OxfordAQA A Level English Language (9670): Unit 4 – Language Exploration – Study Guide

Unit 4 is the point at which you stop responding to data chosen for you and start exploring language on your own terms. The unit is offered in two routes: one is an examined paper and the other is a non-exam assessment built around a language investigation. Whichever route your school follows, the underlying skills are the same. You need to choose a focus, handle data responsibly, use linguistic methods and concepts accurately, and evaluate what you find. This guide teaches those skills. Your teacher will confirm the exact format, task wording and limits for your route.

Where this fits in the specification

Unit 4 completes the A Level in 9670, after the AS units and Unit 3 on language variation. It draws on everything you have learnt: the language levels, the effect of context, social groups, variation, change and attitudes. The route with an examination tests how well you can analyse and discuss language material under time pressure. The investigation route tests your ability to design and carry out an independent study over a longer period. Check the specification and your school’s guidance for which one you are following and what the task requires.

How is Unit 4 assessed?

The OxfordAQA International AS and A-level English Language specification (9670, Version 5.2) offers two routes. Both are worth 50 marks and 30% of the International A-level.

Route	Format	What you do
Unit 4a (written exam)	2 hours 30 minutes; no sections; one question from a choice of two	Investigate data provided on the paper (no more than three texts or data sets, linked by a topic or theme), devise a research question, analyse at least two of the texts or data sets, and write a report using the suggested structure: Aim(s), Method, Analysis, Conclusion
Unit 4b (non-exam assessment)	Assessed by teachers and moderated	Devise a research question, collect your own data, analyse it and write up a report

What is the word count for Unit 4b? The specification gives two figures. The assessment overview says an investigation of 2,500 to 3,000 words, while the detailed section 3.4.2 says a report of approximately 2,500 words (excluding data). Plan for about 2,500 words excluding data and check the current limit with your teacher before you write up.

What it means to explore language

Exploration means asking a question about language and answering it with evidence. A weak study describes a text. A strong study explains why language is used as it is and what that shows about people, society or change. Typical areas include:

• Language and gender, age, region or occupation: how different groups speak and write.
• Language and technology: how texting, social media or online communities shape style.
• Language change: how words, spellings or grammar shift over time.
• Language and power: how institutions, advertisers or politicians use language to influence.
• Language and identity: how people signal belonging through dialect, slang or code-switching.
• Language acquisition and variation: how children, learners or multilingual speakers develop and use language.

Stages of an investigation

1. Choose a focused question

Begin with a topic you find interesting, then narrow it to a question that can be answered with data you can collect. “Language and gender” is a topic. “How do the speakers in a set of recorded team meetings use interruptions and questions, and does this differ with the speaker’s role?” is a question. A good question is specific, answerable and connected to a language concept.

2. Collect suitable data

Data should be real language and relevant to the question. Aim for enough material to see patterns but not so much that you cannot analyse it closely. Sources include recordings, transcripts, messages, printed texts, online posts and archives. You must think about ethics: obtain permission to record people, tell participants how the data will be used, protect identities by changing names, and avoid collecting private information. Record details of when and where the data was collected, who was involved and in what context.

3. Choose methods and frameworks

Decide which linguistic levels will help you most. A study of conversation might use discourse and pragmatics, with features such as turn-taking, overlap, hedging and questions. A study of online writing might emphasise lexis, grammar and graphology. A study of change might compare older and newer texts. Choose a small set of frameworks or concepts that fit your question and state why.

4. Analyse closely

Work through the data systematically. Count features where counting is meaningful, but always interpret the counts: a table of numbers is not an analysis. Look for patterns, exceptions and contrasts, and quote short examples. Name features with the correct terms and explain the effect and the reason for them.

5. Evaluate and conclude

Return to your question and give a reasoned answer. Say what the evidence suggests, how strongly, and what limits it. Small samples, one context and the influence of being recorded all restrict how far you can generalise. A strong conclusion is honest about limitations and suggests what further research could add.

