IGCSE First Language English (0500)
*NEW* Exclusive Learning Materials added (see below)
Suggested Textbooks
- Gould,M., Dunn, G., Brindle, K., Eddy, S. (2011) Cambridge IGCSE English Student Book ISBN 978 0007430925
- Cox, M. (2010) First Language English IGCSE (3rd Ed.) Coursebook ISBN 978 0521743594
- Cox,M. (2010) First Language English IGCSE (3rd Ed.) Workbook ISBN 978 0521743624
- Cox, M. (2010) Camridge IGCSE First Language English Teacher's Resource Book with CD-Rom ISBN 978 0521743693
- Barr,I. & Reynolds, J. (2005) IGCSE English ISBN 9780340889176
- Inson, P (2011) Heinemann IGCSE English – First Language Student Book with Exam Café CD ISBN 978 0435991180
- Hubbard, J. & Reynolds, J. (2005) IGCSE Study Guide for First Language English ISBN 978 0719579004
CIE will update the suggested resources from time to time, so check the website athttp://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-first-language-0500/support-material/
[You do not need all the textbooks, but having at least one book that is CIE-endorsed will be helpful]
Syllabus
To have most success at passing CIE examinations, it is important to read the syllabus for the year in which the student is taking the examination. It can be accessed on the CIE website at
http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-first-language-0500/
CIE Past Papers
1. Past papers for IGCSE First Language English can be obtained from the CIE website under the specific subject at
http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-first-language-0500/past-papers/
There are examiners’ reports, question papers and marking schemes for one of the previous year’s exam sessions.
2. If you want more past papers, go to the CIE website and click on the publications tab. There are usually three years' worth of past papers, examiners' reports and marking schemes. For minimal cost, you get a CD-Rom with all the papers in your specific subject. Check here for the latest publications catalogue:
http://www.cie.org.uk/profiles/teachers/orderpub
Learner Guide (CIE Student Website)
The CIE Student website has a PDF document on English Language. This could be helpful for students or for teachers to reference. It is available here:
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/learner_guide_for_igcse_first_language_english.pdf
(I checked this link and it is still working in 2013. Download it before it goes away!)
Websites
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Aimed at students, this free site has plenty of grammar and language exercises.
http://www.englishplus.com/grammar/
Aimed at students, or it can be modified by teachers, this free site explains the rules of English grammar and usage.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree
There are plenty of examples of argumentative and discursive writing to view on this newspaper’s website. It can be used by students to get a flavour of how to argue or discuss a topic logically and coherently.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/
Though this website is aimed at GCSE rather than CIE IGCSE students, it has many useful exercises and activities that students can work through on their own, or as part of revision.
http://www.gcse.com/english/
Another site that can easily be accessed and understood by students, this GCSE website can help consolidate knowledge or can be used for revision purposes for technical aspects of English Language.
http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/
This GCSE and A Level site is worth looking at by students, and is full of information that can be used for specific purposes such as tips on how to write effectively to revision for the exams.
http://www.studygs.net/
Study Guides and Strategies have a wide variety of topics to help students or to supplement teachers’ notes.
http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm
This is a useful resource for students and teachers to define literary vocabulary.
http://www.virtualsalt.com/litterms.htm
This is similar to the reference resource above, with hundreds of literary terms defined, with examples.
http://www.explorewriting.co.uk/
This site has been written by professional writers, and can be a very useful site for the ablest students, or to supplement teachers’ notes.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
This online writing lab from Purdue University has a wealth of resources for the writing process, subject-specific writing, and English as a second language, etc. There are also specific exercises for students.
