A level MFL

[Padleygorge]

My YP did better in GCSE German than she thought she would, getting a grade 7. Tbf, it wasn't wildly out from predictions and she did well across the board, apart from writing. She hasn't considered A level German before but is now wavering on it, so looking for any experience or advice. Is it a massive commitment ? What is the most likely A level grade from a grade 7? Is it predominantly native speakers who take it at A level?

A level Germam (my subject! hurrah!) is a great spec. I know the AQA spec best (is that the one she is looking at) and I rate it highly.

No it is not all native speakers. And it is more than possible to get a top mark withouth being a native speaker. A friend of mine had a candidate this year who took Fr and German, not a native, not even staggeringly brilliant, just worked really hard and got 2 x A star. Not saying your DC will obvs but it is possible.

The most likely grade really depends but I would say on balance a B is more probably and an A is certainly possible tho would need strong commitment.

What was the issue with her writing? Is her grammar and vern knowledge secure? If not, looking at that and the basic vocab from GCSE before September would be beneficial.

It's a great spec as I say but it is a big step up. No more my hobbies or where I went on holiday. The topics are social and political – things like the changing family in German-speaking countries, the fall of the Berlin wall, racism, immigration, art and architecture, German music and film, politics and young people.

The big paper is language, reading and listening, translation into German and summaries in German. Then there is speaking which is a decent chunk of marks, with a research project on a topic related to Germany and then questions on a topic card. Then there is the writing paper, two essays in German on a book and a film. That's worth only 20% of the marks but is often a big focus (understandably). The books are good, I like Der Besuch, and the films are great (Leben des Anderen, Goodby Lenin, Lola Rennt).

The project for the speaking can be many things btw – in recent years (I examine this bit of the spec) I have had students talk about the rise of the AfD, Berlin after the fall of the wall, a specific German band, novel or film and more.

HTH but feel free to ask anything else :)

Thank you so much! Sounds really interesting and yes, it's AQA. She definitely wouldn't study it at uni, but could be useful for future work.

Writing issue was a silly one - she didn't eat lunch before the exam and was exhausted after a morning session and ran out of steam. Writing is normally where she excels!

I know you said she wouldn't study at uni but it's worth noting many highly regarded universities offer joint degrees with an MFL . For example Warwick list History entry requirement as AAA but for German & History its AAB with the B in German. There are often quite a few opportunities for summer schools / volunteering in Germany for the summer of year 12 - great for supra curricular. Youre looking at a 4 year degree though

Universities do value languages, and often make lower offers if it includes a language. It is very hard to get As and A*s, as there are many skills involved (grammar, translation, book and film analysis, history, politics, debating and presenting, research, essay writing...) but the A Level is so interesting. And you end up with a high level of language that is a skill as well as a qualification.

Thank you for all the input! She's been thinking a lot today and has emailed her former teacher for advice. The reason she wouldn't do it at uni is purely that she is focused on something else entirely - performing arts - where it won't be possible to do a language. But it may be beneficial just knowing second language!

My DC is just entering Year13 A Level German and it's their favourite A Level with the smallest class by a long way. It is a tricky subject though and if you have a DC set on getting 'A's they seem to be more elusive in the languages. DC has a native speaker in their class so the playing field doesn't seem quite as fair as in some subjects.

@Clarywould love your advice and tips on what you think are the most important things that students should do when preparing for AQA A Level assessments.
They did Goodbye Lenin for AS, will that be covered again in their A Level exams? Thanks.

Yes Goodbye Lenin! will be on the A level paper (did they actually sit the As exam? not very common now) so they will also study a book. Probably Der Vorleser or Der Besuch. Worth getting the study guide for both film and book, very useful.

Get them to see the native speaker as a useful resource - they will know all the latest phrases and idioms.

The most important paper is the reading and listening one. A big aspect is the summaries as this is a new skill for A level and they carry a lot of marks. Each one is worth 24 marks, so 48 marks for the two summaries (which is interesting as the essay on the film is worth 40 marks in total – probably spend a lot more time on that in class tho).

The speaking is another big area where they can make a difference. They should work on a strong IRP and make sure they use all the headings and source details in the form so the examiner knows what they have read. Make sure they have read it too – more than once I have asked a question relating to a named source only for it to be clear the candidate has not actually read it.

This is very helpful @clary thank you!

I think I heard that German might be overtaking French in popularity at A level at my son's school. Is this true?

In England about twice as many students take French A level as German. Obvs can’t speak for a specific school.

My ds got a 7 at GCSE, an A at A level and went on to do MFL at uni.

OP, the performing arts are shot to pieces and I am saying this as someone who has worked in the industry for over 40 years. Get her to look at broader courses such as German and Performing Arts at Warwick or Bristol, which might broaden her horizons a bit. I am genuinely not sure what the future holds for the arts in the UK over the next few years - the last few years have been shocking - and it would give her broader appeal to employers. However talented, the chances of making it are diminishingly minute. She could always do an MFA somewhere like Bristol Old Vic Theatre School after her degree.

Many years ago now, but I loved German A level. I did French A level too. There were a lot more students doing French, and it was more structured lessons.
Because there were only 6 in our German group, lessons were more fluid and definitely more fun. We chose to surprise the lecturer one day and actually put on a short play based on the book we were studying, so her lesson plans for that day went out of the window!
Again, because the group was small, we had some really good discussions about all sorts of subjects - lecturer wasn’t bothered as long as they all took place in German. Because the group was so small, everyone was seen to be contributing whereas in the French group, the ‘quiet’ students got overlooked and missed out a lot especially on spoken work.

I did both languages as ‘fun’ A levels because I found them easy..was actually at college to study maths and further maths, so I didn’t carry on with further language study, but both languages have come in useful in different ways in recent years. If she enjoys German and finds it ‘easy’ I would say go for it.

She's going to give it a go! @clary I don't suppose you could recommend any resources for her to look at before the course starts? She's feeling at a bit of a disadvantage having done no German over the summer, thinking she wouldn't continue!

No matter what you're going to do later in life a MFL is always useful. I did both French and German A' levels and went on to do a combined French/Business Studies degree. I will admit that there were plenty of times I referred to German as "that devil language" because French came so much easier to me but I amazed myself last summer on holiday in Germany when I could dredge up so much still and not only speak but understand what was going on. I was even more impressed (and slightly horrified and old) when I realised that it was 27 years since I done my A' levels 😂

DD did French A-level, and one thing she did which helped was to read Harry Potter in French. She was a big HP fan as a child, so she was very familiar with the plot, which made it easier to read than other things might be. She worked her way through the whole series, and was a lot quicker reading the last one than the first, because by that point she'd stopped needing to look words up all the time. It might not be Harry Potter for your DD, but something she is familiar with in English is good. (I think DD has also read all the Heartstopper series in French.)

Have a look at the Goethe Institut in London website. There is the possibility to become a Young Ambassador for them where you educate younger children on the benefits of learning German.

Yes agree that reading or watching a fave series in the TL can be a real help to get into it.

Useful practical work would be some revision of tenses and irregular verbs; prepositions and cases they are followed by; some basic vocab from GCSE (esp generic things like opinions, conjunctions, adjectives). Any resources she used for GCSE would be good here (Quizlet, Memrise etc)

Would be well worth watching a few of the films. You won't know which one she might do but there's no harm in having a look at Goodbye Lenin!, Das Leben des Anderen and Lola Rennt, all good films.