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 for the examination. These written papers are all you need to gain the IGCSE.
Cambridge Syllabus Exams up to 2029
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.
The only difference is the grade you will receive once you have taken the exams.
0990 is graded 9-1, 9 being the highest
0500 is graded A* to G, A* being the highest.
Cambridge Exams: June & November
Cambridge Study Hours: 130 Hours
English students will 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 IGCSE English First Language 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.
Cambridge Assessment
All candidates take two components.
Paper 1 Reading
2 hours
80 marks
Structured and extended writing questions
50% of grade
Paper 2 Directed Writing and Composition
2 hours
80 marks
Extended writing question and a composition task
50% of grade
Edexcel Syllabus
Edexcel Course Code(s): 4EA1
Edexcel Exams: June & November
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 IGCSE English Language 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.
Edexcel Assessment
All candidates take two components.
Paper 1: Non-fiction Texts and Transactional Writing
2 hours 15 minutes
90 marks
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. Total of 45 marks.
Section B: Transactional Writing – one 45-mark writing task, from a choice of two involving a given audience, form or purpose.
60% of the total International GCSE
Paper 2: Component 2: Poetry and Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing
1 hour 30 minutes
60 marks
Section A: Reading: one 30-mark essay question on a poetry or prose text from Part 2 of
the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology.
Section B: Imaginative Writing – one 30-mark imaginative writing task from a choice of three.
Students will be provided with the anthology text in the examination.
40% of the total International GCSE
