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Foreign Languages at A Level
From The Student Room(Redirected from French A Level)
TSR Wiki > Study Help > Exams and Qualifications > A Levels > A Level Subject Guides > Foreign Languages at A Level There are a number of languages available at A Level. These include:
Why Study Languages?I think the more appropriate question here is 'Why not study a language?'. Languages are an invaluable skill that you can hone to whatever level you wish, depending on how much work you put in and how much dedication you have. Starting a language from scratch and attending one lesson for an hour a week won't have you fluent by the end of the year, but you will start to be able to understand more and more with every time you go. Equally, if you work hard and completly immerse yourself in the language of your choice, perhaps by living in the country or by only speaking the language to someone who is already fluent, you can achieve a level of understanding quicker than someone who's not studying the same way. Languages open doors - When you go on holiday you can read the street signs and converse with anyone you meet, even if it's just a simple hello and goodbye. The British have a reputation of expecting other people to speak English to them and not bothering to even try a few words in native tongue of the country. In most european countries, english is taught alongside another language other than the native tongue from a young age, a scheme which is not as readily avaliable in Britain. If you study a language up to degree level you are likely to be attractive to employers in the business sector. Languages are also immensely rewarding. The knowledge that you can confidently talk in another language is reassuring when you travel, and watching a TV show in a different language not only works as revision, but makes you look clever. ;) Listening to music that is in other languages opens you to new ways of doing things, especially if you don't study a western European language. Course StructureStudy HelpCareers/UniversityDifferent LanguagesArabicArabic is only offered by Edexcel. The A-Level is divided into two exams: Unit 1 (AS-Level, 3 hours) and Unit 2 (A2-Level, 3 hours) each worth 50% of the total grade. In the first exam candidates are required to translate a passage from Arabic to English, answer comprehension questions worth 25% of the paper, add diatrical marks to a passage, and write a 200 word essay. In the second exam candidates are required to translate a passage from English to Arabic, answer comprehension questions worth 20% of the paper, and write two 250 word essays. BengaliBiblical HebrewChineseChinese A Level is offered by both Edexcel and CIE Examining Boards. The course has no listening nor oral exam, unlike the 'major' language A Levels; its main emphasis on reading, writing and translation (without oral or listening), is in line with the other 'community language' A-levels. Nevertheless, from 2008, Edexcel Chinese A-level will include an oral and a listening element, which other 'community language' A-levels will lack. AS1. (6261) Reading + Translation & Writing A22. (6262) Reading + Translation, with Prepared Essay on Topic or Text (before 2007: unprepared essay questions on a Topic or Text) Changes to the A-level for 2008A-level Chinese will change for first teaching 2008, as will most other A-levels. However, the changes for Chinese will not be necessarily like other community modern foreign languages (e.g. Japanese, Bengali, Panjabi), which will stay rather more alike the current specifications. Edexcel Chinese A-level (8CN01/9CN01) will have the singular distinction of being the only A-level to have three units (the first A-level to contain an odd number of compulsory units since Curriculum 2000): two for AS, one for A2, and will contain an oral and listening (again unlike other community modern foreign languages). The new AS Unit 1 (6CN01) will be an oral unit, a recorded presentation (not a dialogue or conversation with a teacher-examiner or authorised acquaintance as with GCSE), in response to a cue in English. The AS Unit 2 (6CN02) will have a listening element for Section A in addition to the former Curriculum 2000 unit 6261 - a reading comprehension section, a translation and an extended piece of writing. The A2, composed only of Unit 3 (6CN03), will stay like the current 6262, Reading + Translation, with Prepared Essay on Topic or Text. [1] Topics and Texts
CIE ChineseChinese A-level is offered by CIE, primarily aimed at native speakers. CIE offers two AS's in Chinese Language and Chinese Literature, which are components of the Chinese (First Language) A-level. There is no overall Chinese AS.
