English Literature and Language

Literature and Language - in all its creative diversity - is an expression of who we are as human beings. It is how we understand, express and share our experience of the world. Learning about literature and language promotes intercultural understanding: the ability to understand contexts beyond our own, and to empathise with people from different backgrounds. The study of literature and language cultivates the skills of interpretation, analysis and evaluation needed to be a critical reader, and the communicative competencies required to be a creative producer of texts in their many, varied shapes and forms. 

• Gain linguistic proficiency, fluency and range in order to become an effective communicator

• Develop empathy, compassion and respect for others by experiencing stories of different times, places and perspectives

• Explore different text types to develop critical literacy in a digital age

• Foster creativity to express thought, feelings and imagination 

• Explore the connections between languages and cultures 

• Cultivate effective reading habits and inspire a lifelong love of reading

• Develop the specialist knowledge needed to understand and critically appreciate literature and language

Through interrelated literary and linguistic units of study, students will explore contemporary and classic works from different times, contexts and genres, with a range of global, universal issues. The programme includes exposure to a wide range of text types, including media, film and graphic novels, and students will develop an understanding of how language, culture and context influence the ways in which meaning is constructed. Exploring challenging works helps students to confront complex topics, whilst the wide range of media texts will increase critical literacy in a digital age defined by information, misinformation and disinformation. Students will have the opportunity to develop their written skills, both academic and creative. By experiencing works that are serious and funny, ancient and innovative, provocative and moving, students will learn to think critically and creatively about their interaction with texts, as readers, thinkers and writers.

Grade 9

Unit 1: Global Voices: How Do We Tell Stories, And Why?

Since humans could speak, stories have been used to unite people, and now, more than ever, writers share their stories between cultures in a more global society. This narrative unit is focused on how writers explore identity and tell (often autobiographical) powerful stories in unusual and evocative ways. We begin with a range of short stories, including a series of vignettes from the novella The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. We explore the ways in which writers use the elements of narrative in a variety of inventive ways to engage, entertain and, sometimes, surprise readers. This leads to an in-depth study of a contemporary novel (this year, we studied The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini), where students can apply their learning to a more complex, extended narrative. They will explore the ways in which texts and language are shaped by their sociocultural and political contexts, while appreciating the role personal and cultural perspectives play in our own responses to literature. Throughout the unit, students will develop an appreciation for the ways in which writers develop empathy for characters and situations through storytelling, raising ideas that are both universal and culturally specific.

Unit 2: Stories That Matter: News And Non-fiction

Which stories do – and do not – make 'the news'? Who decides which stories matter and why? Who funds the news and why is it important to know that? How do we know what to believe in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and the rapidly developing power of AI?  Students learn to become critical consumers as they investigate the ways in which non-fiction writers such as journalists, editorialists, and documentarians tell the stories of others, and communicate with their audiences. Through reading and watching different types of articles, reports and podcasts from a range of current news and mass media sources, in addition to developing their own writing, students will gain an understanding of the responsibilities writers may (or may not) have to their readers, as producers of information and mediators of meaning. Students will have the opportunity to meet and interview professional writers and film-makers about their work, in addition to interviewing a range of people with stories to tell. Through comparative analysis of texts, students will examine the tensions in non-fiction writing, questioning how creative choices impact the representation of truth and the credibility of reporting in our world today.

Unit 3: When Words Aren't Enough: Exploring Visual Representation

When are words not enough to tell stories?  As technology gives storytellers increasingly creative ways to share, narrate, and communicate ideas about our human experiences, we examine the ways in which photographers, visual artists and graphic writers creatively use images, from the photorealistic to the abstract, to explore socially and politically potent issues. Students will have opportunities to develop an appreciation for the critical role a reader's mind and experiences play when inferring meaning from image-based narratives, and an understanding of the interplay between written and visual language. They will be introduced to classic works of graphic memoir – Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Maus by Art Spiegelman – and draw upon knowledge and understanding of the elements of narrative from Unit 1, and the ways in which writers represent real, historical events and human experience from Unit 2, to consider how, and why, these are considered to be seminal works in modern literature. 

Grade 10

Unit 1: Language and Power: The Art of Rhetoric

Great orators know how to harness and disrupt lyrical, linguistic symmetry to win an audience's attention. History has shown us that language has the power to spark revolutions, form new democracies, transform social values, and win human rights battles. Similar linguistic strategies are used to promote corporate campaigns, sell goods, and form brand allegiance. Beginning with what makes an argument effective, students will learn about the Aristotelian 'modes of appeal', and move beyond these to recognise a diverse range of persuasive, rhetorical techniques, consider their effects, and evaluate their possible influence. They will critically analyse the rhetorical features of famous speeches, identifying persuasive linguistic elements and different modes of address. Students will then critically explore a contemporary mass media campaign promoting a social or political cause, considering the ways in which different types of media can evoke a range of responses in audiences across different contexts.

Unit 2: The Versatility Of Verse: Poetic Form Through The Ages

In this unit, we build on our knowledge of verse, learning more about poetry's historic journey in order to appreciate the varied manifestations of this aesthetic form, and how it has evolved over two thousand years. We appreciate how poets use this art form to innovate new ways of seeing and understanding our emotional and relational experiences to each other, our selves, and our environment  We will also develop an understanding of how and why a diverse range of poets over time have innovated - and continue to innovate - the poetic form. 

Unit 3: Playful Plagiarism: Studying Shakespeare

Can any work of art be truly 'original'? Shakespeare borrowed most of his ideas from historical texts or poetry, yet his work is still considered to be amongst the most innovative and inventive in the English language. We will focus in depth on the works of Shakespeare (starting with his sonnets, and then a detailed exploration of either 'Romeo and Juliet' or Macbeth), examining the ways in which he borrowed inspiration from other storytellers in creating his own. Not only will we appreciate works that have an extensive history, we will consider the ways in which these works have been adapted and re-told for different audiences and contexts over the past 450 years. 

The course encourages critical appreciation of both challenging literary and non-literary texts through close analysis and interpretation, while inviting students to explore the relationship between literature and life on a personal level. Students also develop an ability to respond to works in a variety of formal, academic and creative ways, developing their confidence in speaking and listening, an ability to write with skillful originality for different audiences and purposes, and a capacity for close stylistic analysis. Students develop an ability to become critical readers and thinkers, interacting with a range of texts in varied ways, including questioning, reflecting and making connections, and identifying and engaging with implied meaning. Students learn the importance of researching, planning, drafting and redrafting as part of the writing process, and learn the conventions of formal writing and a range of text types. 

Assessments will vary in their form and purpose, including portfolio work, essays and creative writing, formal discussion and presentations, interdisciplinary projects and end-of-year timed examinations. Several of the summative assessments are direct preparation for the assessment demands of the IB Diploma Programme, whilst others allow for more individual and/or creative ways of demonstrating learning.