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/
This American resource is filled with study guides, professional resources for teachers, or suggestions for student reading – it is well worth a visit.
www.geoffbarton.co.uk
The teacher, Geoff Barton, has provided free resources for teachers and worksheets for IGCSE and A Level students. The site can be used for teachers’ notes or can be assessed by the students, especially for revision purposes.
http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/
This site of Andrew Moore’s is very comprehensive for English Language and Literature. It is not specifically aimed at the CIE syllabus, but it is a useful reference site for teachers and students.
www.grammarbook.com
I really enjoy going back to this valuable resource. If you are ever unsure about a particular grammar point, check this resource out. It is useful for both teachers and students.
http://www.writtensound.com/index.php
This is an onomatopoeia dictionary, and is easy to dip into. Who knew that potato-potato-potato was the sound of a failing motorcycle engine?
http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/
If you are a teacher trying to find worksheets to explain a particular language concept, Mr. Morton has created plenty of free material. Have a look for specific content before delving in, as this is not an IGCSE website (but still worth a look).
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
Whenever I am working on a document, I will have this tab open so that I can check the spelling, meaning and synonyms of a word. The only excuse for spelling mistakes in typed documents is human error or ineptitude. (I also use the search 'define' followed by the word in search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo).
http://www.esldesk.com/
This is a website for students of English as a second language - so it is written to be easily understood and to cover almost all the idiosyncrasies of the English Language! If in any doubt about conjunctions, for example, this may be a helpful website.
www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/index.html
Sometimes you can just get stuck on a word and you don't know how to use it. This cheerful resource can be used by students who want to check usage of a word or phrase.
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
Common Errors in English Usage - what a great site. You can scroll down to the word that is causing you confusion and find the correct
Exclusive Learning Materials
Although I usually only offer tutorials for English Language (because best results are achieved with direct communication with students), I really would like to add this unit on Technical Skills as a resource. There are 6 presentations (PDF files), to give basic guidance of the essential technical skills you will need to improve the standard and quality of English Language (for the exams and beyond).
igcse_eng_lang_grammar.pdf
Download File
igcse_eng_lang_paragraphs.pdf
Download File
igcse_eng_lang_punctuation.pdf
Download File
igcse_eng_lang_spelling.pdf
Download File
igcse_eng_lang_summary.pdf
Download File
igcse_eng_lang_vocabulary.pdf
Download File
Another resource that may be useful is this document on Poetry Analysis. Again, I believe best results are achieved through direct tutorials, as it is sometimes hard to wrap your head around poetry analysis. Nonetheless, I would like to offer this document to others - if it helps, great!
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/igcse_and_a_level_poetry_analysis_student_resource_fc.pdf
Please give me feedback to let me know if any of the resources have been useful to you, either by contacting me at [email protected] or through the Facebook Page.
IGCSE English Literature (0486)
*NEW* Exclusive learning material added (scroll down)
English Literature is a complicated syllabus, as there are many texts to choose from. The texts and choices are listed below for 2014 and 2015, but please go to the syllabus for the year that you will be taking the examinations and make sure you know what to cover in the course and for the exam papers.
2014 exams:
Paper 1: Open Books - Poetry
The two choices for poetry are either Thomas Hardy’s selected poems, or an anthology of 19th and 20th century poems from ‘Songs of Ourselves’. In either book, there are several poems for the candidates to read. The books are noted first, followed by the selected poems:
- Selected Poems (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hardy ISBN 978-0140433418
The selected poems are:
Neutral Tones
‘I Look into My Glass’
Drummer Hodge
The Darkling Thrush
On the Departure Platform
The Pine Planters
The Convergence of the Twain
The Going
The Voice
At the Word ‘Farewell’
During Wind and Rain
