Hello, and thank you for joining me for today's English lesson.

My name is Mrs. Butterworth, and I will be guiding you through the learning.

Now, today's lesson is all about "An Inspector Calls," and understanding the context in which" Inspector Calls" was written.

We'll also be thinking about how this may have influenced Priestly in his writing.

To complete this lesson, you will need a copy of the text "An Inspector Calls".

So do make sure you have one of those before you begin the lesson.

Is everyone ready to go? Great, then let's get started.

In this lesson, you will understand the importance of context and also use tentative language to make assertions about Priestly's intentions.

But before we delve into the lesson, let's look at those all important key words that hopefully you will see throughout the lesson.

These words are intention, critique, tentative, and assertion.

Let's just look at the definitions to get an understanding.

An intention is the purpose or aim behind someone's actions or words.

What they hope to.

What they plan or hope to achieve.

For example, in this lesson we'll be talking about Priestly's intentions.

By that we'll be trying to think about what Priestly's purpose is, what his aim was with "An Inspector Calls," why did he write it, what was he influenced by, what was his intention? And then we've got this word critique.

Now if you critique something, you give an opinion or judgement.

And one of the interpretations of "An Inspector Calls" is that Priestly critiques the upper classes.

You'll notice that word in this lesson.

We're also gonna look at tentative language.

Tentative language means something that is not certain or fixed.

When you are making assertions or you are making comments about a text, it's a good idea to use tentative language, so you are not presenting them as fact.

You are saying that perhaps something could be suggested.

We'll look a little bit more at what tentative language is in this lesson, and then finally assertion.

An assertion is a confident statement or claim about something.

We are going to be looking at making assertions, but conjoining them with that tentative language to make sure that we present our ideas well.

The outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to begin by looking at some biographical information, biographical context on Priestly before moving on to social and historical context.

let's get started with the first part of the lesson.

Let's begin by considering what context is.

Now I'm sure some of you would have had this term before, and some of you may have not.

It's always good to recap, or just make sure we understand what context actually is.

In literature context refers to the background information that can help us understand a text better.

It can include things such as the historical time period, so when a text was written or when it is set.

What was happening in history at that time that may have had an influence? We can think about cultural influences.

This may be thing.

Cultural things that are happening at the time.

Artworks or other pieces of literature, or what culture was like.

You might want to consider the writer's life or biographical information.

What lived experiences, or what experiences may the writer have had that may have influenced the writing, or where can we see it in the writing? And then finally, social or political factors.

This can refer to how society was at the time.

Maybe their values and attitudes towards specific things, how society was run at the time.

It may also refer to political things like if there was a change in government or political attitudes.

It may also bring in things like, is there war happening? Was it happening? Which is very key when we are thinking about "An Inspector Calls." You can see that context covers a whole range of things.

I'd like you now to consider how might contextual information be used to consider a writer's intention? How might we use context to explore a writer's intention? Remember to think about historical time period, cultural influences, the writer's life, or biographical information or social or political factors.

How might contextual information be used to consider a writer's intention? Okay, pause the video.

You've got time to discuss this question and we'll feed back in a moment.

Off you go.

Great, some really fantastic discussions happening there.

Thank you.

It seems like some of you already know quite a lot about context, so that's fantastic.

I've got a few ideas here that you may or may not have considered.

Let's just share some of these.

How might in contextual information be used for a writer's intention? You may have considered the following.

The writer's life could be used because it reveals the writer's personal beliefs and values which could influence the messages in a text.

We may want to consider this when we are looking at "An Inspector Calls," for example.

How has the writer's personal beliefs influence the text when we're thinking about social or political? Understanding the cultural political climate can help us understand why the writer might focus on specific themes.

If we're looking at specific themes in the text, we might consider what society was like at the time, and how this may have influenced the text Historical relevance.

The time period can really help provide an insight once the writer's choices.

When we're looking at "An Inspector Calls," we might start to think about, okay, what was society interested in at the time? Or what was it worried about at the time? What was going on in history that may have influenced those writer's choices? And then deeper meaning.

Very important.

Context can really help us to uncover hidden layers in the text so it can reveal why characters or events are portrayed in a particular way.

And this is all gonna become particularly relevant when begin to apply this to "An Inspector Calls." Okay, you need to pick A, B or C, or D in a moment.

