Take-up of language A-levels at local comp

DS is at a different school where they have a Mandarin club, and can do Latin, Greek, Spanish as well as French & German...

and he doesn't want to do any more than the compulsory one GCSE in French.

Pity DD wasn't a boy and could have gone to his school.

They ARE hard A levels. I was amazed at the difference from GCSE "Hello, my name isX, I live in Y etc" stuff to "Discuss how immigration affects life in Germany today" type AS stuff!

DD is studying 2 languages, Maths & Eng Lit (has now dropped History) but listening to some of her friends, there are easier options available.

She is also looking to start a 3rd language at Uni - it's great to see all the options available to them. Also linguistics looks really interesting.

We really need to change the whole way we think about language learning/teaching in this country with some real joined-up thinking about the ways in which languages are taught right across the spectrum (from KS1 - because I think that even KS2 is too late - to degree level). Trouble is, who's going to do that joined-up thinking? It's not considered a priority by the policy-makers either, so people just tinker round the edges and the situation gets worse and worse.

Still... you can take Italian from scratch at university, so there is hope... (for me! )!

Languages certainly have the reputation of being a difficult subject at 16+. And I do agree. The range of skills needed are very wide with students having to give and justify opinions on many topical subjects in French whilst many would struggle to express an opinion in English.

Wow! 3 sets of French A Level - thats fab!! I think at our school (selective girls) out of 200 year 12's there are about 20 collectively doing the three most popular languages.

at dd's state comp ,admittedly a specialist language school,there are 3 classes of french A level students.
French is the most popular A level.DD says it's becasue the teachers are so fantastic.
They all have to take french gcse and top sets have to take spanish gcse as well.

They also teach spanish,german,mandarin and latin.

Agree Lilymaid

It is demoralising when you build up a great number at GCSE to have that number so rapidly dwindled at A level due to pressures on the kids to get A grades...when i look at the year 13 predicated grades most of them are getting 3 or 4 A grades and most of them are doing the 'lighter' subjects....i am sure when i was at school if you got 4 A grades you were not the norm

Is there a 6th form college in your area which maybe does do languages?

Agree with Freckle to a certain extent - i teach in a selective girls school and the languages dept are fab but the kids hardly do them at A Level because the kids are worried they are too hard and won't get A's in them so choose the 'lighter' subjects instead (we have the same problem in my subject, music too) I too am a linguist so it really saddens me

My DD is applying for Language courses at Uni at the moment. There are only 3 in her A level French Group and about the same for German. (More did German AS but have dropped it this year.)

It is a shame - bu she enjoys the small classes. Complete change from the usual overcrowding and lots of conversation time so skills improve quickly.

If you look at A level figures, not many are taking languages anywhere.

Nighbynight - I presume it wasn't actually an EU office, as you only have to be fluent in one, and competent in another language. In much of the European Council for instance the language used on a daily basis is English and there are 28 member states involved.

At my school we have some superb MFL teachers: some of the best, most dynamic teaching in the school. But SMT do not see MFL as a priority and consistently under-resource them, create timetable problems, etc. For instance a yr7 class has 1 lesson on Monday, 2 on Tuesday, then none for the rest of the week: not a great way to learn a new language! Also all students have to do a Technology subject but no-one has to do MFL, even top set students.

Numbers choosing MFL as an option at yr9 (i.e. to study for GCSE) have varied over recent years from 6-13%
That's from a year group of around 200.

findtheriver makes a good point - AS results aren't usually published so you don't necessarily know if any pupils have taken it that far. Certainly most people I know going into sixth form have 2-3 'definites' and 1-2 'maybes' on their A level list. After the first year, some choose to drop the one they enjoy least or are least good at or possibly the one that just hasn't been the course they thought it would be. Doesn't mean they haven't benefitted from that year.

At my dd's school the bright pupils in her year took GCSE in the language they had been learning at the end of year 9 so that they could prove that they had studied the subject even if they only got a D or below as, at the time, they didn't need to study a language after 14. This means that by the time they get to AS level they don't choose to study languages as it is two years since they last studied the subject.

Dd arrived at the school in Yr 10 and studied French as one of her options and is now doing AS level in a class of 3.

Her school is now a language specialist school so all the children will do GCSE French or German in Yr11 in the hope that more will continue to study to A level.

DS1 attends a grammar school (so you would think they might be a little more stringent about GCSE options) and his compulsory subjects are Eng. Lit. and Eng. Lang., maths and the 3 sciences (done as separate subjects, not as a single subject). No languages at all (other than English obv.). DS1 is doing French GCSE but as one of his chosen options, not because it is compulsory.

I started out as a linguist, doing French, German and Latin A levels, so I find this situation quite disappointing to say the least.

You need to investigate further. To assume that the languages dept must be 'appalling' as one post says is pig ignorant. It might be a damn good dept with excellent teachers. There may be all sorts of reasons why students have chosen other subjects.

Also, remember A levels are actually in two parts - AS and A2 - so do you mean that no one opts for it at all, or that people study it for first year 6th but then drop it? Nothing wrong with that - it's how the A level course is designed. If students are taking it as a fourth option, getting good grades at AS but then dropping it as they move on to A2 with their 3 other options, then that seems entirely normal.

You don't have to do a foreign language for GCSE anymore?? That is a joke! Even though I took Latin I had to still do French and I am grateful for it!

I wouldn't always blame the school - we had the best Latin teacher but only 5 of us doing it for GCSE. Everyone opted for easier subjects. I think only 1 or 2 did it at A -level (I would have but I left to go to College). The introduction of things lke sociology/psychology etc. at A level means people are tending to get through with as little work as possible.

Language provision in schools is a joke, quite honestly. The govt. bangs on about modern languages and insists that one be taught at primary level, but, at the same time, removes the requirement that a modern language is studied at GCSE level. How stupid is that?

Agree that languages have always been perceived as difficult for A Level. I didn't take French A Level for the reason that I might have only got a C grade (back in the 70s when BBC at A Level would get you a place in any major university). It is much easier to get an A in Psychology, Sociology or even trad subjects such as Geography.

Languages are NOT difficult. In fact, they are so easy that I wouldnt encourage my children to take a language A level unless tehy wanted to become a translator or similar - they should study it in their spare time, and have courses in their chosen subject taught in another language. Just like the ones available in english in many german universities.

You see students on trains in germany, learning vocabulary lists, or reading a novel with a dictionary. You bet they are engineers or lawyers or something, not linguists.

Languages are so ignored in the UK. I recently had an insight into a european office, which employs people from all over the EU. They all have to speak english, french and german.

There are apparently hardly any brits working there. That means, that in the policy area dealt with by this office, britain doesn't really have an input. That is very worrying.