English as an Additional Language: should I choose it?

What will I learn?

How will I be assessed?

Progression and companion subjects

No complete companion or exclusion review is attached to this profile. Check the official course-entry conditions, language eligibility and your school’s sequence before enrolling. Links between resource hubs show related learning; they do not establish a compulsory prerequisite.

Will I find it hard?

Difficulty depends on your experience, interests, teaching and assessment. These are our reflection prompts, not an official difficulty rating.

• Do you enjoy close reading, developing an interpretation and supporting it with evidence?
• Would you rather revise a piece of writing over time or respond to a text under timed conditions? Check the actual assessment mix.

Does it scale up or down?

English as an Additional Language, 2025. Table 6 of QTAC’s 2025 report publishes separate raw and scaled subject medians for General subjects with at least 50 students. Historical cohort data cannot predict your result or a future scaling direction.

Scaling is not a measure of difficulty or a guaranteed bonus. Prioritise content you can engage with and required subjects for courses you are considering.

Try a little of the subject

Decoding the unseen question

1. What the external assessment asks you to do The QCE English as an Additional Language external assessment (EA) is worth 25% of your subject result. It is one analytical essay written in a response book, marked out of 45 . You choose one text from the external assessment section of the prescribed text list, then choose one of the two questions printed for that text. The question is unseen : you studied the text, but you meet the exact wording for the first time in the exam room. Time: 15 minutes of planning time, then 120 minutes of working time. No text and no notes may be brought in. Every quotation you use must come from memory. Planning paper is provided, and it is not marked. The response book tells you to write in paragraphs of full sentences , and to fill in bubbles showing which text and which question you chose. The 2021–2025 question books asked for 800–1000 words. QCAA's summary of changes for 2026 says the conditions no longer refer to word length and that this has no material effect. Treat 800–1000 words as a sensible guide to the size of a strong essay, not as a rule that is checked. The 2026 texts are All the Light We Cannot See , Never Let Me Go , Othello , Pride and Prejudice , The Dry , The Namesake , The Yield and Twelfth Night . The official question book prints two questions for each of the eight texts. The practice papers in this hub offer four questions (two on each of two texts) so that you can rehearse the choice; they are original practice, not QCAA papers. 2. The five question families and what each one demands Across 2021–2025 the QCAA questions came from a small number of families. Learn what each family is really asking, because the subject reports say the best essays addressed the question stem directly . Stem family What the marker look

Original practice question: Unpack this original practice question before you plan: ' The Namesake suggests that we can never fully choose who we become.' Discuss. Identify (a) the key terms, (b) the concept the question implies, (c) what the stem demands, and (d) one defensible line of argument.

This is ATARMAxxing’s original sample learning material. It is not an official assessment task or a prediction of your school’s workload.

Explore the resources

Open the English as an Additional Language subject hub and free preview (opens in a new tab)

• EAL — QCE Units 1 & 2 (opens in a new tab)

Core subject information and planning are free. Full study resources are optional.