In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’
No Buyers: A Street Scene
Nobody Comes
- Songs of Ourselves: The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Poetry in English, (2005) Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 978-8175962484
The selected poems are:
Sujata Bhatt, ‘A Different History’
Gerard Manley Hopkins, ‘Pied Beauty’
Allen Curnow, ‘Continuum’
Edwin Muir, ‘Horses’
Judith Wright, ‘Hunting Snake’
Ted Hughes, ‘Pike’
Christina Rossetti, ‘A Birthday’
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘The Woodspurge’
Kevin Halligan, ‘The Cockroach’
Margaret Atwood, ‘The City Planners’
Boey Kim Cheng, ‘The Planners’
Norman MacCaig, ‘Summer Farm’
Elizabeth Brewster, ‘Where I Come From’
William Wordsworth, ‘Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’
Paper One: Open Books – Prose
Candidates have quite a choice of books to read from the following novels, as well as a selection of short stories from Stories of Ourselves :
Tsitsi Dangarembga Nervous Conditions
Anita Desai Fasting, Feasting
Kiran Desai Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
George Eliot Silas Marner
Susan Hill I’m the King of the Castle
Stories of Ourselves: The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Short Stories in English Cambridge University Press (2008), ISBN-13: 978-0521727914
The following ten stories have been selected for candidates:
6 Thomas Hardy, ‘The Son’s Veto’
12 Katherine Mansfield, ‘Her First Ball’
14 V.S. Pritchett, ‘The Fly in the Ointment’
15 P.G. Wodehouse, ‘The Custody of the Pumpkin’
20 Graham Greene, ‘The Destructors’
27 R.K. Narayan, ‘A Horse and Two Goats’
29 Ted Hughes, ‘The Rain Horse’
38 Morris Lurie, ‘My Greatest Ambition’
42 Ahdaf Soueif, ‘Sandpiper’
46 Penelope Fitzgerald, ‘At Hiruhamara’
Paper One: Open Books – Drama
Candidates have a choice of four plays to read for the examinations:
Arthur Miller, All My Sons
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
Paper Three: Unseen
There are two questions on this paper although candidates only have to answer one of them. Usually one question is based on a passage of literary prose (an extract from a short story or novel, for example) and the other question is usually based on a poem or an extract from a poem. There are no set texts for this paper.
[FYI: Though many books are offered in the syllabus, the student can narrow down the choices for examination if he/she wishes. Many schools make the choices for the students; the advantage private candidates have is that they usually have time to read all books through before narrowing down their choices based on their interests. This is how I tackled the IGCSE English Literature syllabus for the private candidates that I have taught. Many of the classic texts can be borrowed from the local library, and some of the poetry is freely available on the Internet.]
In addition to the selected books for the syllabus, there are a few CIE-endorsed books to help teachers with English Literature:
Carey, R (2011) Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English ISBN 978-0521136105
Carey, R (2012) Cambridge IGCSE Literature: Teacher’s Resource ISBN 978-1107637054
CIE will update the list of suggested resources from time to time, so check the website at
http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-literature-0486/support-material/?currentpage=4&resultsperpage=10&order=title|asc
2015 exams:
There is a change in the exams that can be taken in 2015. Private candidates will take Paper 1 (poetry and prose) AND EITHER Paper 2 (drama) OR Paper 3 (drama) AND Paper 4 (unseen texts). [that is 1+2 or 1+2+3]
Paper One -Poetry and Prose
The choices for poetry are either Thomas Hardy’s selected poems, or two separate anthologies from either 'Poems Deep and Dangerous' or from ‘Songs of Ourselves’. In each book, there are several poems for the candidates to read. The candidate will answer on one set text in this section. The books are noted first, followed by the selected poems:
- Selected Poems (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hardy ISBN 978-0140433418
Neutral Tone
‘I Look into My Glass’
Drummer Hodge
The Darkling Thrush
On the Departure Platform
The Pine Planters
The Convergence of the Twain
The Going
The Voice
At the Word ‘Farewell’
During Wind and Rain
In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’
No Buyers: A Secret Scene
Nobody Comes
- Selected Poems from Jo Phillips, ed. Poems Deep & Dangerous ISBN 978-0521479905
These are the following 14 poems (from Section 4 ‘One Another’):
John Clare, ‘First Love’
Matthew Arnold, ‘To Marguerite’
Elizabeth Jennings, ‘One Flesh’
Christina Rossetti, ‘Sonnet’ (‘I wish I could remember that first day’)
William Shakespeare, ‘Shall I Compare Thee…?’
