Overview of the English A: Language & Literature Course

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Art, Composition, Context "Meninas"

Art can be used as a useful point of entry to English A. In many ways, reading and understanding a painting is like reading a text. Students are already very attuned to the rhetoric of pictures, so this should be taken advantage of in the classroom as much as possible.

Meaning in Context: "Guernica"

How is meaning dependent on both context of production and context of reception? Watch Simon Schama's fascinating BBC episode on Picasso's famous "Guernica" to understand the shaping power of context.

“The power of the greatest art is the power to shake us into revelation and rip us from our default mode of seeing. After an encounter with that force, we don’t look at a face, a colour, a sky, a body, in quite the same way again. We get fitted with new sight: in-sight. Visions of beauty or a rush of intense pleasure are part of that process, but so too may be shock, pain, desire, pity, even revulsion. That kind of art seems to have rewired our senses. We apprehend the world differently.” – BBC Presentator, Simon Schama

Simon Schama gives us a mesmerizing account of the different meanings taken on by Pablo Picasso’s painting through history, up to the Gulf War, as the contexts in which it is seen change. His masterly and inspiring commentary is a wonderful lesson in art-image analysis — all very relevant to IB students !

Learning Outcomes for Part 1 (Eng A: LangLit)

Below are the three learning outcomes that one should aim to meet while studying Part 1 of the English Language and Literature course. For each outcome brief explanation is offered. The learning outcomes in bold are taken from the IB guide for Language A: Language and Literature.

Analyze how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts.

Here we focus on how a text is inseparable from its context is inseparable from text. By looking at an array of texts from children's stories to brochures, we learn not only about various types of texts, but also how they target different audiences and achieve different purposes. Besides asking questions like: "What makes a speech a typical speech?" we should ask: "What makes a speech unique to its context?" You may find yourself looking at several newspaper articles covering the same current event and discussing how and why they are different.


Analyze the impact of language changes.

Language does not stand still. Every day people are using old words in new ways. People are coining words and reshaping the language. They do this in order to express their identity, to fit in with a group or stand out from a crowd. Language is a social, regional and historical phenomenon. We cannot avoid the discussion on linguistic decay, especially when talking about things like 'netspeak' or texting. Typical lessons that meet this learning outcome will present old and new texts, such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and samples of text messages.


Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture and context.

Imagine you are an archaeologist collecting artefacts. Each time you pick up an artefact you wonder what it says about its once-existing culture. We would like to foster the same attitude in English A: Language and Literature. Each time we pick up a text, we ask what it says about the English-speaking world. Therefore we should examine texts from the cultures of South Africa, North America, Australia, India, and the UK, just to mention a few. By analysing texts from these cultures, we gain some understanding of their traditions, histories and values.

Learning Outcomes for Part 2 (Eng A: LangLit)

Below are the three learning outcomes that one should aim to meet while studying Part 2 of the English A: Language and Literature course. The learning outcomes in bold are taken from the IB guide for Language A: Language and Literature.

Examine different forms of communication within the media. 

A constant question we should ask in Part 2 is: 'What is the relationship between form and content?' This relates to the famous Marshal McLuhan quote, "The medium is the message," which suggests that form influences content and is often more important that content. This learning outcome encourages us to explore even more types of texts. One common and successful way of exploring the differences between texts is to present a great variety of newspapers published on the same day, looking at how one story may be portrayed in multiple ways. Furthermore, we could be having discussion about how the Internet is changing the conventions of text types. In order to learn more about the conventions of various text types, we suggest you check out the pages on text types, found in the News archives of the site. 

Show an awareness of the potential for educational, political or ideological influence of the media 

In Part 2 we can examine journalism, satire and media institutions. The media are powerful in that they pose the means to shape public opinion. The question that should be asked here is: "How are the media trying to persuade and shape the public opinion or a culture?" 

Show the way mass media use language to inform, persuade or entertain. 

Part 2 requires that we look at the language of persuasion, including rhetorical devices, political campaigning and propaganda techniques. You will want to examine famous speeches, persuasive ads and political cartoons. Satire, spoofs, parody and pastiche also try to influence readers towards a particular ideological position. We should ask ourselves what constitutes fair and balanced reporting. As a result we will become good at identifying sensationalism, bias and vague language. Finally, popular culture and entertainment should not be ignored. "How do popular TV shows, violent movies or social networking sites reflect cultural values?" Such a question should be answered by referring to specific texts and examples from the media.


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Learning Outcomes for Part 3 (Eng A: LangLit)

Below are the three learning outcomes that should be met while studying Part 3 of the English A: Language and Literature course.

For each outcome a brief explanation is offered, together with links to supporting activities. The learning outcomes in bold are taken from the IB guide for Language A: Language and Literature.

Consider the changing historical, cultural and social contexts in which particular texts are written and received.

Students are asked to understand the context of the production of a given text, and compare that context to the way the text is understood today, or at another time. Choice of texts is extremely important. Contentious works, plays and roman a clef works are good for Part 3, as they demand a contextual understanding in order to appreciate the author's intentions. Students should learn to identify both differences and similarities. Surprise leads to questioning that may bear fruit.



Demonstrate how form, structure and style can not only be seen to influence meaning but can also be influenced by context.

A novel written in the second half of the twentieth century does not often resemble a novel written in the mid-nineteenth century. Developments in psychology, for example, changed the way writers depicted the human mind. Considerations such as this can provide useful inroads into reaching this learning outcome. Students need to put themselves in the writer's position and ask how context determines the range of options open to the author. Comparing texts from the same genre makes it easier to explore issues related to this learning outcome.



Understand the attitudes and values expressed by literary texts and their impact on readers.

Recognizing difference is often a good starting point for defining our own attitudes and values in relation to those presented in a text. In addition to the pages listed above, you may want to look at The Crucible pages as an illustration of how to explore changing attitudes and impact. Related pages with brief definitions and suggested readings related to a few movements in critical theory may also be helpful while thinking about how to teach Part 3 texts. These are postcolonial criticism, stylistics, and new historicism. These pages are intended to provide different lenses through which teachers of the course may want to approach their texts to help students achieve the above aims. They are also implicit in some of the lessons in this section.



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Learning Outcomes for Part 4 (Eng A: LangLit)

Below are the three learning outcomes that one should aim to meet while studying Part 4 of the English Language and Literature course. For each outcome, a brief explanation is offered. The learning outcomes in bold are taken from the IB guide for Language A: Language and Literature.

Explore literary works in detail.

In Part 4, students engage in the close reading of literary texts. In order to meet this outcome, you will need to focus on extracts from a larger literary texts. Not only is this useful when preparing for the individual oral activity, but this enables one to focus on a specific literary devices, the placement of a smaller text in a greater context and the effects of a passage on the reader. Furthermore, at such a level of analysis, you may notice a difference between a text's overt and covert messages.



Analyze elements such as theme and the ethical stance or moral values of literary texts.

Analyzing literary texts is like deciphering codes. Although writers are not always aware of the implications and meanings of their own texts, we want to try to make interpretations. "What does the author stand for?" is one question that you will inadvertently address while analyzing literary texts. Furthermore you may find yourself asking: "What is the author's intention?" "How does he or she view the world?" Often, you can find answers when studying texts in depth.



Understand and make appropriate use of literary terms.

When analyzing literary texts, one needs to understand the mechanics of fiction and poetry. One question we should ask is: "What kinds of devices do writers make use of to convey a message or express a sentiment?" Identifying literary devices however, is only the beginning. One needs to go further and ask "What are the effects of these devices on the reader?"


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