A2 English Language ENGB4
Language Investigation
Below are the ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES and descriptors for Band 4 and 5.
Getting Started:
This module requires a great deal of independence, organisation and focus. You will be expected to spend approximately 40 hours completing your final piece, so it’s important that you chose a topic that you are interested in
You should choose your own area for study in consultation with your teacher(s). The topic selected should be manageable given the time and word limits. Investigations may be based on areas that have been studied during the course so far; or may be based in any area that is seen to yield interesting questions about language study.
The length of your investigation should be 1750-2500 words, excluding appendices and data.
You should choose your own area for study in consultation with your teacher(s). The topic selected should be manageable given the time and word limits. Investigations may be based on areas that have been studied during the course so far; or may be based in any area that is seen to yield interesting questions about language study.
The length of your investigation should be 1750-2500 words, excluding appendices and data.
Collecting Data
Handling Spoken Data
Some of the most rewarding and interesting projects require students to analyse spoken texts. Recording and transcribing data can be a time consuming process but is one that can yield interesting, unique and lively data.
In all the cases you should consider the following:
- Quantity: It is likely that you will record a lot more data than you will need in the end and transcribing everything that you record will take hours. So, the first step is to select which parts of your recordings are most relevant to the question that you are exploring.
- Detail: You then need to consider how much detail you will need to include in your transcript. A transcript should enable the reader to recreate the spoken data in their head without the need to refer to the original recording.
- Conventions: There are no absolute rules that dictate how a transcript should be presented and what it should include. In all probability, you will need to show the aspects of speech through the use of symbols that would not be obvious on the page. For example: pauses, hedges, intonation. However, what you show will be very much dependent on the area of language that you are exploring. You should always use a KEY when creating transcripts.
- Phonetic alphabet: Often transcripts will require you demonstrate how something is said, rather than simply what is being said; in many cases you will indicate this using standard conventions of phonetic spelling e.g. 'yeah' instead of 'yes.' However, for some areas of exploration, particularly if you are focusing on dialect or acquisition, you will need a more accurate and rigorous way of showing demonstrating pronunciation. For this you will use need to use the phonetic alphabet.
Creating Questionnaires
Questionnaires can be a very useful way of collecting a variety of interesting and relevant data. However, the quality of your data will only be as good as the quality of your questionnaire so they need plenty of thought and some careful creation. You will also need to ensure that you can collect enough data to make your findings valid. In the ‘real world’ this often means hundreds or thousands of responses; in the world of your investigation you should aim to look at approximately 50 sets of responses.
This is a brief outline of the process you will need to go through to create a good questionnaire:
This is a brief outline of the process you will need to go through to create a good questionnaire:
Finding a focus for your investigation...
Once you have collected your data you will need to look at creating a defined question for your investigation. It is worth remembering that the best approaches are often quite narrow, allowing you to explore an idea in real depth.
The first steps towards this are:
In light of this, you will then need to formulate a title/question to address. In effect, you will be creating an abstract or hypothesis for your investigation. This isn’t a complicated process but it does require some thought and there is no individual model that will fit every task.
The first steps towards this are:
- to familiarise yourself with your data and consider its most defining features
- to undertake any background reading required, research the area that you will be investigating.
In light of this, you will then need to formulate a title/question to address. In effect, you will be creating an abstract or hypothesis for your investigation. This isn’t a complicated process but it does require some thought and there is no individual model that will fit every task.
Data Analysis...
In light of your question and focus you will now need to approach your data in depth. To do this you should undertake some, or all, of the following processes:
Using Diagrams: This may be an English language investigation but there is no reason why you can’t include tables, graphs or pie-charts if you feel that this would be the most appropriate way to present your data effectively. Take a look at the following examples, these come from the real investigations of previous students:
- analyse and annotate your data in detail
- order and organise for data logically
- group ideas, comments, quotations and examples appropriately
- compare and contrast the data that you have collected
- perform a statistical analysis on questionnaires/‘counted’ parts
- present results in an appropriate manner .
Using Diagrams: This may be an English language investigation but there is no reason why you can’t include tables, graphs or pie-charts if you feel that this would be the most appropriate way to present your data effectively. Take a look at the following examples, these come from the real investigations of previous students:
Formulating frameworks...
In order to write the analysis section of your investigation and to ensure that your final coursework is structured appropriately, you will need to define the frameworks you are applying to your data very carefully. Throughout your course so far you have already become adept at applying language frameworks to any texts that you encounter. The difference here will be that you need to select the frameworks that you believe are the most relevant to your data and your investigation yourself.
These frameworks will vary widely depending upon the area that you are investigating. Your application of the frameworks should be systematic, exploratory and sensitive. As a general rule you should choose to focus on four/five key frameworks. These will enable you to divide your analysis into sections and encourage you to work ‘across’ texts rather than in a linear fashion ‘through’ texts.
Each of your framework choices should be formed as a sub-heading or question. Within each of these frameworks you will then be required to analyse your data in detail drawing on your knowledge of linguistic terminology to give accuracy and precision to your comments. You will also be required to use frequent, specific examples from your data to support your comments.
The following table shows the over-arching concepts under which you can form more specific questions.
These frameworks will vary widely depending upon the area that you are investigating. Your application of the frameworks should be systematic, exploratory and sensitive. As a general rule you should choose to focus on four/five key frameworks. These will enable you to divide your analysis into sections and encourage you to work ‘across’ texts rather than in a linear fashion ‘through’ texts.
Each of your framework choices should be formed as a sub-heading or question. Within each of these frameworks you will then be required to analyse your data in detail drawing on your knowledge of linguistic terminology to give accuracy and precision to your comments. You will also be required to use frequent, specific examples from your data to support your comments.
The following table shows the over-arching concepts under which you can form more specific questions.
In your project, you should aim to demonstrate your understanding of a range of different approaches to language. For instance, there is little mileage in your whole analysis concentrating on graphological features. However, two of your frameworks may fall under one of the broad headings named in the table above.
So, how do you structure your investigation?
Media Text
• You need to use the broad subject focus of your language investigation to produce a media text (e.g. newspaper or magazine article) highlighting the language ideas and issues surrounding the chosen topic.
• You need to demonstrate a conceptualised understanding of the language ideas surrounding your topic.
• It needs to be INFORMATIVE and produced for a non-specialist audience.
• You need to do WIDER READING to help you compose your media piece.
• You need to have a BIBLIOGRAPHY – here, you will reference your wider reading.
• YOU DO NOT need to write about the findings of your study.
• The length needs to be 750-100 words
• You need to demonstrate a conceptualised understanding of the language ideas surrounding your topic.
• It needs to be INFORMATIVE and produced for a non-specialist audience.
• You need to do WIDER READING to help you compose your media piece.
• You need to have a BIBLIOGRAPHY – here, you will reference your wider reading.
• YOU DO NOT need to write about the findings of your study.
• The length needs to be 750-100 words
Here are some examples (style models) for your media text:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jul/05/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2353938/Farewell-freshman--Washington-State-remove-40-000-pieces-legislation-gender-biased-language--manhole-survives.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/01/gender.books
More available here:
http://englishlangsfx.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/media-texts-and-language-interventions.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2353938/Farewell-freshman--Washington-State-remove-40-000-pieces-legislation-gender-biased-language--manhole-survives.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/01/gender.books
More available here:
http://englishlangsfx.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/media-texts-and-language-interventions.html