Dubai Harbor is among the most ambitious and striking recent developments in the emirate, a master-planned maritime destination carved into the coastline between Palm Jumeirah and Blue waters Island that has rapidly established itself as one of Dubai's most desirable waterfront addresses. Built by Meraas in 2018 and supported by the MENA area's biggest marina capable of housing more than 1,000 vessels, Dubai Harbor promises luxury apartments, shopping boutiques, the renowned Skydive Dubai drop zone and a cruise terminal for some of the largest cruise ships in the world directly to the heart of the community. It is perfectly situated at the heart of the intellectually curious and culturally sophisticated families, who have made Dubai Harbor their home. English Literature is far more than just a humanities option for students in this community, it is one of the most intellectually distinctive subjects taught in the British curriculum and a qualification that is valued as a strong indicator of students' analytical ability, argumentative clarity and true critical intelligence by universities globally. Amourion Training Institute's Jumeirah Lakes Towers center is just a 10-minute drive from Dubai Harbor. Dr. Anil Khare answers the questions that Dubai Harbor families bring to us most.
My child loves reading and genuinely enjoys literature but consistently underperforms in examinations. What is going wrong?
Dr. Anil Khare: This is the most consistently heart-wrenching pattern in A Level English Literature in which a student whose thinking is truly of a high quality but gets a result in his examination that is not related to the quality of his thinking. The reason for this is almost always the same: the difference between reading carefully and being able to write about it carefully and in the highly structured, argumentative style that is assessed by A Level mark schemes is far greater than that which most students and parents expect. Two different cognitive processes are involved which are loving and analyzing a text. Emotional response, general appreciation or even accurate knowledge of the text is not counted towards an A Level English Literature examination. It recognizes the development of a coherent critical argument which is a debatable interpretive claim that is supported with carefully selected textual evidence, analyzes the language with careful precision, and is placed within relevant critical and contextual frameworks. The foundation of all our sessions is the construction of this argumentative discipline, and it turns literary enthusiasm into examination performance.
My child struggles to write about language and form analytically rather than just identifying techniques. How do you develop genuine literary analysis?
Dr. Anil Khare: Technique spotting is one of the most persistent and limiting habits in A Level English Literature where the identification of a metaphor, a caesura, a piece of free indirect discourse, etc., without an explanation of what interpretive work it does, why the writer chose that way of writing and why that it contributes to the text meaning, effect or thematic development of the text. Identifying a technique earns minimal marks at A Level. Examining the effect of that technique – how a particular metaphor creates a particular ideology, for instance, or the effect of a change in the voice of the narrative at a pivotal moment is what is rewarded at the highest boundaries. We teach students to move from identification to analysis by using just one simple question: what does this technique do and why is it important here? Once a student has developed this analytical habit, it transforms every piece of close reading a student produces.
My child is studying both AS English Literature and AS English Language. How do the two subjects complement each other and can you support both?
Dr. Anil Khare: AS English Literature and AS English Language are not just mutually reinforcing but, more often than not, mutually supportive and we do support both simultaneously by doing it routinely and effectively. English Language teaches a very precise, technical vocabulary of language, directly enriching the student's toolkit for Literature, covering register, discourse structure, pragmatics, graphology & phonology. A student who knows the ways in which language creates meaning is a more advanced literary critic than a student who has a short list of named literary devices in his vocabulary. On the other hand, the close reading habits and interpretative skills gained from Literature directly strengthen the ability of a student to analyze unseen text materials in Language exams. The links between the two subjects are made explicit and progress in one subject is accelerated by progress in other learning areas and subjects.
The A Level English Literature Grade Your Child Deserves!
A Level English Literature rewards students who have been taught to think argumentatively, write analytically and engage with texts with the critical sophistication that the qualification genuinely demands. For students across Dubai Harbor ready to develop that standard with specialist support, Amourion Training Institute is where it begins.
Contact Dr Anil Khare now!
Phone: +971 55 956 4344 | +971 4355 4850
Website: www.anilkhare.com
Email: anilkhare@anilkhare.com
Dubai Centers: Sheikh Zayed Road | Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Office 2401, Fortune Tower | Dubai Silicon Oasis, Office 410, SIT Tower Abu Dhabi: Hamdan Street