Thinking about PGCE or similar for secondary modern languages...

[LauraLooDerby]

Hi there

I am considering doing a PGCE this year to teach secondary French. I did French and Italian at university, and although that was a while ago (I am now 36), teaching has always been something I've been interested in pursuing.

My concern is around getting a job post qualification - purely because although I got a 2:1 in my degree, it was a while ago and my language skills have dropped somewhat. I am still competent but could do with a bit of brushing up.

Does anyone know if I would need to do a languages refresher course in order to be considered for a job in this area? It's certainly something I'm willing to do (or even work my way through A-level workbooks or something?!) but I don't want to go through the PGCE or apply for it if this is a hurdle I need to tackle beforehand.

Any insight really appreciated!

Thanks

May have posted this in the wrong topic! If so please let me know and I'll get it moved.

Thanks!

I’m MFL :)

Probably a good idea to refresh some of your conjugations and vocab - bit of time on online conjugators and watching some French/Italian TV/films. Can’t hurt to look through some text books, read some books in French/Italian etc. Normally I’d recommend finding a conversation class/group too, but... well... you know! Maybe online?!

I wouldn’t worry about understanding the curriculum etc. Other than a rough idea - that’s what the PGCE is for!

I did my PGCE in secondary MFL (French and Spanish) back in 2004 now. At the time if applying for the degree, I had lived in France for about 5 years and had an undergraduate degree in it, but my Spanish was weak compared.

My course tutor advised me to do whatever it took to build up my confidence in the second language do that I could teach it at least to KS3.

So I spent 6 weeks doing immersion courses in Spain and upon my return, enrolled in evening classes at the local adult college whilst also starting the PGCE. I had completed Spanish AS level by Christmas and Spanish A Level by the summer when I also qualified as I teacher. It really helped me so much as I felt able to teach Spanish right up to GCSE after that (always prefer to teach at a level lower than the qualification I have, hence French to A Level).

Obviously, you may not be able to go anywhere abtiad easily right now, but you can definitely try some online courses. The Open University do some free courses online in languages under the OpenLearn tab. Do whatever you need to, to feel confident enough to stand in front if those kids and know what you're talking about basically. Films/TV/music/books whatever you can find...

Bonne chance 👍

I think you now have to do some kind of subject knowledge course to start a PGCE, don’t you?

There is such a lot of online stuff around now, look at BBC Bitesize and the Oak Academy to get a feel for what you need. Other than that just immerse yourself, watch Netflix, listen to podcasts, read (recommended A level) books...

DS teaches MFL in a large secondary school. His PGCE was in French and Spanish, qualifying in 2015. Most of the staff in the department are able to offer more than one language to at least KS3. If you haven't already, it might be worth looking at the number of vacancies requiring only French.

There's something called an SKE course (subject knowledge enhancement course) which you can do between getting an offer and starting your course. The uni/ITT provider need to make it a condition of your offer, so that you can get funding for the course. Most are part time/distance learning and you get a small bursary each week for the duration of the course. You keep access to the materials during your PGCE, which can be useful.

They're really common in languages as a lot of people have languages they'd be able to teach but don't have a formal qualification in. If you'd be keen, ask the uni about it at interview.

Not all unis can offer placements for Italian, but some do- I know University of Bristol does.

SKE is what I was thinking about earlier!
@fussychica is absolutely right: we would hesitate to hire somebody who could only offer French, a second language really is the norm. Italian is quite rare, but at least 2 schools in our neck of the woods do offer it.

I believe the most popular and common combo today is French and Spanish.

This is all so helpful, thank you everyone!

I was also concerned about the fact that I picked Italian to study rather than Spanish or something... at the time I thought it was romantic and made me a bit different. Sadly now it just means I can live and eat like a local when I'm over there on holiday 😂 but yes - it means that only the French is really useful for teaching locally.

I did German A Level but I only got a C and so didn't carry it on for uni. I'd consider picking that back up or learning Spanish, although I know I'm then nowhere near the necessary level to teach GCSE or A Level pupils.

All food for thought. I was planning on going to the uni open day to discuss in more detail but obviously that isn't happening.

I'd also planned on spending a couple of weeks in a MFL department at a local secondary school (where my friend is head of languages) but again.... no can do.

This might have to wait a year, mightn't it!