The language A: language and literature course introduces the critical study and interpretation of written and spoken texts from a wide range of literary forms and non literary text-types. The formal analysis of texts is supplemented by awareness that meaning is not fixed but can change in respect to contexts of production and consumption.

The course is organized into three areas of exploration and seven central concepts, and focuses on the study of both literary or non-literary texts. Together, the three areas of exploration of the course allow the student to explore the language A in question through its cultural development and use, its media forms and functions, and its literature. Students develop skills of literary and textual analysis, and also the ability to present their ideas effectively.

A key aim is the development of critical literacy. Students study four literary works from a representative selection of literary forms, periods and places. Students study a range (at least 4) of non-literary texts and bodies of work that include a wide variety of text-types. Students develop the techniques needed for the critical analysis of communication, becoming alert to interactions between text, audience and purpose. An understanding of how language, culture and context determine the construction of meaning is developed through the exploration of texts, some of which are studied in translation, from a variety of cultures, periods, text-types and literary forms.
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