The Duke, who left Vienna in secret and who has always shied away from the limelight, returns very much in public and in the open to bring judgement and justice – hence the trumpets, symbolic perhaps of the Last Judgement? This act is one very long scene and must obviously be studied in some depth by A level students. In contrast to the revelation of the Duke’s fallibility in Act 4, here he does take on something of the role of divine ruler.

He appears at first to disbelieve totally Isabella’s charge against Angelo, sharing with...

Associated Resources

• A Student’s Guide to ’Much Ado About Nothing’ by Mandy Lloyd
• Much Ado Guide.doc

‘Much Ado about Nothing’ in context: ‘Comedy’ vs. ‘Tragedy’

Much Ado About Nothing is technically considered to be a Shakespearean ‘comedy’ of the classical kind; indeed, it’s even frequently taught at KS3 owing to its frequent comic tone. The witty and entertaining exchanges between the main protagonists Beatrice and Benedick have been the subject of much literary criticism and are often considered to be the most...

Associated Resources

• A Guide to Much Ado About Nothing by Steph Jackson
• Much Ado About Nothing - Student’s Guide.doc

This brief study guide focuses on the themes, language and issues of the play relevant to the current A-Level Literature specification AO2 requirement of form, structure and language: ‘demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts’.

The guide also explores some areas of the historical context of the play which will assist you with...

Associated Resources

• Transcripts Pack
• Guide to Conversation Analysis.doc

This guide is intended to support teachers preparing students for tasks involving the analysis of transcribed conversation at AS and A2 level, although teachers of the new GCSE unit on Spoken Language may also find some helpful information here, especially in the “Key Issues” section.  Just don’t get carried away with the technical terms or theories at this level!

The advice and information given here is relevant to many specifications, both Language courses and...

Associated Resources

• A Guide to Conversational Analysis

Introduction

This collection of transcripts has been produced with A Level Language and combined Language and Literature teaching in mind, although some of the transcripts may also be suitable for use with the new Spoken Language GCSE unit.

• Never Mind The Buzzcocks.doc
• David Beckham and Jonathan Ross.doc
• Paxman and Cooper on Taxes.doc
• Husband and Wife - Nan and her Fruit Pies.doc
• Student and Teacher.doc
• Jeremy Kyle.doc
• Hugh F-W - Beer Batter.doc
• Loose Women.doc
• QI Daniel Radcliffe.doc...[ read full article ] »
  

There’s an interesting debate at The Economist.

http://www.economist.com/debate/debates/overview/190

Definitely good for people teaching the A spec (ENGA2 or ENGA3) and anyone interested in seeing a style model for a debate on a language topic.

Language Investigations

This is a guide to preparing students for the various ‘Investigations in English Language’ units that form part of many A Level English Language courses. It has been written to cover the A2 coursework requirements for the following examination boards:

• The basic requirements for the investigation are broadly similar across all boards but where needed, specific advice for a particular exam board’s specification is shown and clearly identified.

Assessment Focus (Assessment...