Free flashcards · OxfordAQA A Level · 9670

English Language flashcards

39 cards covering every topic of the 9670 syllabus (Version 5.2, for International AS exams from May/June 2018, A-level from May/June 2019). Study one topic or mix them all, turn each card, and mark yourself honestly.

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AS Topic 1: Unit 1 – Language and Context

How is OxfordAQA 9670 assessed?: Unit 1 and Unit 2 (AS): 2 hours, 50 marks, 20% of the A-level each. Unit 3: 2 hours, 50 marks, 30%. Unit 4: 30%, either an exam (2 hours 30 minutes) or a non-exam language investigation.
What does Unit 1 Section A (Understanding Texts) require?: A compulsory analysis of two texts, using precise linguistic terminology to explain how language creates meaning in context.
What are the seven frameworks for analysing a text?: Phonology, lexis, semantics, grammar, pragmatics, discourse and graphology.
What is presupposition, and what is its effect?: What a sentence takes for granted. "When did you stop worrying about this?" builds in an assumption that is hard to challenge.
What is nominalisation, and what can it do?: Turning an action into a noun ("mistakes", "lessons"). It makes events abstract and can distance them from anyone responsible.
What is synthetic personalisation?: Addressing a mass audience with "you" as though speaking to each person individually, creating a false sense of a personal relationship.
Overt and covert prestige: what is the difference?: Overt prestige is the status of Standard English in society. Covert prestige is the value a non-standard variety carries within the group that uses it.
What does Unit 1 Section B (Directed Writing) require?: Using some or all of the Section A material to create a new text for a specified brief. There is no separate commentary; credit goes to sustaining an appropriate style.
How do you transform material in directed writing?: Fix form, audience and purpose first; adjust the register; select only relevant material; rephrase rather than lift; and keep the form's conventions throughout.
Which assessment objective dominates Unit 1?: AO3, using English in different ways for different purposes, which is why sustained style in the directed writing matters so much.
What are field, tenor and mode?: The three components of register: field is the subject, tenor the relationship between participants, and mode whether the text is spoken, written or in between.

AS Topic 2: Unit 2 – Language and Society

What does Unit 2 Section A require?: Analysis of spoken, written or multimodal texts, naming the social functions that specific language features perform for the groups using them.
What four social functions of language does Unit 2 focus on?: Group rapport and shared perspectives; power and status; identity and relationships; and play and performance.
How is power visible in a conversation transcript?: In who interrupts, who controls the topic, who asks closed questions and who answers, who hedges, and who holds the floor longest.
What is a multimodal text?: A text that combines more than one channel of meaning, such as image and caption in a meme or advertisement. It is not a synonym for informal.
What is back-channelling?: Short responses such as "mm" or "yeah" from a listener, showing attention and support without taking the floor.
What does Unit 2 Section B require?: An academic essay that uses the Section A analysis as evidence to argue a point about language and social groups, rather than restating it.
How should Section A be read with Section B in mind?: Note while analysing which observations could support the later argument, so the two sections work as one connected task.
Which assessment objective weighs more in Unit 2 than Unit 1?: AO1, understanding of methods, terminology, concepts and issues, so precise named terminology matters as much as fluent style.
What is code-switching?: Moving between languages or varieties within a conversation, often to signal identity, solidarity or a change of topic.

A Level Topic 3: Unit 3 – Language Variation

What are the stages of children's speech development?: Pre-verbal (crying, cooing, babbling), holophrastic, two-word, telegraphic and post-telegraphic. Ages vary greatly between children.
What are overextension and underextension?: Overextension: using a word too widely (every four-legged animal is "dog"). Underextension: using it too narrowly (only the family pet is "dog").
What are expansion and recasting in child-directed speech?: Recasting repeats the child's utterance in correct adult form; expansion extends it ("Doggy run." / "Yes, the doggy is running fast"). Both model grammar without direct correction.
Why does overgeneralisation challenge behaviourism?: Forms such as "runned" or "mouses" apply a regular rule to irregular words. Adults do not say them, so they cannot be imitated.
How does children's writing develop?: From drawing and writing-like marks, to letters, to phonetic spelling, then conventional spelling and punctuation, then control of genres and audiences. Kroll's model runs from preparatory to integrated writing.
What is a five-step method for analysing child language data?: Note the age and context; pick three or four features; name and quote each; explain what the child can and cannot yet do; link to a theory and evaluate it.
What are Kachru's three circles?: Inner circle: English as a first language (UK, US, Australia). Outer circle: an official or institutional role, often after colonial history (India, Nigeria, Singapore). Expanding circle: English as a foreign language.
Pidgin or creole: what is the difference?: A pidgin is a simplified contact language with no native speakers. A creole develops when a pidgin becomes a first language, with expanded vocabulary and grammar.
What does the term World Englishes express?: That the many varieties of English around the world have equal linguistic validity, each with its own standard forms.
How has English spread around the world?: Through trade, colonisation and migration, and later through media, technology, education and business.
How should non-standard features of a variety be described?: As systematic features of that variety, explained by causes such as language contact or local culture, never as errors or "slang".

A Level Topic 4: Unit 4 – Language Exploration

What are the two routes for 9670 Unit 4?: An examined paper on Language Exploration (2 hours 30 minutes, 50 marks) or a non-exam language investigation. Both are 30% of the A-level.
What makes a good language investigation question?: It is specific, answerable with data you can collect, and connected to a language concept, for example how speakers in recorded meetings use interruptions and whether this varies with role.
What ethical steps does collecting language data need?: Get permission to record, tell participants how the data will be used, protect identities by changing names, and avoid collecting private information.
Why is a table of counts not an analysis?: Counts show patterns but must be interpreted: explain what the pattern shows, note exceptions, and quote examples.
What should an investigation's conclusion include?: A reasoned answer to the question, how strong the evidence is, its limitations (small sample, one context, the effect of being recorded) and what further research could add.
What is accommodation theory?: Speakers adjust their speech towards others (convergence) to build rapport or away from them (divergence) to show distance or identity.
What is face in politeness theory?: A person's public self-image. Positive face is the wish to be liked and approved of; negative face is the wish not to be imposed on. Politeness strategies protect both.
How long is a 9670 Unit 4b investigation?: The specification gives two figures: 2,500 to 3,000 words in the assessment overview, and approximately 2,500 words excluding data in section 3.4.2. Check the current limit with your teacher.

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Written for OxfordAQA International AS and A-level English Language (9670), syllabus 9670 (Version 5.2, for International AS exams from May/June 2018, A-level from May/June 2019).

Cards by Marlbridge Academic Team. This deck has not yet been reviewed as a whole by a subject teacher. Report an error.

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