A new MFL from scratch to GCSE in two years?

[MassaAttack]

Ds has chosen Spanish which he's never done before (they do French and German at KS3). He's ok at French, but not top set.

I love him for his ambition, and I'm not obsessed with A*s, but is it actually possible to achieve a reasonable grade with no prior study?

He's in Y9 - just chosen his options (sorry, should have mentioned that).

Am sure it is. He'll need to work at it of course but oeople learn languages for work in a shorter time - a friend learned Bulgarian in a year - to take up a post where it was pretty important.

It's definitely possible (I did Russian to O-level in one academic year and got a B), and if he's done French already, that will help a little with Spanish. I presume the school wouldn't offer it as a possibility if they didn't think it was feasible to do well.

He'll be fine. I did Italian to GCSE in 6 months when I was in sixth form. Every lesson the teacher ended with a chirpy "and that's another 2% of our time gone!".

I dropped 6 marks, and did better than in one of the languages I spent several years working towards. French will help with vocabulary, German will help understand the theory behind the grammar even if the concepts are not necessarily the same.

If he's chosen it he must be interested in it and that's the most important thing with GCSEs really because it's the first time they need to start motivating themselves to revise over an extended period of time.

Sorry, I got an A and dropped 6 marks to getting an A*. I'm not that clever .

I have a feeling they intended it just for top set. I really hope they let him - he's had a huge turnaround recently with behaviour and attitude (hoping the effort will follow closely behind) and it will give him a boost.

He's always happier at the bottom of a higher set than top of a lower - fingers crossed they'll see this.

My dd did French from scratch to GCSE in 3 years - she had done some Spanish already and continued with that too. She clearly does have a knack for languages, but yes, I'm sure it's possible and if the school offer it then their course will hopefully be well designed to achieve it

Thanks everyone. I might drop his French teacher a line - I've not been one of those parents for a while so it's overdue

DW did Spanish in a year from scratch in the 6th form so it can be done quite easily!

I'm not so sure, if he's not a "natural" linguist.

Linguists can - I remember back in the olden days my sister learned Spanish from nothing to O-level, in her 'spare time' alongside doing her A-levels, but if he's not 'top set' I think it will be quite a challenge for him.

My dd is doing 2 languages for GCSE (but one started in Yr7 and one in Yr8), and, she's finding them the most challenging of her GCSEs tbh.

Of course it is!! piss easy!! Night schools do GCSE languages in a year on 2 hours once a week.
I self studied O level Italian in just over a term and got B grade

I did it with German. Was big into languages though and ended up doing language degree.

I joined a y10 class who'd all done 3 years of German - scary! Spent summer before with tapes to help prepare. Can he do that - or go to Spain this summer?

I did Italian GCSE in 2 years (2 hours a week) while I was doing my A Levels and got an A with very little work, so perfectly doable

DS has done this.

Whilst I think he will get a good grade at GCSE I don't think he has the feel of it, the intuitive use of it, that he has for MFL he has been doing for longer at a slower pace.

How many lessons a week will he have? A GCSE is not designed to be a 2 year course and my guess is that your DC will have to do a lot of independent work to get a decent grade. Prior knowledge of French will be helpful but to get an A grade in what will technically be less than 2 years will be a lot of work.

DS did Spanish in a year but had already done Latin and French a year early (school policy, not his linguistic brilliance).

What is noticeable, however, is that although he got an A* he'd struggle to order a beer in Spanish now (6 years on). He'd be fine in French (7 years on).

How many lessons? That's a good question. I'll look it up. His school have cut the number of options they're allowed, to devote more time to English and maths. So they do English language and English literature, RE, triple science, maths plus three others.

I've warned him it will be a lot of work, but he's determined. I'll look into tutors too, if he is allowed to take it. He'll need extra support I think, and I can't speak Spanish at all (I could learn I suppose )

I like how you point out the six years on for beer ordering, grovel

A pretty Spanish student might help. Although I don't think I could specify attractiveness in any job ad

Well, DD has just optimistically asked if I would mind 'learning Spanish for when Lucia gets here' on her school exchange visit.

That gives me about 6 weeks. What do you reckon?

As JudgeRinder says upthread, it'll be a piece of piss. Get cracking, Bird!

My DD started Spanish in Y10 and is on track for an A* in the summer. She'll be doing it at A-level too.

Umm, Si. Or possibly No.

My y11 DD also started Spanish from scratch in y10, and has been getting on fine, despite the fact I know no Spanish. (She's very much average and is on track for Bs and Cs generally).

She is also doing French which has been a bit muddling at times, but the 'exam technique' for both is the same so that has helped.