, and unpacking the meaning of language, --> go for Englang.
If you like reading and analysing books, talking about how language techniques affect readers, and creative writing, --> go for English.

I'd also recommend reading through the resources and essays in the Englang boards to get a feel for what it entails (e.g. this one).

I'm assuming you're familiar enough with English having studied it in Years 7-10, though if you want a brief outline of what your Year 11/12 studies would look like, the new English Study Design for the Class of 2017 and beyond has three main components:
   1) Text Response (i.e. study a novel/play/film/etc. and write an essay about it. You also have to write a creative piece based on that text too, though this won't be on the exam)
   2) Comparing Texts (i.e. study TWO texts and write about how they're similar or different; very similar to Text Response only you're drawing from multiple sources and going back and forth between one book and another ~ or a book and a movie, or a novel and a play, etc.)
   3) Language Analysis (i.e. studying a persuasive article or speech and discussing how the author is trying to convince readers of something - you should've done something very similar to this in previous years, though it may have been called 'media journals,' 'using language to persuade,' or something like that.)

English Language, on the other hand, consists of:
(this is to the best of my knowledge: I didn't do Englang in Year 12 and there's a new SD this year, so take this with a grain of salt...)
   1) short answer questions based on small excerpts of text where you have to link a language features (e.g. use of metaphors, code-switching, sentence construction, lexical choice, etc.) to a kind of meaning (e.g. an author's purpose, an attempt to create or evoke a certain emotion, a particular social context, etc.)
   2) an analytical commentary (i.e. essay) based on a textual excerpt. In other words, you get a slab of text and have to discuss its many features and nuances.
   3) use an assortment of quotes, cartoons, and general observations about language as the basis for an essay. Here, you get about four or five bits and pieces about a common topic (
e.g. taboo language, how language can obfuscate meaning, how language reflects Australian identity, etc.) and you have to uses that material AS WELL AS stuff you've accumulated throughout the year to make an argument about language usage.

If you're still unsure what to choose, let us know where you're at (and maybe what other subjects you're considering?) and someone might be able to give you some more specific advice :)

The Usual Student

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Re: English or English Language
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2016, 05:02:06 pm »
+2
Lauren covered it pretty well,
But I think the best way to think of EL is not as a science or mathsy English but as a humanity.
The reason i make this distinction is that EL is kinda like a subject i could see lawyers taking or business executives. It's all about getting to know society on a linguistic level.

That's why it's so fuuuuuunnnnnnnn

It is all about understanding key linguistic concepts and then applying the, to the world!
Kinda like global politics where you learn about the political system then make observations ect ect

EL is an ever evolving subject, it's more fun then English (in my opinion) purely because you can keep pushing the boundaries and you constantly need to be looking at the real world!