MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Subject Departments:
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES (FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH)

Examination Board: OCR


AS and A-levels are available in French, German and Spanish. Numbers studying a language at A-level have grown significantly since the school achieved Language College status. This is in part due to the state-of-the-art facilities we have in the Stratford Language Centre which is mainly used for A-level language teaching. The SLC incorporates a PC-based language lab, interactive whiteboard and satellite television. We also have significant electronic resources which we make available to students for self-study. Our enhanced funding has also enabled us to ensure that all A-level linguists have access to an foreign language assistant for one period per week. Work experience placements abroad are also available in all three languages.

Specification Summary

The principle aims of the Advanced Level course are to develop the four skills as at GCSE and to gain a deeper insight into the contemporary society of the countries where the languages are spoken.

AS: Reading and listening materials used in the Advanced Subsidiary units are drawn from the following broad topic areas and are firmly rooted in the culture of the country studied:

	Media
	The arts
	Daily life
	Food and drink
	Sport and pastimes
	Travel, transport and holidays
	Human interest news items.

A2: At A2 the material for reading and listening is drawn from these broad subject areas:

	Social issues
	The Environment
	Education
	Law and order
	Aspects of France/Germany/Spain
	Technological and scientific advances
	Human interest news items

Prior Level of Attainment

Grade B at GCSE is the minimum requirement for starting an A-level in French, German or Spanish. However, ideally at least an A at GCSE would be considered the best basis from which to start A-level.

Outline of Course

First Year - Advanced Subsidiary (AS)

Speaking (25 minutes)
(15% of A Level, 30% of AS)
You will take part in a five-minute role-play set within a business or domestic context and will be expected to give advice and practical information, for example to a visitor. You will also give a short presentation on a topic or literary text and discuss it with the Examiner.

Listening, Reading and Writing (1 hour 30 minutes)
(20% of A Level, 40% of AS)
Using individual listening facilities, you will respond to a number of short listening items such as advertisements by completing exercises which do not involve productive use of the foreign language (eg true/false, match statistic to correct statement, etc). You will complete similar exercises with reading texts of 200-300 words. For the next section, entitled The Work of Work, you will be given tasks which are set within the context of the workplace. For the listening part, some questions will be in the foreign language and for the reading part you will be given an extract from a letter and asked for a gist translation into English. The writing task involves composing a 100 word letter or fax.

Reading and Writing (1 hour 30 minutes)
(15% of A Level, 30% of AS)
You will be set a number of reading texts. On the first section you will be asked to complete exercises which do not involve productive use of the foreign language. You will be expected to give a summary of the main points of texts in the second section and to give a personal response to the issues, which it raises. Finally you will be tested on your awareness of the structures you will have learnt by completing a gapped text.

Second Year – A2

Speaking and Reading (15 minutes)
(15% of A Level)
You will take part in a five-minute discussion having been given a text to prepare for twenty minutes before the exam. The text will contain subject matter which you will have studied (eg The Arts/Social Issues etc). You will be awarded marks for both your understanding of and response to the text and your comprehension of and response to the Examiner. A general conversation will follow starting with straightforward questions about, for instance, your interests and will move on to a discussion of current issues. For this you will have prepared a chosen topic which must be related to the country where your chosen language is spoken.

Reading, Listening and Writing (2 hours 45 minutes)
(20% of A Level)
You will have to respond in the target language to one or two listening texts, which are likely to be interviews involving more than one speaker. You will also be set one extended reading text with exercises. Some questions will require responses in the target language. The writing task involves a transfer of meaning of an English text into the foreign language to which you will need to add your own opinion.

Culture and Society Exam (2 hours) - German only
(15% of A Level)
This is a written examination paper where you choose any two questions and write two essays of about 200-400 words in the foreign language on literary texts we have studied in class.

Culture and Society Coursework - French and Spanish only
(15% of A Level)
You will complete a piece of written coursework based on a study of a literary work of 1200 – 1400 words.

Key Skills
As candidates are required to give presentations and discuss, use research methods such as the Internet and work with partners and in groups, the Key Skills elements covered will be Communication Level 3, ICT Level 2, Improving own Learning and Performance Level 3 and Working with Others Level 3.

Links to Higher Education, Careers and Employment

A language at A-level can work as a combination with any other subject. All Universities for example now offer a wide range of courses incorporating a language in addition to the main degree. This offers significant benefits in the job market as if you have a second language you are significantly more attractive to prospective employers.

Both AS GCE and Advanced GCE offer evidence to prospective employers of a significant level of achievement in all language skills, together with evidence of critical insight and a knowledge and understanding of another culture and the place of that culture within European development. The World of Work section in AS will also show employers evidence of the language skills required in the workplace.

The full A-level remains the main qualification for gaining entry to languages courses in Higher Education. The new AS GCE qualification will also be accepted for entry onto certain university courses where a language forms a part of the course of study but is not the main focus. Both AS GCE and Advanced GCE in French, German or Spanish offer possibilities for entry into Higher Education to read degrees in other languages for example Chinese or Arabic.

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