Links and Resources
DutchFrench"French is the most common language for a pupil to learn at any level. In the year 2004, 320,818 pupils entered at GCSE level and 35,753 at A Level (20,580 at AS and 15,173 at A2). There are a number of reasons for it being popular; firstly, France is the most popular holiday destination for British tourists. As well as this, relations between France and Britain are always developing; although many French people speak English, there is always a demand for bilingual English and French speakers in industry. French is also one of the most popular languages for carrying on to degree level; in 2003, there were 21,255 students studying French is any combination (ie by itself, with another language or as part of another course). French is offered in most schools around the country; it is often chosen by pupils as the only language they carry on to GCSE study." from http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Modern_Foreign_Languages
GermanGerman is the second most common MFL offered for school pupils, alongside French. Though it may be less popular than French, it still attracted 90,311 to take it at GCSE level in 2006. Part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, it is spoken by approximately 110 million native speakers and 18 million non-native speakers in the world and is an important business language. German is a very logical and literal language - many words can be broken down into other words you already know which help you find the meaning easily, like in English (Toothbrush, for example, is Zahnbürste - tooth brush). Variations in the German Language Like all countries and languages, Germany has a great deal of variety in accents and dialects that differ from Austrian German and so on. Whilst 'Hochdeutsch' (the language taught in school systems) is understood, it is always useful to know at least a few characteristics of some of the more common accents and regional variations on language, even if it's just for your own enjoyment. If you're planning a trip to Germany with an idea of using your German, then it may be a good idea to youtube the local dialect so that you can at least recognise it quickly, without panicking about what is being said! Whilst it's unlikely you'll need to recognise someone's accent in an A level exam, they could throw you a listening that features someone with a less than perfect accent and so it is worth knowing that very few people will speak the 'news reader' accent that is taught in schools. GujaratiIrishItalianThe only exam board that does A-level Italian is Edexcel. Italian is a language spoken in Italy and parts of Switzerland, and although popularly taken up from scratch aa part of a joint honours degree, it can be taken as an A-level too. AS Level At AS level the year is divided accordingly into learning grammar and learning about the culture of Italy. There is much more culture content on the course in comparison to GCSE. You get to learn the conditional and subjunctive, as well as the pluperfect, to name a few! The culture aspects include italian family life, education and food and diet. There is no coursework at AS level. There are three exams: 1. Oral: This is the dreaded (by me, at least!) spoken exam. Before the exam you write and learn a presentation on a topic of your choice, but it has to be something to do with Italy. Popular topics include the Mafia, singers i.e. Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini and fashion. It has to be no more/less than 1 minute 30 seconds, they are very strict on the time limit. After you've recited your presentation (which shouldn't sound too rehearsed, don't ask how that's possible) you'll have a conversation with the examiner which usually lasts 10-12 minutes, on the presentation you've just given. He/she will ask you questions, you won't know what they will be but you can have a good guess as it'll be on the content of your presentation. A good way to prepare is just by writing lots of "mock" answers and learning them. 2. Listening and Writing: This paper is 1 hour long. You provide your own CD/tape player (or sometimes the school provides it, depending), and are given a CD or tape by the examiner. Recordings are controlled by you, which is cool because you can rewind it and pause as much as you like, within the time limit. There are typical "tick the box" questions, and also 2 longer questions of 8 marks each where the quality of your writing and the relevance of your answer to the question will be assessed. 3. Reading: This paper is 2 hours long, although time should be divided accordingly as there's a 40 mark mini-essay question at the end of the paper. The word limit for this question is 140-160 words, you are given a short list of bullet points on a topic you will have studied in the year and then asked to write a letter (usually to the editor of a magazine, etc.) including certain points they have given you. In this question the relevance and the quality of Italian will be assessed, so make sure to include loads of tenses like subjunctive, and conditional. A2 Level Luckily, the majority of the grammar for the course is covered at AS, so this year is basically just consolidating what you know and covering a few bits, but nothing major. This year, we learnt more about culture but also more argumentative topics, too. Topics include: education, crime, young people in society, drugs and euthanasia. There's no coursework at A2. There are three exams: 1. Oral: This is 15 minutes long. You have to give a 60 second presentation on a contentious issue (but it doesn't have to be related to Italy) and give a definite stance either for or against and then you get asked questions on your issue. Examples include, euthanasia, size zero models and gay marriage. So you have to say you're either for or against the issue, and why. The conversation then moves on 'naturally' to at least another two more general topics; these included, euthanasia, the death penalty and young people. 