AS and A level
At AS/A level there are 18 community languages on offer (excluding French, German or Spanish). The A level award consists of two equally weighted components: the AS and the A2. The AS is the first half of the course; it may be awarded as a discrete qualification or contribute 50% of the total marks for the Advanced GCE. The structure of the qualification allows you to construct a programme which can be taught and assessed as a modular course with units taken at appropriate stages during the course or as a linear course with all units taken at the end of the course. AS is usually taken at the end of Year 12 and A2 at the end of Year 13. Students can resit units to improve their performance. Some students may also decide, on the advice of their teacher, to sit the AS examination in Year 11 if they are sufficiently mature.
There have recently been a number of changes to the AS/A levels in community languages.
Key changes:
- Changes to the number of units for some languages.
- The introduction of assessment of listening in some languages.
- The introduction of assessment of listening and speaking in AS Chinese.
- Changes in the A2 to the way awareness and understanding of the contemporary society and culture is assessed with a greater choice of topics.
- The removal of coursework from all AS/A level language examinations.
In a number of languages, speaking and listening skills are not directly assessed although it is likely that these skills will be developed while delivering the course. The qualifications also include the requirement for translation into and from the target language so learners will need a good grasp of English to tackle such tasks.
The language required for A level is more sophisticated and abstract than that at GCSE so the examination is generally better suited to older learners. A student must be able to apply their knowledge of the language to read and respond to a range of texts, present viewpoints, develop arguments, analyse and evaluate as well as demonstrate cultural knowledge. At A2 there is also a focus on developing research skills. As with GCSE, you need to ensure pupils are working to the specification for the correct year of entry. The new AS units will be examined for the first time in June 2009 with the A2 units being examined for the first time in 2010.
Summary of A level examinations (excepting French, German and Spanish) 2008
| Language | Board | AS no. of units | A2 no. of units | Speaking and listening assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic | Edexcel | 1 | 1 | No |
| Bengali | AQA | 1 | 1 | No |
| Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese) | Edexcel | 2 | 1 | Speaking and listening assessed in the AS |
| Dutch | OCR | 1 | 1 | Listening assessed |
| (Modern) Greek | Edexcel | 1 | 1 | No |
| Gujarati | OCR | 1 | 1 | Listening assessed |
| (Modern) Hebrew | AQA | 1 | 1 | Yes |
| Irish | CCEA | No | Yes | Yes |
| Italian | Edexcel | 2 | 2 | Yes |
| Japanese | Edexcel | 1 | 1 | No |
| Panjabi | AQA | 1 | 1 | No |
| Persian | OCR | 1 | 1 | Listening assessed |
| Polish | AQA | 1 | 1 | No |
| Portuguese | OCR | 1 | 1 | Listening assessed |
| Russian | Edexcel | 2 | 2 | Yes |
| Turkish | OCR | 1 | 1 | Listening assessed |
| Urdu | Edexcel | 2 | 2 | Yes |