Using concepts and wider reading

High-level work links evidence to ideas. For example, a study of workplace talk might engage with ideas about language and power, accommodation (adjusting speech towards or away from others), politeness and face. Use ideas as tools to test the data, not as decoration. If the data does not fit a theory, say so and consider why. If you use another writer’s findings, acknowledge them clearly and do not invent details. Only use references that you have actually read and can cite accurately.

Writing up or answering

If you follow the investigation route, organise the report with a clear introduction that states the question and rationale, a section on method and data with ethical considerations, a main analysis organised by theme or feature, an evaluation and conclusion, and a list of sources and an appendix of data. If you follow the exam route, expect to compare or discuss language material and to write well-structured essays, so practise planning arguments and integrating examples and concepts quickly.

In either case, write in a formal, precise style. Define terms, quote exact examples, keep paragraphs focused on one idea, and signpost your argument.

Worked example: turning a topic into a plan

Suppose a student is interested in how young people talk online. A plan might be:

• Topic: language and technology.
• Question: “How do two online gaming communities differ in their use of abbreviations and playful spelling, and what does this suggest about group identity?”
• Data: 40 public messages from each of two forums collected on one day, names removed. That gives 40 + 40 = 80 messages.
• Method: count messages that contain abbreviations or playful spelling, then analyse the purpose of a sample of ten from each.
• Sample count: if 22 of the 40 messages in forum A and 9 of the 40 in forum B contain such features, the proportions are 22 / 40 = 55% and 9 / 40 = 22.5%. The difference is 55 - 22.5 = 32.5 percentage points.
• Interpretation: a higher rate in forum A may suggest stronger in-group signalling, but only if the examples show purposeful use, and the small sample means the finding is tentative.
• Evaluation: other factors such as the age of users, the topic and the moderation rules could explain the difference, so the conclusion should be careful.

The counts are only a starting point. The marks come from the quality of the analysis of examples and the strength of the evaluation.

Common mistakes

• Choosing a question that is too broad, such as “How has English changed?”
• Describing data instead of explaining what it reveals.
• Collecting data with no thought of ethics or context.
• Treating counts as findings without interpretation.
• Forcing data to fit a theory instead of testing the theory.
• Claiming that a small sample proves a general rule.
• Using terms loosely or inaccurately.
• Citing studies or findings that you cannot verify.

Exam and assessment technique

• Plan before you write: question, line of argument, evidence, and concepts to use.
• Quote briefly and analyse every quotation.
• Use precise terminology throughout.
• Show awareness of context, audience and purpose in every analytical point.
• Leave time to conclude and to evaluate.
• Keep a record of your data, methods and sources as you go, so that nothing has to be reconstructed later.

Frequently asked questions

Is Unit 4a the same as the coursework route? No. Unit 4a is a 2 hour 30 minute exam on data supplied in the paper; Unit 4b is a non-exam investigation using data you collect yourself. Both test the same skills and carry the same marks.

What topics can a Unit 4b investigation cover? Any topic whose central focus is an aspect of language. The specification’s examples include local and social varieties, language and power, new communication technologies, children’s language, the media and language in the environment.

Does the data count towards the word limit? Section 3.4.2 says the report is approximately 2,500 words excluding data, so the data goes in an appendix and is not counted.

Check your understanding

1. What is the difference between a topic and a research question? Answer: a topic is a broad area; a question is specific, answerable with data and linked to a language concept.
2. Give two ethical points to consider when collecting spoken data. Answer: for example permission from speakers, anonymity, and explaining how the data will be used.
3. Why is a table of counts not enough? Answer: counts must be interpreted and explained, with examples, to show what they mean.
4. Why is a small sample a limitation? Answer: it may not be typical, so findings cannot safely be generalised.
5. In the worked example, what is the percentage of messages with features in forum B? Answer: 9 / 40 = 22.5%.
6. What should you do if the data does not fit a theory? Answer: say so, and consider why, instead of forcing the data to fit.
7. Give one factor, other than group identity, that could explain differences between two communities. Answer: for example user age, topic or moderation rules.