Hey,
I'm thinking of doing English language but I'm not sure if I should do it instead of English. Can you give resources or things to help me decide? I starting Year 11 next year and do not have any space for both English. I soon have to choose in a few days.
tl;dr if you like science, logic, straight answers, and unpacking the meaning of language, --> go for Englang.
If you like reading and analysing books, talking about how language techniques affect readers, and creative writing, --> go for English.
I'd also recommend reading through the resources and essays in the
Englang boards to get a feel for what it entails (e.g.
this one).
I'm assuming you're familiar enough with English having studied it in Years 7-10, though if you want a brief outline of what your Year 11/12 studies would look like, the new
English Study Design for the Class of 2017 and beyond has three main components:
1) Text Response (i.e. study a novel/play/film/etc. and write an essay about it. You also have to write a creative piece based on that text too, though this won't be on the exam)
2) Comparing Texts (i.e. study TWO texts and write about how they're similar or different; very similar to Text Response only you're drawing from multiple sources and going back and forth between one book and another ~ or a book and a movie, or a novel and a play, etc.)
3) Language Analysis (i.e. studying a persuasive article or speech and discussing how the author is trying to convince readers of something - you should've done something very similar to this in previous years, though it may have been called 'media journals,' 'using language to persuade,' or something like that.)
English Language, on the other hand, consists of:
(this is to the best of my knowledge: I didn't do Englang in Year 12 and there's a new SD this year, so take this with a grain of salt...) 1) short answer questions based on small excerpts of text where you have to link a language features (e.g. use of metaphors, code-switching, sentence construction, lexical choice, etc.) to a kind of meaning (e.g. an author's purpose, an attempt to create or evoke a certain emotion, a particular social context, etc.)
2) an analytical commentary (i.e. essay) based on a textual excerpt. In other words, you get a slab of text and have to discuss its many features and nuances.
3) use an assortment of quotes, cartoons, and general observations about language as the basis for an essay. Here, you get about four or five bits and pieces about a common topic (
e.g. taboo language, how language can obfuscate meaning, how language reflects Australian identity, etc.) and you have to uses that material AS WELL AS stuff you've accumulated throughout the year to make an argument about language usage.
If you're still unsure what to choose, let us know where you're at (and maybe what other subjects you're considering?) and someone might be able to give you some more specific advice