Which of the following answers would not, you're looking for not, be considered useful contextual information? Pick your answer now.

Okay, are we ready? People feeling confident? I hope so.

A, plot summary would not be considered contextual information.

Obviously it's very important to understand the plot of a text and to help with your understanding, but this wouldn't be considered contextual information.

This is an interesting point.

It is unlikely we can ask a writer directly what their intention or purpose was in writing a text.

Okay? We can't just give JB Priestly a call and say, "Hey, JB Priestly, why did you write "An Inspector Calls," and hopes he gives us an answer.

In English, it's all about trying to understand and making intelligent guesses or speculations as to why a writer has chosen to write the way they have.

Contextual information can really help with this, 'cause it can give us some of that extra information to help us start to try and understand or interpret why a writer has made specific choices.

But because we can't just ring up JB Priestly and ask him his intentions, we need to be tentative with our assertions because we don't want to say JB Priestly definitely wrote a text because.

Because we actually don't know.

using tentative language can help with this.

Tentative language means using words such as could, may, or might perhaps, may or arguably.

We need to think about using this language when we are making assertions.

Instead of saying JB Priestly definitely wrote "An Inspector Calls," because he was influenced by the town he grew up in.

We could say something like, it could be suggested or arguably, which just helps to show that you are exploring this as an option.

Let's look at some biographical information on JB Priestly.

He was born in 1894 in Bradford Yorkshire, a town known for its industrial landscape.

I'm gonna show you now how you can use tentative language to explore the link between this information and Priestly's intention.

We've got that biographical information there.

We can use tentative language to consider Priestly's intention.

You can see here, arguably Priestly's industrial upbringing exposed into class inequalities and therefore could have inspired the themes of social responsibility and class critique in "An Inspector Calls." The play is also set in Bromley a fictitious place which could be similar to Priestly's own hometown.

You can see here that we can start to use that context to make assertions, so there is a clear link isn't there between Priestly's upbringing and the content in his play.

But we can't know that for definite.

Using things like arguably, and could can really help with that.

True or false time.

Context can help us to know exactly why a writer made specific choices.

Is that true or false? Select your answer now.

Okay, well done to everyone who said false.

It was a bit of a tricky one there, but now you need to justify why that statement is false.

Come up with your answer now.

Okay, so I'm gonna share an answer, hopefully you have something similar.

Context can be useful to help us make informed comments about our writer's intentions, but we should always aim to be tentative in our assertions.

I think the word there is that it can help us know exactly why a writer.

More often than not, we can never know exactly why a writer made specific choices, so it can.

Context can help us with that, but we always need to be tentative.

First practise task, it is over to you now.

What I would like you to do is, number one, I would like you to read the biographical information about Priestly.

I think maybe should we read it through together first? Let's do that.

Born in 1894 in Bradford Yorkshire, a town known for its industrial landscape.

Served as a soldier in World War I, experiencing the horrors of trench warfare.

Priestly held strong socialist beliefs and actively supported social change and equality.

Gained popularity as a radio broadcaster during World War II with his post Crips scripts.

Postscripts broadcasts.

It's difficult to say.

And wrote "An Inspector Calls" in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II.

You're gonna read that biographical information and then I would like you to discuss the following question.

How might JB Priestly's life and experiences have influenced the writing of "An Inspector Calls?" Think back to that example that we just looked at, and now you can discuss this yourself.

Remember, you need to use that tentative language in could, may, might, or perhaps maybe, arguably, and think about discussing how might JB Priestess life and experiences have influenced the writing of "An Inspector Calls?" You may wish to go back to that information slide just to make sure you've got that clear in your head, and then you can tackle the discussion task.

When you are ready, pause the video and get discussing.

Off you go.

(silence) Great, thank you everyone.

And I think we are really starting to see the links between contextual information and Priestly's influences and intentions.

We can really see how certain things in his life have influenced the writing.

You read it and you're like, "Oh, I can see that, in An Inspect Calls." Let's look at some of the things you may have considered.

We talked about Priestly's war experience.

Arguably Priestly's war experience may have reinforced his sense of empathy and highlighted the devastating effects of social division.

His socialist beliefs.

And I think his socialist beliefs, we can really see that in "An Inspector Calls." Perhaps his commitment to equality and justice is reflected in the portrayal of themes, such as collective responsibility and welfare.

His wartime broadcasts.

