English Language Preparation

[jashaan]

Hello,
Admist all the hard work and prep for the upcoming exams, I have realised that I want to have a headstart for english language as I am not in VCE currently. Could someone please give me some tips or books I should read, or ways to enhance my english language and get a better score in year 12? Anything you have regretted not doing or something that has really helped you out in this tough journey?

Thank you and good luck to you all who are 24/7 working towards their desired atar:)

[Joseph41]

Hey jashaan! Great first post - welcome to ATAR Notes.

To clarify, are you going into English Language 1/2 next year? EngLang is a really great subject. I hope you love it! You can find a brief overview of Units 1/2 and Units 3/4 here.

In terms of free resources for Units 3&4, some ideas below:

Previous VCE EngLang lecture slides.

* 2018 Unit 4 head-start lecture: here (Joseph41)
* 2018 April revision lecture: here (EulerFan102)
* 2018 Unit 3 head-start lecture: here (EulerFan102)
* 2017 Unit 3/4 revision lecture: here (thushan)
* 2017 Unit 4 head-start lecture: here (thushan)
* 2017 April revision lecture: here (Joseph41)
* 2017 Unit 3 head-start lecture: here (thushan)

Whilst these are aimed at 3/4 students, there's a lot of good stuff here that might help with metalanguage (which is also relevant for 1/2). And there's no harm in getting a bit of an early start.

EngLang videos.

Our EngLang lecturer, Michael, gives some great advice on the 3/4 course here in a series of short videos.

EngLang notes.

You can find notes for EngLang 1/2 here, and EngLang 3/4 here.
If you're looking for other resources:
* I'd try to get your hands on an EngLang textbook. I used Living Lingo back in the day - from memory, there may have also been a 1/2 equivalent.
* There are some really fantastic books relevant to EngLang, such as How Language Works by David Crystal, and Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. Highly recommend.
* Start to find instances where language pops up in the news. It doesn't really matter what it's about - just take note, and think about it.
* You can find a pool of quotes and language examples here, which might be useful to extend your understanding of some concepts.

But my best advice for English Language doesn't really relate to resources, but to mindset. Simply be curious about language. Look at language - literally anywhere around you - and start thinking about why that particular language has been used, and what impact that language has. Starting to think about things in this way will put you in a really great position for VCE EngLang.

Aaaaand, of course, if you have any questions about the content at all, you can ask them in our dedicated VCE English Language Questions Thread! There are also more resources in that thread.

Good luck!

[pepper77]

I agree with everything Joseph41 said (especially the bit about thinking about the impact language has), but I think it might also help to take a look at the study design. https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/englishlanguage/EnglishLanguageSD_2016.pdf

Learning the 5 subsystems and the metalanguage that goes with them is always a good idea, because teachers love it when you use relevant terms (saying 'morphological overgeneralisation' is much more concise than 'application of a grammatical rule in a case where the rule does not apply')! It might also be a good idea to read about the history of English and the theories of how a child learns their first language.

The textbook my school uses is called Love The Lingo - it's pretty good. I think that's the 1/2 equivalent of the book Joseph recommended.