Studying English in my 40s, where do I even begin?!

[HolyMolyOly]

I'll be 41 this year and due to chaotic childhood events smack bang in the middle of my GCSEs I got a C in English and a bunch of other mediocre results (B to D). I managed to get into a local college and did A-Levels but got sick at a crucial time and best I managed was a D in Communications. There was never much of an emphasis on trying hard at school and I believed it just wasn't for me.

Anyway, long story short, I'm back to daydreaming about a re-do. I really loved English and would love to explore this. Not exactly flush and haven't done any formal study for a long time so am wondering if there are any free or low cost online resources to dip my foot into. Maybe a simple certificate course or something?

When searching for English it's hard because most results seem to be for English as a second language.

Thank you

I don't have specific help but I do have an A at A Level, a First in English Literature and a Distinction in a related masters and would be more than happy to help you with textual analysis when you have found the right course for you. Feel free to PM me.

My local college does GCSE English for mature students and it’s free! I did maths with them.

Have you looked at your local colleges? Or distance learning through learndirect or similar?

Thank you @Mentalhealthhelp that is so generous of you!

I haven't looked at local collages @DrunkenElephant as I was looking at online resources I could do around being a SAHM but that is a very good sugestion. I will have a look into them now. Thank you!

If you have a C for English then GCSE probably won't be free as you have achieved a level 2 award already. Are there any free units with open university maybe?

I did A level English language in my late 20s, evening classes at a local college. I did science A levels at school and always wanted to go back and do English. It was free, lots of adults, many older than me. We did it in a year, I'm glad I did it.

You could start with some of the free courses on OpenLearn (the ones about english lit are under Arts) to see if it still interests you - and then if you like those, you could do the OU access module which looks like it would be free for you https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/y031#study-for-free

Have a look at some of the free OU courses. They have a 15 hour course studying Great Expectations and something on Shakespeare. If these get you interested look at doing an ACCESS module with them. However, you don't need any prior qualifications to just launch into an OU degree
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue

Open University is a great shout. Many many moons ago I did a basic maths course with them that I paid for and it was pretty good.

The only thing was finding English language rather than Literature. I do like literature but would adore to explore etymology and wanting to get more into structure etc. I'm fairly open to this though and if literature is a good way to test out getting back into learning I'll certainly look into it.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, I really appreciate it.

No problem.

The GCSE for adult courses were evening classes, mine was 6pm-8pm once a week, so may be doable?

They have a few english language free courses - not as many as literature, but at least it would be a start. There's more and more online courses these days, but they can take a bit of searching out!

Access to HE at your local college. It should only be around 2.5 days / week. You’ll be able to study literature units.

Then in a year your ready for uni.

Alternatively, try future learn. They offer free courses to dip into. It’s not in anyway as in depth as an Access though.

Open university is good too. All on line. Pay unit by unit. They also have their old units available for free. I can’t remember it’s link though

Oh I can see someone has already posted the link to the free OU courses.

If it’s language you prefer what about linguistics? There’s a free one on future learn.

Is this purely for interest or do you have an aim in mind?

@Rummikub a little bit of interest and a little bit because I’m aimless right now tbh! I’ve been a SAHM for about 4 years but used to have a really successful freelance web design business before DC. It’s been ticking along in the meantime but I just don’t have the bandwidth to be as obsessed with it as I used to be pre-kids. It’s not profitable and the joy is fading, I’ve been in it for almost 9 years now.

I’m fully self-taught so I have some ‘imposter syndrome’ issues around that. Add my age into the mix and I have some real concerns about my ‘employability’.

I’m lucky enough to be in the position to not rely on income from my business right now but am thinking about what I’ll do when kids are in school full time.

I have a huge interest in AI and large language models. Together with my interest in English from youth I wondered if I could pull at that thread. English isn’t my native language but I find it fascinating and I’d consider it my primary language (been here since I was a young child).

Sorry, that was a much bigger update than I meant to write 😅

It would make sense then to try some of the free on line courses in English, linguistics, AI. Then if you like it look at an Access course or similar for September start or year after.

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/linguistics/free-online-courses/

Lancaster uni is one of the top unis for linguistics.

You could even register for a few open days at uni. The ones that have taster lectures. They’re usually v good.

OpenLearn pathway in terms of challenge (which she said wasn't massive) a friend who didn't have a grounding in English (just picked it up through immersion) did not so long ago:

English in the World Today
Describing Language
Exploring the English Language
Language in the Real World

2 and 4 lean more towards Linguistics. All free. These gave her a taste for further study.

I have a huge interest in AI and large language models.

This would be a much more promising avenue to focus on, @HolyMolyOly - English would just be an aspect of it. You sound far too intellectually alert and able to want to linger at just past GCSE English Language study.

Thanks @StrangeNew I have been weighing this up. I think some of my thinking at the moment is clouded by insecurities around the act of studying itself. I really struggle with academic material so that originally put me off diving deeper into AI. I can grasp some fairly complex concepts and put things into practice (I taught myself to code) but with other, sometimes simple, things I feel like a kid unable to tie a shoe.

I don’t want to derail this post too much so I might do a separate post for tips on studying itself as the more I’m considering this seriously the more I’m realising that is actually the big hurdle for me. (I’ll of course have a search as I’m sure it’s been asked before)

I’m great with audio and visual material (hello YouTube!) but written stuff is hard.

Thank you for your input, it has helped me think about this more.

Cheapest online A level course I found was Cloud Learn. Also, consider Open University - you don't need any qualifications to get in: hence 'Open'. I've done two degrees with them since the 90s. Good luck with your search and your studies.😊