A/L English

Advanced Certificate Course in English for G.C.E A/L students – Exam preparation course for G.C.E A/L English Language paper.

The Advanced Certificate Course in English has been developed in response to the growing demand for specialized preparation for the G.C.E A/L General English paper. The Advanced Level examination is a significant milestone for the students aiming to pursue higher education or embark on professional careers where English proficiency is essential.
However, many students face challenges in achieving the required level of language competence across all four skills.

Recognizing this need, the course aims to bridge the gap by providing a comprehensive and structured curriculum that aligns closely with the Advanced Level English Language syllabus. It is designed to address the specific English language requirements and challenges faced by students at this level, enabling them to excel in examination and beyond.

The course content is carefully curated to expose students to a variety of authentic materials such as literary texts, academic articles and contemporary media. This diverse range of resources provides students with exposure to different genres, writing styles and linguistics complexities, preparing them to handle the linguistics demand of the Advanced level examination.

Furthermore, the course integrates interactive and engaging activities that encourage active participation and practice of the language within the classroom. The students will engage in pair work, group discussions, debates and presentations, allowing them to apply their language skills and build confidence in using English effectively.

By providing a focused and comprehensive preparation program, the Advanced Certificate Course in English aims to empower students with linguistics tools to and confidence they need to face the General English paper in G.C.E A/L examination. The course not only facilitates success in the examination but also fosters lifelong language skills that will benefits students in their future academic pursuits and professional endeavors.

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Course Objectives

To prepare the students to face the General English paper in the G.C.E A/L examination with confidence and achieve higher grades.
To Strengthen student’s ability to communicate in English through extensive practice in speaking and writing.
To improve critical thinking and analytical skills of the students.
To expand vocabulary and language proficiency.
To cultivate English language confidence and fluency.

Expected Outcomes

Students will be well prepared for the General English paper in G.C.E A/L examination, equipped with necessary language skills and strategies to excel in the exam.
Students will demonstrate enhanced proficiency across all four language skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Students will develop advanced critical thinking and analytic skills enabling them to analyze, evaluate and interpret complex information.
Students will exhibit effective communication skills, utilizing advanced vocabulary, grammar and language conventions,
Students will gain a broader cultural and global awareness through exposure to divers texts and discussions.

Course Details

To whom – For students in Grade 12/ 13
For students who have completed the Certificate course in English for Grade 11
Duration – Eight months/ 32 weeks (64 hours)
Duration – Two-hour class per week (weekday/weekend)
Flexible class time for everyone
Audio labs facilities for speaking and listening activities
Well-qualified panel of lecturers.
Special attention to students in need.
A valuable certificate at the end of the course
Access to Pathway programs for higher studies

Course Outline

Grammar:

Verbs – Be verb/ Have
Nouns – Singular and Plural nouns
Adjectives/ Adverbs
Prepositions
Modal verbs
Sentence structures
Voice (Active voice, passive voice)
Reported speech
Conditionals
Tenses

Language skills:

Lessons are deigned prioritizing the four language skills (Listening, speaking, reading and writing) and address the performance standards in the curriculum.

