By Séverine Capjon, author and French teacher
‘Wait, what? The French GCSE specification is changing again?!’ This is the comment I made when a colleague informed me that the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual were working on a new French GCSE. I find change in education a little daunting but I was relieved to read…
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By Tony Weston and José García, authors and Spanish teachers
From September 2024, thousands of budding young Hispanists across the country will once again be embarking on a two-year AQA GCSE Spanish course, one which they hope will bring them both enjoyment and success.
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By Mariela Affum, author and German teacher
I have over 18 years’ of teaching and examining experience and have seen several “new” specifications come and go. As teachers, we must constantly adapt to these changes and make sure that we provide the best possible preparation for our students, as their grades depend on our understanding of the exam and assessment criteria.
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An eternal challenge with language learning is bridging the gap between students’ interests and their beginner language level, so what can we do to ensure they stay motivated?
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Jose Garcia shares what he keeps in mind when he’s planning lessons or writing resources to help make MFL more inclusive.
Read more Sadie Thompson reflects on how to sensitively and respectfully make sure that we are including those students who are coming to terms with what their gender identity might be in the context of the #MFL classroom.
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Paradoxically, being at home for twelve months has made the world more accessible for those students, who have access to a solid internet connection. Virtual field trips, virtual concerts and museum visits have opened the doors of possibility for intercultural understanding. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the language classroom, where an insight into […]
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In 2019, the British Academy, the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Academy of Engineering produced a shared statement calling on the UK Government to adopt a national strategy for languages. They were concerned that the “UK’s poor language capacity has resulted in the loss of economic, social, cultural, and research […]
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We will soon know Ofqual final decisions about awarding grades for GCSE and A Level students this summer. Their consultation closed just over a week ago and has received a record number of responses, not only from educators but also from the young people whose grades are at stake. In our profession we are all […]
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Last week we saw the final criteria for the MFL speaking endorsement published by Ofqual ( link here ). For our colleagues in English this is not a new thing, but for us in MFL it is a novelty and as such it has raised a certain amount of uncertainty and concern. How can we decide fairly […]
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