Jump from GCSE to A level in German

[ShouldersBackChestOutChinUp]

Ds1 got an 8 in German GCSE. So he thought he'd do it for A level.

I thought things might have changed from when I did French A level but no.

The instant step up is huge with A level expecting him to have acquired large banks of sophisticated vocabulary over last summer. There's no build up, just instantly unrealistically high expectation.

Anyone else found this? He's trying to learn reams of vocab every week but it's demoralising and not particularly inspiring.

DS1 had this with Italian. He loved it GCSE level but hated A level, found it very difficult. Luckily he was still in the beginning of the first year so changed subjects.

Yes, same thing here with Spanish. It's very tough. I have suggested several times that ds change subject but he won't hear of it.

Things that are helping here:

• watching Netflix shows in the original (so Money Heist mainly!)
• listening to News in Slow Spanish (there is a German equivalent)

They're now on to studying a film, so it's a bit more interesting than just learning vocab. Have you had any feedback from school about how he's getting on, relative to where they'd expect at this stage? As well as the jump in expectations, these kids are behind in all their subjects because of the pandemic, so there are inevitable gaps.

Thanks for the tips @tribpot

I really think they need to look at how big a gap there is between GCSE and A level in languages.

My son's also started A level German this year, and yes he did set himself a huge vocab learning goal last summer (reached said goal by December I think). I have been extremely impressed by his approach to it - he's set his phone and laptop to German, listens to podcasts and news in German and so on.

For him it was important that he hit the ground running as German is his 4th A level so we'd all been clear that we'd support him doing it if it was working, but equally support him dropping it again if not.

I suspect a big difficulty in balancing GCSE vs A level in languages, is maintaining accessibility at the lower level while fostering meaningful achievement at the higher end. No idea what the answer is (have got poor language skills myself having been educated in a system with lower language learning aspirations than the English system)

For your son, I've heard good things from multiple sources about the "Easy German" podcast if he's not using it already. For his vocab targets my son used a combination of lists on memrise, and duolingo, I think. He's now aiming to consolidate by reading, and any additional vocab he expects to pick up along the way.

Good luck to other language learners!

I found this when I did a language at A-Level 20 years ago. Got an A at GCSE and a C at A-Level. Outdated I know, but sounds like this aspect hasn’t changed. In fairness, I was not especially hard working and A-Levels were more difficult to wing.

Basically, at A-Level you have to work for it. I’d say the best thing he could do is spend some time in France.– maybe a summer holiday, volunteering, internship or placement of some sort?

I think there's a huge step up between all GCSEs and A levels tbh. All about the step up between regurgitating info at GCSE to learning more independently. I found the book Wort fur Wort amazing when I did my alevels- see if you can pick up a copy.

Any people with children doing different languages look up the translation of word for word on Google translate to get that book. Genuinely such a huge help!

Oops sorry I mean Germany!

He can listen to German radio online, Goethe also have some great resources, as do Deutsche Welle.

My DP has been learning German on Duolingo and I’ve been surprised how much he’s picked up without speaking to any German people or having anywhere to practice!

I would also strongly recommend the tandem app - you can chat with people in that language and do not only are you exposed to real German, your partner can correct you and there is a social element, which makes for a proper incentive to understand and express yourself.

Internships (Praktikums) are also popular and usually paid in Germany (although I don’t know how Brexit will have affected this and I gather Covid restrictions are quite strict at the mo).

There are also summer language courses available, which could bridge the gap between GCSE and A-Level.

As an ex-teacher of MFL, I always emphasised the jump from GCSE to A Level to my students. From my own student experience, I found it much bigger than the jump from A Level to degree.

Immersion is the best way to go. Advise DC to take in as much German as they can - podcasts, tv, phone settings etc all in German.

That News in Slow .... (I looked at French) is $20 a month, which is a lot.

normal and to be expected.

at a-level you would expect almost fluency (level b2) and the texts to be almost the same level in that language as for english subject.
it's a big jump from a2 level expected for gsce.

for tv: dark on netflix is great (a bit like stranger things)
disney plus has great overvoiced programmes
zdf & ard mediathek have german programmes like logo (news for older children)
or tatort crime drama

watch with german subtitles.

I speak German having learnt it in school and uni and living in Germany.
I was lucky enough to go to Germany on an exchange in the summer after our GCSE equivalent - it helped hugely with little effort. Obviously that’s not possible in this case, but the key is just exposure to the language as much as possible in everyday life so it just becomes easy to understand and speak naturally.
One thing I recommend for vocab is German tv - there are loads with apps - das Erste, ZDF. He will struggle with it, but learn quickly also. I’ve passed the Goethe C2 exams and occasionally have to guess from context, but that’s normal , we do it with English too. Just watch, listen, read as much German as possible and it will get easier.
If I likes crime drama I highly recommend Tatort on Sunday evenings.

I think the problem is that most schools teach to the GCSE rather than aiming for a good grounding in the language. I didn't notice a huge step up, but pupils who joined my school's sixth form usually struggled with languages.

Amazing advice. Thank you so much.

Would strongly recommend apps.ankiweb.net for learning vocab (see augmentingcognition.com/ltm.html for an explanation of the science behind it).

The Netflix series "How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)" might be of interest.

Also, for the literature reading interpretations of the works from academics (e.g. on JSTOR.org) is pretty handy.

Yes, I did A level German and there was a massive jump but the shock was over by Christmas and I loved it. It is totally worth it. I was able to travel to Germany frequently during the two years though.

DS did Spanish A level but didn't enjoy it, sadly and isn't doing it at uni. However, covid and lockdown and an inability to travel to Spain during his course didn't help :)

There are so many resources online though, and Deutsche Welle do a slow version of news (it's free). It's also worth watching things like Babylon Berlin with subtitles on.

From my own student experience, I found it much bigger than the jump from A Level to degree yes I'd agree. In fact my German was better when I did my A level than it was two years later after supposedly doing it at uni. They completely relied on the year in Germany which made all the difference.

@bare

That News in Slow .... (I looked at French) is $20 a month, which is a lot.

Really? My son listens to the News in Slow French and that's a free podcast.

@bare you can listen to it here for free
www.newsinslowfrench.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw9LSSBhBsEiwAKtf0nwkGYNdXWIbgyZ0WWh9Qk9RIwA6uKOGqLk5olcDcSuBD8w9uIfa2zxoCttEQAvD_BwE

There are several YouTubers mostly US doing high school or university exchanges in Germany who have useful tips on vocabulary etc . I have heard the slow news recommended a lot , maybe a group of them could subscribe and watch at school to reduce the cost

I'd second watching shows in German on Netflix. My daughter is currently watching the Good Witch in German with German subtitles and it's helped her massively. There are also lots of podcasts in German you can listen to, see the ARD Audiothek app where there are lots to choose from or NDR do a lot of good scientific ones. The Goethe Institute usually do holiday intensive courses and they may still be online.