Week	Lesson number	Lesson content	Language focus
Week 1/2/3	Lesson 1 Inspiring stories of success	Reading: 1. Introduction to Reading strategies – Skimming and scanning 2. “Real life Heroes” – Reading a collection of articles and record the information collected. Source - https://www.cbsnews.com/every day-heroes/. 3. Authentic material Reading - Reading a newspaper article about an inspiring story of a Sri Lankan and answering questions.	Verbs – Be verb/Have Nouns Sentence structures Vocabulary
		Writing: 1. Introduction to Paragraph writing. 2. “Personal success story” – Writing a paragraph about a personal success story using be verbs and have verbs to highlight the journey. 3. Writing activity – “Success Analysis” Selecting a success quote from a famous personality and writing a paragraph about its meaning and the lesson conveyed.
		Listening: 1. Introduction to listening strategies – Listening for gist 2. Listen to a dialogue and answering questions. 3. Authentic materials- Listening to an interview with a successful personality in Sri Lanka. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 7UVEbv98vkg
		Speaking: 1. “What does success mean to you?” – Class discussion. 2. “The person I admire the most” – speaking about an inspiring personality in life.
Week 4/5/6	Lesson 2 Unity in Diversity	Reading: 1. Reading – Identifying main ideas 2. Reading comprehension – Importance of living in harmony within diverse communities. 3. Authentic materials – reading blogposts about Living and Working in harmony and discussing main points. Source: https://www.kariwarbergblock.c om/living-and-working-in- harmony/ 4. Reading poems	Modal verbs Adjectives Simple present tense Present continuous tense Adverbs
		Writing: 1. Picture description 2. Pair work – Dialogue writing 3. Group work – designing a poster promoting unity and harmony within the Sri Lankan community.
		Listening: 1. Listening strategy – predicting the content. 2. Authentic material – Listening to news items and engaging in activities based on that. (Sri Lankan news)
		Speaking: 1. Benefits and challenges in living in harmony – Group discussion. 2. Role play – (Connect this activity with the writing activity no.2) 3. Sharing ideas on the topic “Importance of living in harmony at home.”
Week 7/8/9	Lesson 3 Relationships	Reading: 1. Reading strategy - Inferring meaning. 2. Reading comprehension 3. Authentic materials – Reading diary entries.	Simple past tense Present perfect tense Adverbs (cont.) Adjectives (cont.)
		Writing: 1. Narrative writing – Writing a story 2. Writing diary entries
		Listening: 1. Listening strategy – detecting signposts 2. Listening to day to day conversations. 3. Authentic materials – Listening to a radio program.
		Speaking: 1. Speaking about daily routine. 2. Sharing thoughts on an Unforgettable person in life. (or a memory) 3. Watching a short video clip and sharing ideas. Source: https://www.facebook.com/TheIndepen dentOnline/videos/these-children-were- asked-what-makes-you-two-different- via-cbeebies/10154980007441636/
Week 10/11/12	Lesson 4 English for life	Reading: 1. Reading – Identifying facts from opinions 2. Reading poems 3. Authentic reading – Reading notices	Future tense Prepositions Sentence structures (cont.)
		Writing: 1. Notice writing 2. Informal letter writing
		Listening: 1. Listening strategy – listening for specific information 2. Authentic materials - Listening to podcasts
		Speaking: 1. Debate – learning to express opinions, agree or disagree 2. “Fun ways to learn English” – Speaking activities
Week 13/14/15	Lesson 5 Building safer community	Reading: 1. Reading strategy - Understanding topics 2. Reading comprehension 3. Reading much longer paper articles	Reported speech Vocabulary Prepositions (cont.)
		Writing: 1. Describing graphs 2. Story writing
		Listening: 1. Listening strategy – inferring meaning. 2. Authentic materials - Listening to conversations
		Speaking: 1. Building up conversations relevant to specific situations given.
Week 16/17/18	Lesson 6 Virtual Space	Reading: 1. Reading strategy – Introduction to Extensive and Intensive reading 2. Authentic materials - Reading Formal letters and emails	Conditionals Conjunctions Tenses - revision
		Writing: 1. Formal letter writing.
		Listening: 1. Introduction to note taking. 2. Listening to a presentation and taking down notes.
		Speaking: Presentation skills.
Week 19/20/21	Lesson 7 Navigating the modern world of Learning	Reading: 1. Reading academic articles and identifying features of an academic article. 2. Reading about different universities in Sri Lanka and in the world.	Passive voice Reported speech (Cont.)
		Writing: 1. Essay writing.
		Listening: 1. Listening to an online lecture and initiating a discussion based on the lecture. 2. Listening to conversations.
		Speaking: 1. Speaking about future plans in education. 2. Role play
Week 22/23/24	Lesson 8 Communication in the business world.	This lesson needs to be designed to address the language requirement in the business context. Reading: Reading job advertisements/applications and CVs.	Vocabulary Interrogatives
		Writing: CV writing Writing covering letters
		Listening: Listening to job interviews and identifying the type of questions asked and the answers given.
		Speaking: Practicing to face job interviews.
Week 25/26/27	REVISION
Week 28/29/30	PAST PAPERS
Week 31/32	Final Evaluation ( Oral/ listening test and Final paper)

Final Evaluation

To assess the student’s understanding and mastery of the course materials, final evaluation will be conducted using dual assessment approach; final paper and oral and listening test.

Final paper – 60 marks
Oral and listening test – 40 marks

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