ENGB1 Part 2: Introduction
Language & Power; Language & Gender; Language and Technology
Power is so intimately woven into our social fabric that no student in any classroom anywhere will be unaware of its existence, sometimes to their pleasure, sometimes to their distaste and sometimes, in the case of bullying, to their horror. Year 12 students are at an age, too, where they are naturally prickly towards many aspects of power be it parental, institutional or other. Rebellion, if not often in action is often in mind.
But power and influence often act too subtly for even the most rebellious teenager to be aware of its presence or, when they are aware, they can easily perceive it as ‘for the best’, ‘normal’ or ‘common sense’. Language and language features are one of the major vehicles through which much of society’s power is created, reinforced or exercised and, once students become alert to its prevalence and learn ways to uncover it, they can easily and quickly become enthused to want to learn more and, very often, find great enjoyment in doing so. This has to be one of the most popular parts of the A-level course.
Language and Gender is very closely related to Language and Power, and few Year 12 students will be unacquainted with ‘battles of the sexes’ and the ways opposite genders try in various, but often...
