Languages stupid question.

Linguists tend to be able to learn most languages if taught well or immersed in the language. For people who truly like languages they should study two at GCSE and then two at A level if possible to give the best choice from them on. They have a track record which means they can adapt well at university be it ab initio or not.

Oh gilly that makes sense then!

DS's school offers a challenge language in Y11 as they all sit French in Y10. They have one year to learn Russian or Italian to GCSE standard. Last years results were Russian 12A & 8A, Italian 56A and 4A. I was shocked at how little of a language you need to know to get a top grade in a language GCSE. It is nowhere near the standard required for IGCSE languages which the school sits for other languages studied for a minimum of 3 years, and would be very poor preparation for A level.
This makes me cross because the number taking languages at A level has dropped because of the huge jump to A level and we are doomed to be forever seen as a little Island race who can only speak English. Sorry for ranting.

It's definitely possible. Back when I was at school everyone in my school started French at year seven and German at year nine. German then became an option for gcse in year ten (so everyone did a year of it then you could choose if you wanted to continue). 30/150 did and plenty of us got As at gcse.

Dd was disapointed not to have German on offer at her school as there are lots of jobs in Germany. They only offer French, the language of ballet.

It would be possible but it would be fairly difficult to begin a gcse in Year 10 if the rest of the class had studied the language in KS3.

At ds's school students are given the option to start a completely new language in year 9 but they are in a class comprising all beginners & they have a double timetable slot for that year (they have to drop an arts subject if they choose that option.

Back when I did my GCSE's French clashed with music so I dropped French. However I took it up again in 6th form & got GCSE grade B in one year.

Dh has a similar background to your dd (except he started later). He did quite a bit of self study Italian using a book & cassette tape. He doesn't know what much means but his pronunciation is perfect & he felt no need to learn German when he'd got Leider Line By Line!

My youngest is studying Spanish and Italian at Russell Group.
She started Spanish at Y9 as a second language with no prior knowledge or experience. We didn't do tutoring. She got A* relatively easily. She then studied IB and got a 7 at higher (top possible grade). She did French from early age and was reasonably fluent from out of school activities but we'd not so much as had a holiday in Spain. She chose not to take French to GCSE.

I'm with bojo really - there are very few UK universities (dd's is one of them) where you can do ab initio French, so I'd be wary of narrowing options at this stage if she knows she wants to pick up several languages. I don't think she needs to get too hung up on actual GCSEs though - exposure is more important than qualifications.

Her chosen course includes lots of different languages - intriguing!

Why stop French? A linguist can do an initio Italian and Russian so why not continue with French. It's useful for Italian anyway! Being so prescriptive so early is not such a good idea.

It is not always about the final grade because some universities expect all GCSE exams to be taken at the same time. Not picked off one by one.

Moving on, lots of universities do require students to have studied French or Spanish at A level to access MFL degrees which include those languages but offer ab initio in lots more. If you can two several languages at GCSE then that prepares you for A Level and degree study beyond that. My DD found learning with native speaker teachers of great benefit because the conversation, vocabulary and literature was greatly extended. She would have hated to have learnt on her own!

I think it's definitely doable - you need a tutor and regular sessions for gcse.
My DS decided to learn Japanese outside school with a tutor rather than French at school, even though this would have been the easier option! He may be able to complete this in the 2 years (his tutor is very positive) although I would settle for him taking gcse in year 12 if he needs more time! In some ways it's about the final grade as it is about him showing he had the motivation to study something in his spare time.

As mumsneedwine says the new GCSEs are hard yes historically in the less common languages like mandarin and Japanese there used to be less vocab and lower grade boundaries. This has changed DD has been doing Mandarin since year 1 and is now in year 8 and will do it for GCSE even with 8 years behind her and 3 more to go covering the vocab in the characters is hard going. The dictation they have to do both English to Mandarin and Mandarin to English, they have an hour a fortnight dedicated to this alone.

I did O levels back in the day. Started Spanish in the equivalent of year 9 and got an A - no A stars back then. So definitely possible even if GCSEs are getting harder.

I came on to say my DD did Spanish GCSE in 2 years. But I am delighted to read mumsneedwine's comment about the newer GCSE, and wonder whether ab initio in 2 years would now be practical.

Just a word of caution. The new language GCSES are nothing like the old ones. They are hard - v like my O level was. No memorising, need to actually be able to hold a conversation and do dictation and translation. So no slow teaching anymore !

Very possible.

I did Russian O-level from scratch in a year (respectable B-grade, many years ago); my nephew more recently did Italian A-level from scratch in two years and got an A.

There are so many good language learning apps/books/programs/videos etc that it is easier than ever to teach yourself a language. DD, 14, is currently teaching herself Norwegian using duolingo and an online Norwegian high-school drama.

If she's learning outside school, she might want to look at qualifications other than GCSEs - they vary according to language, but there are things like the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, with five levels, and I think there is something similar for French and other languages. You take tests at centres other than schools, and the content is often more geared to real life and usage than the GCSE syllabus.

I have to say, though, that the best and fastest way of learning a language is to go and spend some time immersed in a place where they speak it (and avoid native speakers of your own language).

I did German for GCSEs in two years, at a time when grammar requirements were high, and in fact went on to do it for A Level. I do think your daughter will need to do the extra language at school, or through formal lessons elsewhere, however, rather than trying to pick it up for herself.

Yes Ds's school offer German, French and Spanish (and Latin) as standard.

Then as an extra curricular they offer Greek, Italian, Mandarin and Japanese. These are covered in a 2 year period in year 9 and 10.

Op it sounds like she has lots of enthusiasm so good luck to her :)

Be aware tho that MFL GCSEs are a lot more difficult now - higher expectation of grammar for current yr 10 an onwards. Sure your dd will be able to pick it up but just to correct some views on here

At school, (so 20 years ago!) I started German GCSE in year 10, got a C at the end of year 11