English · Year 13

Active learning ideas

The Impact of Digital Communication: Lexis & Grammar

Active learning helps students confront the political and cultural weight of English’s global spread by moving beyond abstract discussion. When students analyze real case studies, debate ownership, and investigate core features, they see how language reflects power, identity, and adaptation in concrete ways.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• A-Level: English Language - Language Change
• A-Level: English Language - Language and Technology

• 45–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 60 min · Individual

Digital Discourse Analysis: Social Media Feed

Students select a week's worth of their own social media posts and comments. They then annotate these for examples of new lexis, acronyms, grammatical shifts, and emoji use, categorizing each instance and discussing its potential origin and function.

Analyze how the blurring of speech and writing in CMC has altered grammatical conventions.

Facilitation Tip

During Station Rotation, provide clear 5-minute timers for each case study to keep momentum and prevent groups from overanalyzing one example at the expense of others.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Lexical Innovation Workshop

In small groups, students brainstorm potential new words or phrases needed to describe emerging technologies or social phenomena. They then present their creations, justifying their etymology and predicted usage, simulating the process of neologism.

Explain the emergence of new lexical items and acronyms in digital communication.

Facilitation Tip

For the Structured Debate, assign roles (e.g., moderator, note-taker, timekeeper) to ensure every student participates actively and stays accountable.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 50 min · Whole Class

Grammar in CMC Debate

Organize a whole-class debate on the motion: 'Digital communication is leading to the breakdown of grammatical standards in English.' Students must research and present arguments supported by linguistic evidence from CMC.

Predict how digital platforms might influence future grammatical shifts.

Facilitation Tip

Use Collaborative Investigation to have students annotate the Lingua Franca Core document in real time, highlighting features that surprise them or challenge their assumptions.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Approach this topic by centering student voice and lived experience. Avoid framing English as a neutral tool; instead, emphasize how power, history, and culture shape its forms. Research shows that when students investigate their own digital language use, they better understand how language evolves. Ground discussions in specific examples rather than abstract rules.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying how World Englishes function in real contexts, questioning assumptions about correctness, and articulating the social implications of linguistic choices. They should be able to compare varieties and explain why no single version holds authority.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Station Rotation, watch for students labeling non-‘Inner Circle’ varieties as incorrect or inferior.

  Use the case study stations to explicitly compare grammatical and lexical features across Kachru’s Circles, asking students to describe how each variety serves its community’s needs rather than judging correctness.

• During Structured Debate, listen for students assuming the spread of English is purely beneficial.

  Direct the debate toward colonial legacies by providing historical context at each station or as part of the opening statements to remind students how English often replaced indigenous languages.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk