A-Level
Careers related to studying Languages:
If you choose to study a language A-level, you will develop comprehensive written and spoken communication skills in the target language.
As a result, students who have studied a language A-level have a vast array of career opportunities open to them, ranging from translating and interpreting to teaching or, most commonly, working with well-known multinational companies to international organisations or charities. There are exciting opportunities – often involving travel abroad – in almost every sector, including: manufacturing, sales, banking/finance, community/social services, and transport/communications.
Course content:
Through studying this course, you will develop your ability to analyse and evaluate, clearly structure arguments and make reasoned judgements, all of which are essential at university. The course involves an integrated study with a focus on language, culture, society, cinema and literature.
Entry requirements:
You must have sat higher tier for all GCSE papers in the language and achieved at least a grade 6.
Subject specific events:
You will be encouraged to take part in a range of enrichment activities, which are accredited through the Foreign Language Leaders Award.
You will also be invited to take part in an exciting trip to Barcelona and/or Paris, where you can gain first-hand experience of the culture whilst improving your linguistic skills.
Methods of study:
There are five lessons per week which are divided between three subject specialists. In addition, you will also receive 1:1 tuition from our Foreign Language Assistant to help improve your confidence and proficiency in speaking the target language. Teaching groups tend to be small, enabling highly personalised leaning, and the course is taught through a range of teaching and learning strategies. These strategies include group discussion, close reading and annotation of texts and the use of authentic audio/visual stimuli.
You should expect to complete approximately 5 hours of independent study outside of your lessons. This could include: listening and reading the target language, practising grammatical concepts, completing translations and essays or simply speaking in the target language. In order for you to take full advantage of the course, it is recommended that you immerse yourself fully in the target language in topics which interest, inspire or intrigue you, which are available at the click of a button.
Methods of assessment:
The course is a two-year program leading to the production of two components of work.
Paper 1 Listening, reading and writing (50%)
You will be assessed on your listening and reading comprehension (including summaries in the target language) and translation skills into the target language and English.
Exam time: 2.5 hours.
Paper 2 Writing (20%)
You will be assessed on your response to two essay questions (300 words each) on a film and book studied in class.
Exam time: 2 hours.
Paper 3 Speaking (30%)
You will be assessed on a 5 minute discussion of a stimulus card and a presentation and discussion of Individual Research Project (linked to the target language country).
Exam time: 21-23 minutes.