GCSE for first examination in 2011
GCSEs in languages have just been revised. In the case of community languages there have been a number of significant changes which bring them more in line with other GCSE examinations in languages. The courses are now more flexible with a greater emphasis on the practical skills of speaking and writing. There is also the option of taking a short course. Short courses should appeal to those who have excellent speaking and listening skills but are only in the early stages of learning to read and write a language.
The majority of the new examinations will be available for first examination in 2011 with a few available from 2010. If you are entering students for GCSE before then make sure that you prepare them for the correct examination and that you are aware of the implications of the changes to the specifications.
Key changes:
- The specifications are now organised into units which can either all be taken at the end of the course in a linear fashion or at different stages if this is appropriate. Students can also resit a unit once to improve their performance.
- All language examinations at GCSE now include the assessment of speaking (see table)
- The topic areas are now more relevant and contemporary and there is wider choice of theme for speaking and writing.
- Students can now choose to take a short course which counts as half a GCSE. Students will be assessed in two skills. They can either take a short course in spoken language (listening and speaking ) or a short course in written language (reading and writing).
- A number of the examinations are no longer tiered. This removes the risk that students may be entered for the wrong papers and not have access to the grades they are capable of achieving. Where tiering still exists, it does so only in the listening and reading papers. This will mean that there are 2 versions of the listening and reading papers, a Higher or Foundation version, with restricted grade outcomes.
- Controlled assessment of speaking and writing has been introduced for some languages (see table below). It has replaced written coursework. In controlled assessment the awarding body determines the level of control required for task setting, task taking and task marking. For writing this will mean that written tasks will be completed within the centre under supervision with controlled access to resources. The work will then be sent to the awarding body for marking. Where the assessment of speaking is through controlled assessment it will be marked internally by the teacher and a sample moderated by the awarding body.
- The instructions on the listening and reading paper are now in English rather than in the target language
You can download the specifications and other support materials from the awarding body websites. These include vocabulary lists, required knowledge of grammar, assessment objectives, past papers and administrative arrangements. Most community languages are offered by only one examination board so there is usually no choice of specification. The grades awarded range from A*–G.
Summary of GCSE examinations* for first teaching from 2009, first examinations in 2011
| Language | Board | Full course linear | Full course modular | Short course | Tiered listening and reading | Controlled assessment of speaking and writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Excepting French, German and Spanish | ||||||
| Arabic | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Bengali | AQA | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Chinese (Mandarin/ Cantonese) | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dutch | OCR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| (Modern) Greek | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Gujarati | OCR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| (Modern) Hebrew | AQA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Irish | CCEA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Italian | AQA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Italian | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Japanese | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Persian | OCR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Panjabi | AQA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Polish | AQA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Portuguese | OCR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Russian | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Turkish | OCR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Urdu | AQA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Urdu | Edexcel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
N.B. Important: All GCSE examinations in languages now include the assessment of speaking.