2. Tpoics and texts: This is a 2 hour exam. You have to write two essays, in Italian, of at least 250 words, on two topics or texts you've studied in the year. We did Volevo i pantaloni, a novel by Lara Cardella, and Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, a play by Pirandello. I think there's also the option to learn about specific eras in Italian history, film or individual towns and regions. It's the teacher's choice what you do but, to be honest, I think the literature's by far the easiest. There's only so many things they can ask you about a book, and if you do English Literature (which I do, although it's not a necessity to do well at Italian) it's like second nature - a minimum of 250 words seems like a breeze! Oh, but you can't take the texts into the exam room with you. 3. Reading/Writing/Listening: This is 2 3/4 hours. This is broken down into: i. Listening and writing - 45 mins. There's basically two parts to this. You have to answer questions in Italian on a couple of listening passages, and then write a summary in English in 80-100 words. Again, like AS, you control your own playback equipment. ii. Reading and writing - 45 mins. Again, there's two parts to this. You have to answer questions in Italian on the passage that's printed. The second question is a translation from English to Italian, but it's not too bad because you can find most of the specialist vocabularly that you might not know in the text itself. iii. Writing in registers - 1 hr 15 mins. You have to write 230-250 words (and, yes, they're strict on that!) on either a discursive essay (choice of 4 questions) on a random topic - the environment, obesity, etc, or a creative writing piece (choice of 3 questions - the third of which is a journalistic option) with some kind of stimulus (picture, headline, etc) or a task-based assignment (which we were told not to do at all costs) - writing a letter, or something. JapaneseHebrewModern GreekOffered by Edexcel at both AS and A2, the Edexcel website has this to say on their specification:
GrammarStudents at both AS and Advanced GCE will be expected to know the following: Morphology The formation of adverbs Syntax All the conventions of standard orthography and accentuation
VocabularyStudents at both Advanced GCE and AS Level will be expected to have developed an abstract and concrete vocabulary for the discussion of day-to-day matters, the institutions and values of the contemporary society, the working world, the environment and the international context. They should also be able to express a full range of standard intellectual and emotional processes, and to construct arguments expressing causes, conditions, concessions, purpose and consequences.
Topics (for Unit 2 section 2)1 Modern Greek history 1923-1985 Suggested bibliography
Suggested bibliography
Suggested bibliography Ελάτε να γνωρίσουμε την Κύπρο, Υπουργείο Παιδείας Κύπρου Γεωγραφία Ελλάδας, ΟΕΔΒ Any good Greek encyclopaedia contains comprehensive information and details on regions of Greece and Cyprus. The following are suggested recommendations: Ελλαδική, Εκδόσεις, Ρίζος Δομή Υδρία
Grade descriptions Qualifications will be awarded on a scale of A-E for AS and Advanced GCE. Individual results will be reported. The following grade descriptions indicate the level of attainment characteristic of the given grade at Advanced GCE. They give a general indication of the required learning outcomes at each specified grade. The descriptions should be interpreted in relation to the content outlined in the specification; they are not designed to define that content. The grade awarded will depend in practice upon the extent to which the student has met the assessment objectives overall. Shortcomings in some aspects of the examination may be balanced by better performances in others.
PanjabiPersianPolishPortugueseRussianSpanishSpoken by around 400 million people, the distribution of the Spanish language is widely spread, ranging from Europe to South America. Pre-Course InformationAs far as Spanish AS is concerned, it's a step up from GCSE, but it's only a step. Although it relies on you having a better grammatical knowledge than GCSE, and the days of tick boxes come to an end, it's nothing more than an 'intermediate stage'. Don't take that as a reason to sit back though, because that's how the mighty fall. The majority of the work in A-level Spanish is based around the culture of Spain rather than the language itself. What you learn language-wise, is based on building up how you comment on cultural and historical aspects of Spain or a Spanish speaking country. In my exam board, themes were meant to be thought-provoking, but able to provide an easy comparison with Britain; they included simpler themes at AS, like Drug Abuse, Tourism, and Leisure Time, and deeper themes at A-level to do with politics, such as Unemployment, Immigration and the Environment. The themes you study will all depend on your school's language department, but they must fall into specific overall themes (e.g. "Young People Today") AS Spanish(As I studied WJEC, I'll be taking that point of view) AS Spanish used to have 3 exams, listening, written communication and an oral exam. However, the specifications are due to change; now, there is the examiner-led oral, and a synoptic of the themes studied in AS. Oral: roughly a 10-20 minute discussion with an external examiner on unseen topics through the use of a visual aid or prompt cards. The candidate is given preparation time before the discussion begins. This is followed, or preceded by, a short general conversation about personal interests etc. Synoptic: A 2 1/2 hour long synoptic exam covering the themes studied. The exam will contain a listening element, along with a short essay. There will also be a translation from Spanish to English, and a comprehension text, along