Elma Mitchell, ‘People Etcetera’
Simon Armitage, ‘In Our Tenth Year’
William Shakespeare, ‘The Marriage of True Minds’
Seamus Heaney, ‘Follower’
Michael Laskey, ‘Registers’
Chris Banks, ‘The Gift’
Liz Lochhead, ‘Laundrette’
Liz Lochhead, ‘Poem for My Sister’
Patricia McCarthy, ‘Football After School’
- Selected poems from Songs of Ourselves, Part 4 (Poems from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries) ISBN-13: 978-8175962484
The following 14 poems are:
Sujata Bhatt, ‘A Different History’
Gerard Manley Hopkins, ‘Pied Beauty’
Allen Curnow, ‘Continuum’
Edwin Muir, ‘Horses’
Judith Wright, ‘Hunting Snake’
Ted Hughes, ‘Pike’
Christina Rossetti, ‘A Birthday’
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘The Woodspurge’
Kevin Halligan, ‘The Cockroach’
Margaret Atwood, ‘The City Planners’
Boey Kim Cheng, ‘The Planners’
Norman MacCaig, ‘Summer Farm’
Elizabeth Brewster, ‘Where I Come From’
William Wordsworth, ‘Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’
For prose, the candidates have to answer on one text from the following texts:
- Jane Austen Northanger Abbey
- Tsitsi Dangarembga Nervous Conditions
- Anita Desai Fasting, Feasting
- Helen Dunmore The Siege
- George Eliot Silas Marner
- Susan Hill I’m the King of the Castle
- Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
- from Stories of Ourselves : The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Short Stories in English ISBN-13: 978-0521727914
no. 6 Thomas Hardy, ‘The Son’s Veto’
no. 12 Katherine Mansfield, ‘Her First Ball’
no. 14 V.S. Pritchett, ‘The Fly in the Ointment’
no. 15 P.G. Wodehouse, ‘The Custody of the Pumpkin’
no. 20 Graham Greene, ‘The Destructors’
no. 27 R.K. Narayan, ‘A Horse and Two Goats’
no. 29 Ted Hughes, ‘The Rain Horse’
no. 38 Morris Lurie, ‘My Greatest Ambition’
no. 42 Ahdaf Soueif, ‘Sandpiper’
no. 46 Penelope Fitzgerald, ‘At Hiruhamara’
Paper 2 - DramaCandidates must answer on two different set texts from the following choices:
- Arthur Miller All My Sons
- J.B. Priestley An Inspector Calls
- William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice
- William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- William Shakespeare The Tempest
- Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest
Paper 3 - Drama
Candidates must answer on two different set texts from the following choices:
- Arthur Miller All My Sons
- J.B. Priestley An Inspector Calls
- William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice
- William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- William Shakespeare The Tempest
- Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest
Paper 4 - unseen
There are two questions on this paper although candidates only have to answer one of them. Usually one question is based on a passage of literary prose (an extract from a short story or novel, for example) and the other question is usually based on a poem or an extract from a poem. There are no set texts for this paper.
Syllabus
To have most success at passing CIE examinations, it is important to read the syllabus for the year in which the student is taking the examination. It can be accessed on the CIE website at
http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-literature-0486/
CIE Past Papers
1. Past papers for IGCSE English Literature can be obtained from the CIE website under the specific subject at
http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-literature-0486/past-papers/
There are examiners’ reports, question papers and marking schemes for one of the previous year’s exam sessions.
2. If you want more past papers, go to the CIE website and click on the publications tab. There are usually three years' worth of past papers, examiners' reports and marking schemes. For minimal cost, you get a CD-Rom with all the papers in your specific subject. Check here for the latest publications catalogue:
http://www.cie.org.uk/profiles/teachers/orderpub
Websites
http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm
Created by Robert Harris, PhD, this site gives definitions and explanations for literary terms. A useful reference tool for student and teacher.
http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/default.htm
This site is aimed at students/teachers following examination boards other than CIE, so is not as specific as other sites. It is still a helpful resource, especially under the GCSE English Literature section.
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/
This database of UK and Commonwealth authors gives profiles about selected authors and so provides some background reading about each author.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REVenglish.htm
Spartacus is a great resource to find websites. There are several named websites that can be used as resources or references, and other sites even offer free lesson plans. Worth a look for teachers.
