OxfordAQA International A-Level English Language: Language and Society (9670)

This guide covers Unit 2 Language and Society, the second of two units forming the International AS in OxfordAQA International AS and A-level English Language (9670). Together with Unit 1, it makes up the International AS, contributing 50% of the AS marks (20% of the full A-level). It is assessed by a single 2-hour written exam worth 50 marks.

Where this fits in 9670

Unit 1 examines how audience, purpose, genre and mode shape a text. Unit 2 shifts focus to the social dimension of language – how people use it to express identity, build relationships, mark group membership, claim power and status, or play and entertain. As in Unit 1, Section A provides the analytical groundwork that directly feeds Section B’s writing task, so the two sections should be revised as a connected pair, not independently.

Syllabus coverage

OXFORDAQA INTERNATIONAL AS AND A-LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE (9670) — UNIT 2 LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY

• 3.2.1 Section A: Language and social groups – texts — one compulsory text analysis task on spoken, written or multimodal material illustrating the social dimensions of language use: how language expresses identity, constructs and maintains relationships, marks group membership, claims power and status, and creates play and entertainment. Source material is typically drawn from power-laden contexts (such as interviews), persuasive or exhortative texts, texts built around shared interests or group affiliations, and playful or performative language
• 3.2.2 Section B: Language and social groups – writing — one compulsory academic essay, connected directly to the data analysed in Section A, focused on the skills of academic argument in written language about an aspect of language and social group behaviour

How to approach it

Section A rewards being able to name and use the specification’s own categories – group rapport and shared perspectives, assertions of power and status, expressions of identity and relationship, and creative play and performance – rather than describing a text in general terms. Because Section B’s essay must connect directly to whatever was analysed in Section A, practising the transition from close text analysis to a structured academic argument is the single most valuable exam-technique skill for this unit: read for evidence in Section A with an eye to what argument it could support in Section B, rather than treating the two sections as unrelated tasks. Since the source texts can be spoken, written or multimodal, revision should include a genuine range of text types – an interview transcript, a piece of persuasive writing, an example of in-group banter or wordplay – rather than only written prose, so that unfamiliar text types in the exam do not come as a surprise.

Common mistakes

Writing a Section B essay that restates the Section A analysis rather than building an academic argument that uses it as evidence. Describing what a text says without identifying the specific language features (word choice, structure, register, pragmatic implication) that create its social effect. Treating “power and status” and “identity” as interchangeable categories, when the specification separates them as distinct social functions of language that a text may draw on individually or together. Neglecting spoken and multimodal data in revision, when the specification explicitly draws Section A material from all three modes.

Worked example

A Section A text is a transcript of a job interview. What kind of language features would a strong answer identify?

POWER AND STATUS: the interviewer's use of closed questions and
    topic control; formal register maintained by both speakers;
    politeness strategies used by the interviewee to mitigate
    disagreement or hedge uncertain answers.

IDENTITY AND RELATIONSHIP: how the interviewee's word choices
    construct a professional persona; use of first-person narrative
    to build credibility and rapport.

LINKING TO SECTION B: these observations about power, status and
    self-presentation in institutional talk could then support a
    Section B essay on how language reflects or reinforces power
    relationships in social interaction.

A weak answer would describe the interview’s content (what job, what questions) without naming the specific language features doing the social work the specification asks students to identify.

Quick revision checklist

• Practise identifying language features linked to each of the four social functions: group rapport, power and status, identity and relationship, and play and performance.
• Analyse a range of text types for Section A – spoken transcripts, persuasive writing, and multimodal or informal material – not only formal written prose.
• Practise moving directly from a Section A analysis into a Section B academic essay that uses that analysis as evidence.
• Learn precise terminology for social language functions rather than general descriptive language.
• Review how Section B differs from Section A in Unit 1’s Directed Writing task – Unit 2’s Section B is an academic essay, not a transformed or creative writing piece.

Assessment at a glance

Unit 2 is a 2-hour written exam worth 50 marks, identical in structure and weighting to Unit 1 – both contribute 20% each to the full International A-level and 50% each to the International AS. Across both units of the AS, AO3 (the ability to use English in different ways) is weighted more heavily in Unit 1’s writing-focused paper, while AO1 (understanding of methods, terminology, concepts and issues) carries more weight in Unit 2 – a useful signal that Unit 2 rewards precise use of linguistic terminology at least as much as fluent writing style.

Related resources

• Unit 2 Language and Society revision notes
• Unit 2 Language and Society practice questions

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International AS and A-level English Language (9670) specification, Version 5.2, section 3.2 Language and society — oxfordaqa.com.