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  • How to get a foot in the door at Oxbridge

    With the deadline of October 15 looming, it’s a crucial time for students applying to Oxford and Cambridge universities. They’ve got two days to fine-tune applications and little more than a month to prepare for the infamous Oxbridge interviews. For some parents, this time of year is the culmination of years of blood, sweat and […]

  • Should parents take their children out of school during school time?

    I argued on BBC Breakfast that they should not. I cited the example of ‘Katie’ (not the pupils’ real name) who had missed weeks of school because her parents were taking her out regularly of school during term time, going on cheap holidays. They lied to the school and said that she was ill. There […]

  • Should parents pay for solicitors to help them get the school of their choice?

    Emphatically not! You’re far better off reading a school’s admission criteria very carefully and reading books like my Working The System. A BBC investigation has revealed that parents are paying lawyers thousands of pounds to get into the school of their choice. I appeared on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio 5 Live and explained that […]

  • Teacher’s comments on two Romeo and Juliet essays on hatred

      Important note   TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS. Pupils’ work are in lower case. Essay 1     ‘This play is as much about hate, as it is about love.’ Analyse how the theme of hatred is explored in Shakespeare’s play, discussing how it is represented in the language of the play and could […]

  • ‘This play is as much about hate, as it is about love.’

    Analyse how the theme of hatred is explored in Shakespeare’s play, discussing how it is represented in the language of the play and could be presented dramatically.    Hate plays a pivotal role in the play. The long feud between the families (‘from ancient grudge’) and when individuals fight like Tybalt and Mercutio (‘Tybalt, you […]

  • Romeo and Juliet: To what extent does Shakespeare present Capulet as being to blame for the death of his daughter?

    A pupil’s essay with teacher comments TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS AND ITALICS Capulet’s character is very deceiving form the very beginning and Shakespeare makes it very clear at the end that both Capulets and Montague’s actions were to blame for the outcome as, “heaven found a means to kill your joys with love”. This […]

  • Romeo and Juliet: Pupil essay: Youth and Age. Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame?

    Youth and Age Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame? Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet were aided in their love. It was according to Romeo and Juliet love at first sight […]

  • Romeo and Juliet: PUPIL ESSAY: What do you think that Shakespeare is trying to say about the feud in this play?

    William Shakespeare tries to set a scene with two families that have pure hatred for each other. Right from the first scene he tries to introduce us to the conflicts between the Montagues and the Capulets. He tries to give us a sense that the feud has been going on for a long long time. […]

  • Romeo and Juliet: Exam questions on Romeo and Juliet for revision

    Romeo and Juliet essay questions1. To what extent do you think Mercutio and his death is to blame for the tragedy that ensues after his death? 2. Shakespeare’s presents fate as playing a vital part in the death of the lovers. To what extent does he convinces the audience that fate plays a central role […]

  • Romeo and Juliet: Exam questions on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with page references for quotes

    Exam questions on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with page references for quotesComplete some detailed plans of the following questions which are grouped around the key themes of the page, the page references give you an idea about where to find your key quote but you MUST find it for yourself! Youth And Age To what extent […]

  • Romeo and Juliet: Compare Romeo and Juliet’s different attitudes towards love in the play — a pupils essay with teacher comments

    TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS AND ITALICS Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet’s attitude towards love changes dramatically. Both of the characters at the end of the play are willing to die for each other in the name of love. At the beginning of the play we are introduced to Romeo and we are shown […]

  • Year 13: Useful websites for Child Language Acquisition

    Should you want further reading on language acquisition, these websites are very helpful and explain all the relevant hypotheses and theories:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition   http://home.cogeco.ca/~monicafitz/theories.htm   http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/ling001.html

  • Useful grammar exercises

    Log onto: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/exlist/exlist.htm

  • Social Contexts and Child Language Acquisition

    Read the following two articles from the Daily Telegraph and write about whether you think that children’s changing environment is affecting their language for better or worse. Use evidence from your own investigations and research. Teacher and class notes have been added in CAPITALS. Not on Speaking Terms: Why do many children lack basic language […]

  • Year 13: STUDENT ANSWER JUNE 2007 Question 1 Unit 6 — Child Language Acquisition

    Lexical Choice It appears that Ewan becomes a bit worried that he will cause Holy to drop out of their role play game, due to his aggressive tone. He repeats the proper noun ‘Holly’ in order to grab her attention and says the verb ‘playing’ once again using a declarative where he should be using […]

  • Revision questions for Language Acquisition Unit 6

    1. What are the Assessment Objectives for this subject? Summarise them briefly, and highlight the AO with the most marks.2. What aspects of the systematic framework do you have to use in this exam? Write out a list and say why they are important. 3. Why is it important to study Child Language Acquisition? 4. […]

  • Notes on Child Directed Speeches, Children’s grammar, theories of language acquisition

    Child-directed Speech • “Even four year olds adjust their language when speaking to a two year old. The way that adults talk to babies is similar to the way they talk to dogs. (Hirsh-Pasek and Treiman, 1982) • Child-directed speech aims to: 1. attract and hold the baby’s attention; 2. help the process of breaking […]

  • Exam Essay January 2004 AQA Spec B Unit 6 by HG. MODEL ANSWER

    1. The transcript has been set in both a domestic and a child’s play context, and the fact that the speakers involved are of a completely different linguistic capability due to age, makes the interactions all the more interesting. Although the playgroup assistant tries to address the children at the same level, using the same […]

  • Year 13: Language Acquisition � Frank Myszor: Framing questions about language acquisition

    • MLU – mean length of utterance – Roger brown 1969 Total number of morphemes Number of utterances Stage 1 – 1.1 – 2.0 Stage 2 – 2.0 – 2.5 Stage 3 – 2.5 – 3.0 Stage 4 – 3.0 – 3.5 Stage 5 – 3.5-4.0 Theories and the ages at which they are applicable: […]

  • Year 13: Key Terminology Quiz for A2, followed by answers

    1. What do we mean by the active and passive voices of verbs? Analyse these sentences in this regard. ‘I kicked the boy’. And ‘The boy was kicked by me’. What is the difference in tone and approach?2. What do we mean by the affix, suffix, and prefix of a word? 3. What does ‘amelioration’ […]