with some basic grammar tasks. From the sounds of this, the WJEC qualification has become easier. Each component is worth less than the current A-level ones separately, but the exam as a whole weighs in at a over half the AS. Edexcel Specification: Oral - 10-12 minute presentation including questions from examiner on a prepared topic. Listening & Writing - 1 hour paper which involves listening to extracts on a cassette. The candidate has control over the recordings - you can listen as many times as you like unlike in GCSE languages where you have to answer the questions continously. Reading & Writing - 2 hour paper including a written section on a certain topic (for example, sport) worth half the marks. A-Level SpanishFor a full A-level, you really do have to put in the work. Here's where the harder grammar comes in. There will be words thrown about that you'll be expected to understand, like "the Subjunctive mood", the "imperfect tense", and "past participles", but if you put in the effort, these will become as easily memorized as the past tense or the cardinal numbers. Again, A-level Spanish for WJEC will follow the same lines as AS. There used to be an Oral exam, a written coursework, and a synoptic. In the new specifications, the coursework has been removed in favour of the oral and synoptic elements. Oral: roughly a 10 minute topic based discussion with the examiner on an unseen topic. The examiner allows around 20 minutes preparation time, along with basic notes to be used, such as key words, but no paragraphs or full sentences. There is also a 10 minute expose element, where the pupil takes a topic of choice and speaks about it, leading on to a debate with the examiner. Here, grammar is key, as the examiner wants to see what you know; they will be looking for subjunctives, use of the perfect tense, and word order. Culture is also important, but it holds nowhere near as much weighting as grammar. Synoptic: the synoptic element is roughly the same as its AS counterpart, except that the translation is now from English to Spanish, with use of complex grammar in English, meaning there are no smaller grammar tasks. The essays are designed to provoke an argument, with positives, negatives and solutions. Tips
Simply put - put in the effort, and your Spanish qualification will pay off. Plus, if you put in enough effort, you can use it after your finished with exams.
Why Spanish?If you've read the rest of this wiki, there have been people giving the idea that their language is 'better'. In fact, they're all about the same in terms of a career in Britain; if you can speak a foreign language you are highly valued because you have the skills needed by employers. If you can speak a language at a level higher than A-level, then you're really something. But why Spanish? Spanish is fast becoming one of the most spoken languages in the world. It's spoken in Europe, South America, the USA, the Caribbean, parts of Africa, and areas of the Far East. Very few languages have this much coverage. As a basic, in detail, list countries include: Spain, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, all countries in Central America, and all South American countries with the exceptions of Brazil and French Guiana. Once you take that into account, you can then look at the bigger picture. America is constantly talking about the 'problem' of being 'flooded' with Latin American immigrants. Experts predict that in the next century, Spanish will overtake English as the most spoken language in the USA; surely that has to mean something. Professional jobs in the USA will require people to speak Spanish; politicians will need to know it well enough to represent their constituents, newspapers will need to print in it or lose their audience, hoteliers will need to know it or lose their custom. It's all a big cycle. And even if you want to look at it on a less 'deep' level, where are you likely to go on holiday? Yes, you may speak GCSE Spanish, and that'll get you by, but A-level Spanish will really get you places. You can go beyond the English bars and the places that understand "Dos Cervezas Por Favor". That opens up places in Spain that you'd never think to go to normally; to the places where the real action is, in areas that have culturally rich history. Finally, if that hasn't sold it for you, Spanish really opens up the world as far as languages are concerned. Spanish is a very basic romance language of the Italo-Western group. That means, if you understand a word in Spanish you're likely to understand it in French, Portuguese, Italian, Latin and even Romanian. You'll even understand lesser known dialects and 'local languages' like Catalan, Galician, Walloon, Venetian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Piedmontese, Sardinian and Occitan. You're really opening up the far flung corners of the world to yourself. Simply put, almost everywhere from Venice west is yours for the taking as a linguist. TurkishTurkey is a beautiful country and as such speaking Turkish gives you masses of opportunity for travel to Turkey, but also to Cyprus and parts of Western Germany. UrduOffered by Edexcel, a link to the specification is found here: http://www.edexcel.org.uk/quals/gce/mfl/as/8643/ Why Urdu? You probably wouldn't find this A Level offered in many places where there is not a strong Pakistani community but perhaps you would like to study it in your own time as a native speaker, for example. The case is clear, the region of Pakistan is diverse in geography and culture, and offers some amazing foods! If you are a native speaker or are learning from family, for example, you will already understand the importance of studying part of your cultural heritage. If you wish to learn for interest's sake, the same would be said - the Pakistani community in the UK is huge and as such speaking Urdu and understanding the Pakistani culture is a definite boon. Also See |
