Description
This IGCSE English First Language Course is ideal for anyone wishing to gain a knowledge and understanding of this subject. You will also find this course extremely valuable if you are looking for a progression route for further training whilst employed.
This course is only suitable for students whose native language is English and not for students whose mother tongue is another language.
As well as preparing you for the examinations, there is guidance on many of the basics of English Language including:
- Common errors
- Punctuation rules and conventions
- Spelling
- Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs
- Sentence structure
- Paragraphing
- Presentation of essays
For Both the Cambridge and Edexcel Exams you will not be required to complete coursework. We will be preparing you only for the examination options. These written papers are all you need to gain a IGCSE. No coursework is required.
Support
The course will be delivered online including Tutor Support for two years. All assignments are marked by one of our professional Tutors who will offer regular feedback and guide you through your course. Postal assignments cannot be accepted without prior permission from the tutor and you must have access to email in order to contact your Tutor.
Throughout your course, you'll have the support of a Tutor to guide you. Additionally, you can reach out to the Student Support Team for help with any other questions you may have. You can be assured that you will receive unlimited support for your home study course, so there is no need to struggle or feel isolated during your studies.
Assessment
The course contains a number of assignments which your tutor will mark and give you valuable feedback on. You will also have access to a range of online resources.
Students will be required to arrange and pay for their examinations at an approved centre when an examination forms part of the course. We can provide an extensive list of these centres for you.
Differences between Cambridge and Edexcel Exam boards.
Cambridge and Edexcel IGCSEs are international qualifications. Cambridge and Edexcel IGCSEs can be taken worldwide including the United Kingdom. Both exam boards offer a similar specification however different courses can have a different structure. Both the Cambridge and Edexcel courses are full International GCSE qualifications.
Fees
Course fees for payment in full include:
- Assessment and feedback on all assignments.
- Access to your personal Tutor via our online portal.
- Access to a range of online resources, student materials, assessments, assignments, eBooks etc
- Practice exam papers to prepare you for the real thing.
- Tutor references and predicted grades once a satisfactory amount of work has been completed.
- Help finding an exam centre for you to sit your exam
Cambridge
Cambridge Course Code(s):
IGCSE English First Language (9-1): 0990
IGCSE English first Language: 0500
(Please note, there is no difference in the course teachings for the two specifications, there only difference is the grade you will receive once you have taken the exams. 0990 is graded 9-1, 9 being the highest while 0500 is graded A* to G, A* being the highest.)
Cambridge Exams: June & November
Cambridge Study Hours: 130 Hours
This IGCSE English First Language Course is designed for learners whose first language is English. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English students develop the ability to communicate clearly, accurately and effectively in both speech and writing. You will learn how to employ a wide-ranging vocabulary, use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation, and develop a personal style and an awareness of the audience being addressed.
Cambridge Modules
Reading
- Demonstrate understanding of written texts, and of the words and phrases within them.
- Summarise and use material for a specific context.
- Develop, analyse and evaluate facts, ideas and opinions.
- Demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve their effects and influence readers.
- Select appropriate information for specific purposes.
- Recognise and respond to linguistic devices, figurative language and imagery.
In developing reading skills, candidates should engage with a range of genres and text types from the twentieth and/or twenty-first centuries, including literature, fiction and non-fiction, and other forms of writing, such as discursive essays, reviews and articles. This study should include focus on writers’ use of language and style and the ways in which writers achieve effects and influence readers. Candidates should study how influence may include fact, ideas, perspectives, opinions and bias.
Writing
- Express what is thought, felt and imagined
- Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively
- Demonstrate a varied vocabulary appropriate to the context
- Demonstrate an effective use of sentence structures
- Demonstrate an understanding of audience, purpose and form
- Demonstrate accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
As developing writers themselves, candidates should be introduced to a range of writing skills, including the ability to create and compose texts with a variety of forms and purposes, e.g. descriptive, narrative, discursive, argumentative and persuasive. This study should include focus on the following text types: letter, report, article, journal, speech, interview and summary.
Writing
- Express what is thought, felt and imagined
- Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively
- Demonstrate a varied vocabulary appropriate to the context
- Demonstrate an effective use of sentence structures
- Demonstrate an understanding of audience, purpose and form
- Demonstrate accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
As developing writers themselves, candidates should be introduced to a range of writing skills, including the ability to create and compose texts with a variety of forms and purposes, e.g. descriptive, narrative, discursive, argumentative and persuasive. This study should include focus on the following text types: letter, report, article, journal, speech, interview and summary.
Exam Papers:
Paper 1: Reading
Written examination: 2 hours
Availability: June and October
Assessment overview: Structured and extended writing questions. Questions will be based on three reading texts.
80 marks
50% of grade
Paper 2: Directed Writing and Composition
Written examination: 2 hours
Availability: June and October
Assessment overview: Extended writing question and a composition task
80 marks
50% of grade
Edexcel
Edexcel Course Code(s): 4EA1
Edexcel Exams: January and June
Edexcel Study Hours: 130 Hours
This IGCSE English Language Edexcel Course will enable you to read a wide range of texts fluently and with good understanding. You will also learn to read critically and use knowledge gained from wide reading to inform and improve your own writing.
You will learn how to write effectively and coherently using Standard English appropriately. Also this course will enable you to use grammar correctly, punctuate and spell accurately. For this specification, grades 9-1 are available.
Edexcel Modules
Non-fiction Texts and Transactional Writing
- The contemporary non-fiction texts from Part 1 of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology.
- Develop skills to analyse how writers use linguistic and structural devices to achieve their effects.
- Explore links and connections between writers’ ideas and perspectives.
- Develop transactional writing skills for a variety of purposes and audiences.
- Use spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately.
Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing
- The poetry and prose texts from Part 2 of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology.
- Develop skills to analyse how writers use linguistic and structural devices to achieve their effects.
- Develop imaginative writing skills to engage the reader.
- Use spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately.
Exam Papers
Paper 1: Non-fiction Texts and transactional Writing
Written examination: 2 hour 15 minutes
Availability: January and June
Assessment overview: Section A: Reading – a mixture of short- and long-answer questions related to a non- fiction text from Part 1 of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology and one previously unseen extract.
Section B: Transactional Writing – one 45-mark writing task, from a choice of two involving a given audience, form or purpose.
90 marks
60% of the total international GCSE
Paper 2: Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative writing.
Practical examination: 1 hour 30 minutes
Availability: June only
Assessment overview: consisting of four compulsory questions, each worth
20 marks. The sub questions are a mixture of multiple-choice, short-answer, data response and open-ended questions.
60 marks
50% of the total International GCSE
