GCSE options: Mandarin v French

[ZoeL08]

Hi there
I’ve come here in the hope of some advice from other parents (and future employers!)
Our daughter needs to make a choice between her two languages for her GCSE options and we’re stuck!
She’s better at French so will probably get a higher grade. BUT we think Mandarin will stand out more on her CV and may serve her better in the future. She’s unlikely to continue either at A Level.
She probably enjoys French slightly more but is very disciplined at both.
What do you think she should do?
Thanks very much

Zoe

I think she should choose the one she wants to do. It's unlikely GCSE level will make that much difference as she won't be fluent. My DD is having a similar dilemma with different subjects. We've talked with her about the pros and cons but like your DD there's little between the subjects, both are sensible choices, so she will choose herself.

Honestly whichever one she has most interest in. I don’t think a gcse and no further study will particularly stand out one way or another on a cv as it’s not going to be job standard, just the basics.

i would go with whatever she will find the most fun, as that’s French is go with that

I would also consider whether there will be a lot of native speakers doing the Mandarin gcse in which case a non native getting a good mark will be much much harder as grades follow the normal distribution curve.

Also I don't mean to be negative but many universities/employers pay n attention to what GCSEs someone took just how many they passed and wether it includes maths and English

Therefore I would go for French

French. Easier, therefore easier to get to a higher standard. More likely to be useful in terms of travel and holidays, which even as a language teacher I have to admit is the only thing most people ever use their GCSE language for. Easier to go back to later if she wants to refresh her language and use it for anything. It's rare enough for people to really have a properly decent conversational level by GCSE in any language, and one with a different alphabet and zero similarities with your native language is much, much harder to learn well and to retain.

French if she's better at it.

No one, and I really mean this, no one will give a shit which MFL she has on her CV. Especially if she's not going to actually carry it on post GCSE.

We recruit job positions with language skills - GCSE level wouldn't stand out unless taken further at A Level. I would go for French with the possibility of a higher grade.

She should take the subject which makes the most sense to her.
It's gcse level. Stop speculating about employers and cvs.

She should do the one that she thinks will be most useful to her in life. Basic French has been extremely useful to me and as our nearest neighbour it's a very easy country to visit. A lot of kids do Mandarin these days, so I don't think it will make her stand out that much, unless she continues it at A level, in which case it will.

Unless she intends to take the language further, then she should opt for the one she will work harder on (ie the one she enjoys more) and the one she will get a better grade in (or the one she is stronger at). From your description, that's French.

What an amazing response. Thanks so much everyone. I think that’s settled then. 😁