OxfordAQA International A-level English Language
Mapped from the board's own specification and signed off on 23 August 2026 by Lee Woods. January and May or June. Graded A* to E at A-level.
- Full scheme of work, lesson by lesson
- Lesson decks in the house template
- Knowledge organiser
- Retrieval grids
- Assessment pack with mark schemes
This specification offers alternative routes, marked route above, and a candidate is entered for one of them. The full curriculum price follows the route you pick: 7 topics on this one. Change the route and the price changes with it.
Structure
| Component | Time | Marks | Scaling | Weighting | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Language and context | 2h 00 | 50 | × 1.6 | 20% | Externally assessed |
| Unit 2: Language and society | 2h 00 | 50 | × 1.6 | 20% | Externally assessed |
| Unit 3: Language variation | 2h 00 | 50 | × 2.4 | 30% | Externally assessed |
| Unit 4a: Language exploration, written paper | 2h 30 | 50 | 30% | Externally assessed | |
| Unit 4b: Language exploration, language investigation | coursework | 50 | 30% | Teacher assessed and board moderated |
200 raw marks, scaled to 400 on the uniform mark scale, which also equates units sat in different series. Board stated. Alternative routes are shown indented; a candidate takes one of them, not both.
Routes
OxfordAQA International Advanced Subsidiary English Language, Units 1 and 2 only. The AS objective profile is not a scaled copy of the A-level profile. AO1 is 35 per cent at AS and 41 at A-level, and AO3 falls from 35 to 26
Assessment objectives
| Objective | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AO1 Methods, terminology, concepts and issuesDemonstrate understanding of methods, terminology, concepts and issues in English language | 4 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 41 |
| AO2 Shaping of meaningAnalyse how meanings are shaped in a range of texts and data | 6 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 33 |
| AO3 Using English in different waysDemonstrate the ability to use English in different ways | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 26 |
Component by component
Unit 1: Language and context
Section A: Understanding texts25 marks
One compulsory analysis of two texts linked by a common theme
Unseen paired texts. A single teachable unit
Section B: Directed writing25 marks
One directed writing task from a choice of two
Two unseen tasks in the paper. A single teachable unit
Unit 2: Language and society
Section A: Language and social groups, texts25 marks
One compulsory text analysis task on language and social groups
Compulsory analysis task. A single teachable unit
Section B: Language and social groups, writing25 marks
One compulsory writing task on language and social groups
Compulsory writing task. A single teachable unit
Unit 3: Language variation
Section A: Learning language25 marks
One question on language learning and development
Board named topic area. A single teachable unit
Section B: International English25 marks
One question on international varieties of English
Board named topic area. A single teachable unit
Unit 4: Language exploration, examined or non-examined
Candidates take either Unit 4a, the written paper, or Unit 4b, the language investigation
Unit 4a: Language exploration, written paper2h 30 · 50 marks · Externally assessed
Language exploration report50 marks
Investigate supplied data linked by a theme, then plan, analyse and write up a report
Supplied data, no sections. A single teachable unit
Unit 4b: Language exploration, language investigation50 marks · Teacher assessed and board moderated
Language investigation50 marks
A language investigation of 2500 to 3000 words on data the candidate collects
Candidate devised investigation. Any language focused topic is acceptable, so this is a method package rather than a topic package
What this specification changes about the package
- Raw marks go to a uniform mark scale: Units 1 and 2 by 1.6 to 80, Units 3 and 4 by 2.4 to 120. A second year mark is worth half as much again as a first year mark. Revision priority follows the uniform marks, not the raw ones
- Any unit may be resat any number of times within the shelf life, and the best result counts. The most permissive resit rule in the international set. Resit material has a standing market here
- Unit 4 is either a data based written paper or a 2500 to 3000 word language investigation. Two very different 30 per cent products: an exam technique package and a research methods package
- Any topic is acceptable for the investigation provided its focus is an aspect of language. The investigation package teaches method, question design and data collection, not content
- Six language levels underpin the whole specification: phonetics and phonology, lexis and semantics, grammar, pragmatics, discourse and graphology. A shared analytical toolkit that every unit draws on, so it is built once and reused across all four
- The AS objective profile is not a scaled copy of the A-level profile. AS material cannot simply be relabelled as A-level material. AO3 falls from 35 per cent to 26
- There are no set texts anywhere in the qualification. No rights exposure and no text list to maintain
- Board stated: for teaching and examination outside the United Kingdom. A hard market boundary the other two boards do not draw
How we know
- Specification read
- Version 5.2, International AS exams from May and June 2018, International A-level from May and June 2019, read from the board's own PDF. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- Sign-off
- Lee Woods, 23 August 2026. Map oxfordaqa-9670-v1.
- Currency
- Current. No revised specification is published for 9670
What this map does not hold
- entry codes. NOT EXTRACTED. The entries and codes section of the specification was not read into this map
- ao mark split. NOT BOARD STATED at question level. The board gives unit percentages only
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