Actually these wartime broadcasts could have inspired him to use the play as a platform to reflect on Britain's future, and to advocate for collective responsibility.

Maybe that inspired him and showed him how he could get his message out to a wide audience.

And also postwar optimism and caution.

If we think about when Priestly was writing, it may reflect Priestly's hope for a more just society as well as possible warning against repeating historical injustices.

If we think about his experiences in World War I and II, he may.

This may have really influenced the writing of "An Inspector Calls." What I would like you to do is have a little look at these sentences and I'd like you to see if you can identify the tentative language in those.

Pause the video to give yourself time, a few moments to see if you can spot that tentative language.

Off you go.

Well done to everyone that noticed these.

We've got arguably may, perhaps could and may again.

Hopefully you used some tentative language in your discussions.

Well done if you did Without the second part of our lesson, well done everyone, let's keep up the hard work.

And now we're going to move on to consider social and historical context.

"An Inspector calls" is set in 1912.

This is considered the Edwardian period, which spanned from 1901 to 1914.

We can make some assumptions about what life was like then.

What do you know about the Edwardian period? What might the values and attitudes be at this time with regards to things such as class, gender and social attitudes? Even if you don't know anything specifically about this time period, you can make some intelligent guesses or speculate about this time in order for you to complete this task.

Pause the video so you've got time to discuss your ideas.

Or you may need to sit quietly and think by yourself.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

See, even though some of you're like, "I've never heard of the Edwardian period," we can start to make some assumptions about what life might have been like then.

You may have considered things like class.

Arguably in the Edwardian period there was a much more rigid class systems. There was a clear division between wealthy upper classes and the poor.

Living in quite distinct separate areas, having very different lives.

And often classes, the upper classes often held power whilst working class had less opportunities and harsh working conditions.

I'm sure some of you may have some knowledge about the factories and the poor working conditions that people worked in at this time.

In terms of gender, you may have considered this idea of traditional gender roles.

Back in the Edwardian period, it was very much expected that people would assume typical gender roles, traditional gender roles.

Women mostly confined to the domestic sphere, expected to focus on family and marriage, but there was a growing movement for women's rights.

And I think that's a particularly interesting point when we consider "An Inspector Calls," because if we think about the suffragette campaign, which was for the women's right to vote, there was definitely some things happening in society that were starting to change.

And social attitudes.

You may have thought about the idea that it was a lot more conservative, a lot more formal, but there were signs of change.

Again, there was increasing awareness of social inequality, and the beginnings of movements advocating for social reform.

There's, I think if we think about this, there's definitely these moments of change happening that were challenging these conservative, traditional ideas of class, gender, and other social attitudes.

We can suggest that the values and attitudes of Edwardian Britain are reflected throughout the play.

And we can particularly see this in our older characters, can't we? if we think about Mr. Birling and Mrs. Birling, they really reflect those values and attitudes of Edwardian Britain.

Let's look at some specific examples from the play.

If we think about class, there's that moment where Mr. Birling describes sacking Eva Smith, and he identifies her as belonging with them.

He says, almost like she was one of them, the workers.

Really separating himself from those workers.

And he says that they should be treated sharply.

This really emphasises that distinct divide, doesn't it, between the upper and working classes that were prevalent in Edwardian society.

And I think Mr. Birling reflects that really well, doesn't he? His use of language the way he is, it's like she was one of them.

And I'm up here in my upper class, so you can see that working there.

In terms of gender, I think again, Mrs. Birling really reflects those traditional ideas of gender.

And she's very dismissive, isn't she, Towards Eva Smith? And she refers to her as that sort of girl.

And I think that's really interesting in terms of those traditional ideas of gender and marriage.

And it really reflects the Edwardian view that working class women were inferior and unworthy of sympathy.

And also Eva Smith as an unmarried woman caused lots of problems, Mrs. Birling because she.

For her, that wasn't okay And social attitudes, we come back to Mr. Birling and his optimistic belief that there will be no chance of war in 1912.

if we think about when this play was set, it was before both World War I and World War II.

There was perhaps this complacency around at the time and this optimism that things would just go on the way they always are.

And many were unaware of the social and political upheavals that would follow.

And I think that's really reflected again in our older generation of the Birlings.

Whereas we see in Eric and Sheila, they almost represent those bubblings of change that were happening at the time.