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/studentsHome.do
Background information on some of the selected poets, for students. There is not too much to read, so alongside the CIE notes on the poetry anthology, this can get the students thinking about the poetry.
http://www.geoffbarton.co.uk/index.php
Resources for students and teachers on GCSE English. This is not a site specific to CIE examinations, but teachers can tailor it to suit the needs of the students. Worth looking through before sending students to the site, as there is so much here.
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/index.html#OnlineGuides
Comprehensive site, covering study guide and analysis of several of the selected texts. A good site for students or for teachers to sketch their own lesson plans. The teacher has put a lot of work into providing this free information to others.
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/index.html
This site has plenty of resources, and study guides, for a number of the selected texts.The study guide section links to SparkNotes, and Pink Monkey, two sites that have free overviews of countless pieces of literature.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/4/17/
This particular section on the OWL writing site is a reference/resource for writing about literature or poetry. There is quite a bit of information, so students should be guided specifically on this website. Alternatively, teachers can use this to help lesson plan or problem solve with general literature analysis and essay writing techniques.
http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/
This GCSE and A Level site is worth looking at by students, and is full of information that can be used for specific purposes such as tips on how to write effectively to revision for the exams.
http://www.studygs.net/
Study Guides and Strategies have a wide variety of topics to help students or to supplement teachers’ notes.
http://www.virtualsalt.com/litterms.htm
This is similar to the reference resource above, with hundreds of literary terms defined, with examples.
http://www.explorewriting.co.uk/
This site has been written by professional writers, and can be a very useful site for the ablest students, or to supplement teachers’ notes.
http://www.writtensound.com/index.php
This onomatopoeia online dictionary site is fun to have a look at, and may be a good reference tool for students and teachers. Who knew that potato-potato-potato was the sound of a poorly running motorcycle engine?
http://litnotes.co.uk/
This is aimed at other examination boards, but there are some useful resources here for teachers. I liked the notes on attitudes and values, on reading advertisements, and features of conversation - all gave me ideas on how to incorporate topics to consider with my literature students.
http://www.shmoop.com/literature/
One of the great literature sites. It has summaries of all kinds of literature, themes, character analysis, essay help and more. This study guide site is written in a way to appeal to the students that may want a touch of humour thrown into literary analysis. Many of my students have used this site in conjunction with the other two great sites, Cliffs Notes and Spark Notes
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature
Another of the great literature sites, with basically the same information found on Shmoop or Spark Notes. Not all the literature texts are found on all the sites, so it is worth doing some research. As you never want to plagiarise, it is useful to research material from all three study guide sites and look for patterns in what other people are saying about the texts. Do you agree with them? If so, write the ideas in your own words. If not, write your own interpretation of the literature and justify its validity.
http://www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/
The third great literature site, though not in third place. All three study guide sites are valuable learning tools alongside the literature texts. It is like having extra teachers or tutors to help you or give you a different perspective.
http://www.litcharts.com/
A great website and all the study guides are free downloads. I really appreciate others who are making it easy for students around the world to access quality literature guides.
Exclusive Learning Materials
Poetry Analysis
So, please have a look at this document on teaching poetry analysis:
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/igcse_and_a_level_poetry_analysis_student_resource.pdf
Let me know if you found it useful!
Analysed poems for CIE English Literature (0427)
Where Lies the Land, by Arthur Clough
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/cie_poem_where_lies_the_land_by_arthur_clough.docx
The Man With Night Sweats, by Thom Gunn
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/cie_poem_the_man_with_night_sweats_by_thom_gunn.docx
Rain, by Edward Thomas
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/cie_poem_rain_by_edward_thomas.docx
Any Soul to Any Body, by Cosmo Monkhouse
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/cie_poem_any_soul_to_any_body_by_cosmo_monkhouse.docx
The Bay, by James Baxter
/uploads/3/0/6/6/3066260/cie_poem_the_bay_by_james_baxter.docx