Tuesday, 23 February 2016

Monday's lesson - Catch up

Everyone who was absent on Monday, please read:


On Monday we started looking at a new theorist who focuses on conversation, and we recorded ourselves having discussions in groups in order to analyse how you operate in a conversation. You will complete the recording when you are next in class. For now, you need to read the following PowerPoint and summarise the theory to ensure you have good, in-depth knowledge to refer to in your exam.

Please read the following PowerPoint, and summarise this on your blog:

Link to PowerPoint

Claudia

Monday, 15 February 2016

AS Language 15th Feb

Hi all, welcome back from your well earned break.

Today you're going to do some re-cap on language and gender (Paper 2) and look at how this can link with language and representation (Paper 1). When you're done, post all your notes on your blog for some handy revision.

Task 1: Read this link to familiarise yourself with some language and gender terminology.

Task 2: Find 3 (or more if you like) texts where gender is presented in a particular way. You can choose any text, for example looking at the way in which Roosh V represents men and women, and why people want him banned from the country. Similarly, you could look at the controversy surrounding Dapper Laughs etc. Or going for a different angle you could look at how the same product (razors/deodorant/pens/skincare etc) is marketed to men and women - what are the differences in the language used? Or go for popular culture, for example the debate over the adjective "bossy" to describe women. These are just suggestions so you could look at anything you like.

Task 3: Do some analysis of these texts on your blog; don't forget to apply as much terminology as you can. Look closely at the connotations of language choices that the text uses.

Good luck and have fun with this one, remember you can use any text you like so get creative!

Friday, 5 February 2016

A2 Language Change Lesson

Hi everyone!

Following on from yesterday's lesson when we talked about how words can undergo changes and the reasons for this, today I want you to do a mini investigation of your own into the changing of words.

Using the context for changing words (Americanisms, immigration, youthspeak etc.) and new terminology we learned yesterday and last week (amelioration, pejoration, broadening, narrowing etc.), develop the quick task we did at the end of yesterday's lesson, and pick a word that you think has undergone an interesting change (for example the word 'gay' has undergone pejoration, broadening, amelioration etc.). A good example for this one is the word 'tart' - you could start here to give you ideas, but I don't want 13 blog posts about this word, try to find your own.

To make this into a mini-investigation, start by asking a few members of the class how they would define that particular word, and record their answers.

Research all the different uses of that word (e.g. in idioms, collocations, slang uses, famous quotes, product names etc.) and write an entry on your blog exploring the uses of the word, and how usage can change meanings (using language change terminology).

Basically, write an explanation of the different uses of the word in different contexts (changes over time and changes of meaning in different phrases/places).

Any problems, ask me! And if you finish, I've got an extension for you :)

Have fun with this one!