Hattie Jones (Lower Sixth)

On Thursday 27th February, Sixth Form English Language students ventured to Euston for an EMC English Language conference. The day was packed from start to finish with talks from language experts about all aspects of the subject.

We began with an insightful lecture from Dr Erin Carrie about the astounding variety of accents that can be found within even small regions of the country. She also enlightened us as to the impact of this accent diversity, describing how social groups and identities can be enforced by the accent one has. This was succeeded by a talk from Professor Emma Moore about the unexpected benefits of improper grammar, followed by a fascinating lecture from Lane Greene about the huge linguistic development that is internet language. This was such a relevant talk, which sparked a lot of conversation between the girls who attended about whether the existence of the internet decreases our language quality or creates the basis for a whole new language entirely.

The penultimate talk from Dr Carmen Llamas, introduced us to some more challenging degree level concepts about the difference in vowel sounds in different areas of the country, which was highly informative. The day was concluded with the highly anticipated talk from language legend David Crystal. The crowd was buzzing as he took the stage and he educated us about a whole range of topics, focusing on the dramatic extent to which language has changed in the last few years alone.

Overall, the day allowed us to gain a much deeper insight into our A level topics; opening our mind to different perspectives of viewing language and extending our understanding of the impact language has on all aspects of life.

Mrs Hoar, English Teacher, said: “It was such a useful and interesting day enjoyed by all of us! An excellent additional learning experience to thoroughly enhance the girls' understanding of A Level English Language.”