Cambridge IGCSE English - First Language (US)

This syllabus is available only to Centers participating in the NCEE Excellence for All initiative in the USA. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (US) is designed for learners whose first language is English. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (US) learners develop the ability to communicate clearly, accurately and effectively in both speech and writing. They learn how to employ a wide-ranging vocabulary, use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation, and develop a personal style and an awareness of the audience being addressed. Learners are also encouraged to read widely, both for their own enjoyment and to further their awareness of the ways in which English can be used. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (US) also develops more general analysis and communication skills such as synthesis, inference, and the ability to order facts and present opinions effectively.

Aims of the Syllabus

The aims are to enable students to:
• Read a wide range of texts, fluently and with good understanding, enjoying and appreciating a variety of language
• Read critically, and use knowledge gained from wide reading to inform and improve their own writing
• Write accurately and effectively, using Standard English appropriately
• Work with information and with ideas in language by developing skills of evaluation, analysis, use, and inference
• Listen to, understand, and use spoken language effectively
• Acquire and apply a wide vocabulary, alongside a knowledge and understanding of grammatical terminology and linguistic conventions.

Subject Content

1. Reading
• Demonstrate understanding of written texts, and of the words and phrases within them
• Summarise and use material for a specific context
• Develop, analyse and evaluate facts, ideas and opinions
• Demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve their effects and influence readers
• Select appropriate information for specific purposes
• Recognise and respond to linguistic devices, figurative language and imagery.

In developing reading skills, candidates should engage with a range of genres and text types from the twentieth and/or twenty-first centuries, including literature, fiction and non-fiction, and other forms of writing, such as discursive essays, reviews and articles. This study should include focus on writers’ use of language and style and the ways in which writers achieve effects and influence readers. Students should study how influence may include fact, ideas, perspectives, opinions and bias.

2. Writing
• Express what is thought, felt and imagined
• Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively
• Demonstrate a varied vocabulary appropriate to the context
• Demonstrate an effective use of sentence structures
• Demonstrate an understanding of audience, purpose and form
• Demonstrate accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

As developing writers themselves, candidates should be introduced to a range of writing skills, including the ability to create and compose texts with a variety of forms and purposes, e.g. descriptive, narrative, discursive, argumentative and persuasive. This study should include focus on the following text types: letter, report, article, journal, speech, interview and summary.

3. Speaking and listening
• Describe and reflect on experience, and express what is thought, felt and imagined
• Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively
• Understand and convey complex ideas
• Communicate with clarity, focus and purpose
• Communicate appropriately for the context
• Engage appropriately in conversation.

Candidates should explore a range of speaking and listening skills, including the ability to participate in engaging conversations and to respond spontaneously to questions and prompts. This study should include focus on presentation skills in employing and organising content, and language devices, such as irony, tone and emphasis.

Objectives of Assessment

1. Reading
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to-

• Demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
• Demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
• Analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions, using appropriate support from the text
• Demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve effects and influence readers
• Select and use information for specific purposes.

2. Writing
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to-

• Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
• Organise and structure ideas and opinions for deliberate effect
• Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to context
• Use register appropriate to context
• Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar

3. Speaking and listening
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to-

• Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
• Present facts, ideas and opinions in a cohesive order which sustains the audience’s interest
• Communicate clearly and purposefully using fluent language
• Use register appropriate to context
• Listen and respond appropriately in conversation.

Assessment

Paper 1
2 hours
Reading 50%
80 marks
Structured and extended writing questions. Questions will be based on three reading texts. Externally assessed.

Component 2
Coursework Portfolio 50%
80 marks
Three extended writing assignments. Internally assessed and externally moderated.

Component 3
Approximately 10–12 minutes
Speaking and Listening Test 40 marks
Separately endorsed. Individual Talk and Conversation. Internally assessed and externally moderated.

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