GCSE English Language – Adults

This one-year course prepares you for one of the most valuable qualifications needed in life. Successful achievement of this qualification enhances your career prospects and is often needed for entry to higher academic courses.

The course will involve preparation for two exams, each worth 50% and lasting for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The two units (papers) are:

• Explorations in creative reading and writing
• Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives

In addition, there will be a non-examination assessment based on spoken language.

This course is free (unless you already possess the equivalent of a pass grade 4 or above in the subject, in which case fees will be £724).

You should be 19 years old or over and will be invited to come in and meet our friendly team who will work out your current level of English to determine if this is the right course for you.

You should allow at least 90 minutes for your assessment and enrolment, which will also include a piece of writing. At this time we may refer you to our Functional English programme if it is felt you would benefit from this.

You should also maintain a good level of attendance throughout the course.

The course will involve preparation for two end-of-year exams.

The two exams both consist of a Reading Section and a Writing Section, each with an equal weighting of marks for the paper.

Learners will be prepared for these exams with a range of materials and mock exams.

• Explorations in creative reading and writing (Paper 1)

This will involve exploring and analysing a range of interesting fiction extracts of texts from a variety of authors. In the actual Paper 1 there will be one unseen extract to analyse. There are no longer set texts to study for the exams. Retrieval skills, language analysis, structural analysis of a text and a thorough critical evaluation of a text are all required for this paper. You will also need to produce imaginative, creative pieces of writing to prepare for the writing section of the exam. Preparation for this paper will involve developing these skills using a range of resources and activities. This will involve group discussions and activities, pair work, tutor input and independent learning.

• Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives (Paper 2)

This will again involve exploring and analysing a range of interesting non-fiction texts from different time periods (including 19th Century texts), for example diary extracts, newspaper and magazine articles, travelogues and copies of speeches. Retrieval skills, comparison between texts (including inference), language analysis and a comparison of different writers’ viewpoints and perspectives are all needed for this paper, along with the ability to effectively put forward your own viewpoints informatively and persuasively on certain topics for the writing section. There will be lively debates and discussions in classes on topical issues and subjects relating to the society in which we live.

In addition, there will be a non-examination assessment based on spoken language. All learners will give a presentation on a topic of their choice. This is one of the highlights of the course, whereby learners find out about many different places, work situations, hobbies and interests. Some learners like to talk about their own viewpoints and beliefs on a certain topic.

You will need to allow weekly time for homework tasks on this course and to sit two exam papers in June. You will be thoroughly prepared for your exams. Learners enjoy reading, writing, speaking and listening tasks undertaken in classes, but they also need to be prepared to work hard.

This course will be delivered on-site.

There is no specialist equipment required for this course. However, you may wish to purchase relevant textbooks to supplement your learning which your tutor will recommend.

We also recommend that you purchase an A4 writing pad (with margins), black pens, a highlighter and a folder in which to keep your work.

Your progress will be monitored throughout the course to ensure that we can focus on what you need to improve.

Final assessment is by two national exams which you will sit in May/June.

A grade 4/C in GCSE English is often a requirement for many courses and careers.

The qualification may help you to move on to other courses such as programmes within higher education.

For a confidential chat about your own learning needs, please contact the Adult English and Maths Team on 01332 387465.