AS and A Level · Years 12-13
A Level English Language tutors
Shifts towards linguistic analysis: language change, acquisition, discourse and register, with a substantial coursework element. Students who enjoyed English at IGCSE for the literature sometimes find this analytical turn unexpected.
- USD 28-34 per hour
- One-to-one, online
- Free 1-hour trial class
What AS and A Level actually demands
Three or four subjects studied in real depth, and the grades universities actually offer against. The jump from IGCSE is larger than most students expect: questions stop testing one topic at a time and start combining several.
Reading comprehension, directed writing and composition. The marks are technical (for structure, register and controlled accuracy) which is why a student who reads widely and writes fluently can still sit at a grade 6.
Where A Level English Language students lose marks
- Comprehension answers that quote at length instead of selecting and explaining the relevant detail
- Directed writing in the wrong register or format for the audience specified
- Analysis of language features that names the device and never explains its effect
- Repeated small accuracy errors (tense, article, preposition) that cap the mark regardless of content
Is this the right subject at this level?
Every student takes some form of it, and it matters most for those writing in English as an additional language who have the ideas and lose marks on precision and register. It also suits strong readers whose grade has plateaued because nobody has shown them what the mark scheme is actually rewarding.
What it costs
USD 28-34 per 60-minute one-to-one lesson at AS and A Level, the same rate in every city we teach in. Billed monthly against lessons actually taught, with no prepaid blocks and no minimum commitment.
Paired lessons (2 students) are USD 20-24 per student. Small group lessons (up to 6 students) are USD 14-17 per student. What each format is good for is here.
How we teach it
One-to-one, online, with a shared whiteboard. The first thing we establish is the exact syllabus the student is entered for: schools do not always publish the version they actually enter, and preparing for the wrong paper structure wastes a term.
After that the work is diagnostic: a past paper under timed conditions, marked together against the published scheme, to find out where the marks are genuinely going. That is almost always more useful than covering the syllabus again more slowly. The full process is here.
English Language: questions parents ask
My child reads constantly but the English grade is average. Why?
Because the marks are technical rather than literary. Comprehension answers must select and explain rather than quote at length, directed writing must match the register and format specified, and repeated small accuracy errors cap the mark regardless of how good the ideas are.
What is the difference between First Language and Second Language English?
They are separate syllabuses with different papers and different expectations. Students are sometimes entered for the one that suits them least, so confirming which one your child is actually sitting is worth doing before any preparation starts.
How do you fix analysis that just names techniques?
By always adding the effect. Identifying a metaphor earns almost nothing; explaining what that specific word choice does to the reader is the whole mark. It is a quick habit to build once a student sees it in a mark scheme.