Languages

 

 

 

 

Textbooks

French

Expo 1
ISBN 978 0 435384 73 9

Expo 2 vert
ISBN 978 0 435385 57 6

Expo 2 rouge
ISBN 978 0 435385 12 5

Expo GCSE (AQA version) Foundation
ISBN 978 0 435 72061 2

Expo GCSE (AQA version) Higher
ISBN 978 0 435 72060 5

 

German

Echo 1
ISBN 978 0 435388 68 3

Echo 2
ISBN 978 0 435389 21 5

Echo GCSE (AQA version) Foundation
ISBN 978 0 435720 33 9

Echo GCSE (AQA version) Higher
ISBN 978 0 435720 33 9

 

Spanish

Mira 1
ISBN 978 0 435387 65 5

Mira 2
ISBN 978 0 435391 94 2

Mira GCSE (AQA version) Higher
ISBN 978 0 435395 93 3

 

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 Languages Diagram

 

Key Stage 4

The majority of students study GCSE Languages courses; some students study Asset Languages.

GCSE French / German / Spanish

This is a two year full GCSE. It follows the AQA specification, which covers four main topic areas:

  • Work and Education (school, college, future plans, current and future jobs)
  • Leisure (free time and the media, holidays)
  • Home and Environment (home and local area, environmental issues)
  • Lifestyle (health, relationships, choices)

Unit 1 Listening: 20% of total grade
This is assessed by a short exam in January/June of Year 11. You can choose to be entered at either Foundation Tier (30 minute exam) or Higher Tier (40 minute exam).

Unit 2 Reading: 20% of total grade
This is assessed by a short exam in January/June of Year 11. You can choose to be entered at either Foundation Tier (30 minute exam) or Higher Tier (50 minute exam).

Unit 3 Speaking: 30% of total grade
This is assessed by Controlled Assessment. Over the 2 year course you do 3 assessments with your teacher. Your teacher marks your speaking tests and the best 2 count towards your final mark.

Unit 4 Writing: 30% of total grade
This is a controlled Assessment. Over the 2 year course you write 3 different pieces under controlled conditions in class. The best 2 are submitted for assessment by AQA.

 

ASSET Languages

Asset Languages results in a national certificate (similar to GCSE), which is recognised by colleges, universities and employers. The points awarded for Asset Languages qualifications are worth exactly the same (and, in fact, are counted alongside) the points awarded for GCSE qualifications. However, unlike GCSE Languages, Asset Languages measure skills separately, so Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are all awarded as separate qualifications. This allows students to show which skill (or skills) they are strongest in, perhaps even focussing on the skill most relevant to the path they wish to follow after Key Stage 4. As an example, if a student wants to go into the tourism industry, they might focus first of all on achieving a high grade in Speaking to show that their oral communication is of a good standard. The Asset Languages external assessments are designed to be more accessible to those students not necessarily suited to the large amount of learning by heart required to do well in the new GCSE assessments, particularly the Controlled Writing and Speaking assessments.
Asset Languages isn't about learning and testing a particular list of words and phrases. Instead, the qualifications are based on the 'Can Do' statements of the Languages Ladder they are a way of summarising what learners can do in a language in general.

The external assessments for Asset Languages are taken in the classroom, removing some of the 'exam hall stress' which many students feel prior to exams. The course is broken into smaller, 'bite-size' chunks than the GCSE course, and accordingly there are four assessment windows throughout each year. (i.e. eight assessment windows throughout the two year course), during which students can take external assessments. These assessment windows fall in November, March, May and June. If students are entered for an external assessment and they underperform, they can be re-entered later in the year. The advantage of this system over GCSE, is that if a student performs well in one of the external assessments, they can then go on to focus on their other, perhaps weaker, skills, in order to ensure that they achieve as well as possible across the board. It will be through discussion with their teacher and ongoing assessment of their individual skills that decisions will be made on which assessments students will be entered for as the year goes on.

Asset Languages also differ from GCSE in that the Languages Ladder upon which it is based goes far higher than the GCSE scale - the Langauges Ladder allows learners to continue to a level comparable to post-graduate level. This means that, unlike some alternatives to GCSE, there is no limit to how well students can achieve when studying for Asset Languages. This also means that, should they wish to, students can continue to learn lamguages after Key Stage 4, and continue to work on the same assessment scheme.

To give a clear idea of how the Asset Languages qualification compares to GCSE, the table below offers a breakdown of both. Our students will be working on the Preliminary and Intermediate stages of Asset Languages.

Asset Langauges Stages

General Qualifications
Mastery: Grades 16 and 17 Postgraduate
Proficiency: Grades 13 - 15 Degree Level
Advanced: Grades 10 - 12 AS / A Level
Intermediate: Grades 7 -9 GCSE grades A* - C
Preliminary: Grades 4 - 6 GCSE grades D - G
Breakthrough: Grades 1 - 3 Entry Level (Pre-GCSE)

If a student's target grade at GCSE is a C, they should be aiming to achieve an average of grade 7 on Asset Languages across the 4 skills. If their target is a grade D, then an average of grade 6 across the 4 skills would be required to gain the equivalent points.