I'd like you to discuss, please, can you think of any other examples that reflect the values and attitudes of the time in the play? Can you think of any other examples of your own that reflect the values and attitudes of the time? Pause the video, so you've got time to discuss this.

Think to yourself, or you may want to jot some ideas down.

Pause video, and off you go.

Okay, thank you for those suggestions.

I'm getting the sense that we're really starting to know this play really well, which is great and it just makes commenting on things like context and things like that a lot more easier.

which of the following answers is false? You'll need to pick A, B, or C in a moment.

Which of these answers is false? In Edwardian society.

How are we gonna complete that sentence? Are you gonna pick A, B, or C? Come up with your answer now.

Okay, well done to everyone that said, C, there was less of a disparity between rich and poor.

That's not true.

We know that there was a clear class system and clear divisions between the upper and working classes in Edwardian society.

well done everyone that picked C.

Though I think this is what's really one of the really interesting points about "An Inspector Calls," because although it was written in 1945, Priestly was influenced by Edwardian societal values and attitudes.

It's interesting isn't it, that he was writing in 1945, but he chose to set it in 1912.

I want you to discuss why do you think Priestly made this choice? Why do you think he made this choice to set the play in 1912? There's some sentence starters to help you.

Priestly set the play in 1912 to critique, emphasise warn, okay? You've got your sentence starters, you've got your keywords there.

I'd like you to pause the video and discuss your answer to that question.

Off you go.

Shall we share some ideas and see if we have some similar thoughts? These are some things that we could have considered.

Priestly set the play in 1912 to critique the rigid class system and lack of social responsibility in Edwardian society, highlighting how the wealthy disregarded the struggles of the working class.

We could even add some tentative language there, couldn't we? We could say arguably Priestly set the play in 1912 to critique the rigid class system.

We could also say that priestly set the play in 1912 to emphasise the need for collective responsibility by showing the impact of each character's actions on Eva Smith, representing the vulnerable in society.

And we could add some tentative language, couldn't we? Perhaps Priestly set the play in 1912 to emphasise the need for collective responsibility.

And finally, Priestly set the play in 1912 to warn that if society fails to change its attitudes, history may repeat itself leading to further suffering and conflict.

And let's add some tentative language, shall we? It could be suggested that Priestly set the play in 1912 to warn that if society fails to change its attitudes, history may repeat itself.

Okay, we have reached the second and final practise task.

Well done everyone.

And what I would like you to do, please, is I would like you to write a short paragraph to answer the following question.

Why do you think Priestly chose to set "An Inspector Calls" in 1912? Use some ideas from your discussions in this lesson and use some tentative language to write those paragraphs.

Write a short paragraph to answer the following question, why do you think Priestly chose to set "An Inspector Calls" in 1912? Make sure you've got everything you need to complete this task and then pause the video, you've got plenty of time to write me a lovely paragraph.

Off you go.

Thank you everyone for your hard work.

That's really great.

And I can really see that we're starting to understand how context can really influence a writer's choices.

Let's just look at an example here.

This is a really nice opportunity for you to compare your own work.

You may wish to add to your own work or make some changes, or you may be really happy with it.

But let's look at an example.

Arguably, Priestly sets the play in 1912 because he wanted to highlight the social issues of the Edwardian era.

But he was writing in 1945 after two World Wars had shown the dangers of ignoring social responsibility.

Perhaps he hoped his audience might recognise the need for change and avoid past mistakes.

What I would like you to do with this example is can you identify the tentative language? Can you, or have you already identified the tentative language? Off you go.

Great, hopefully you picked out, arguably, perhaps, and might as the tentative language there.

I'd like you now to do the same with your paragraph.

Can you just check that you've also used some tentative language in your own paragraph? Off you go.

Thank you so much for your hard work everyone.

We have now reached the end of the lesson and thank you for joining me for today's English lesson.

Let's just recap everything that we have been over today.

We know that contextual information can help to deeper an understanding of a writer's intentions.

We know that it is a good idea to use that tentative language when making assertions.

Biographical information can give us clues about a writer's influences.

And we've seen that today, haven't we? Although writing in 1945, Priestly was influenced by the attitudes and values of Edwardian society.

And then finally, Priestly uses the backdrop of 1912 to warn of the dangers of repeating history.

That's it for today.

I really look forward to seeing you in another English lesson, too.

I'll say goodbye now, but I will see you then.

Goodbye.