January 2025 Languages Update
Dear Colleagues,
Happy new year and welcome back. This update includes the latest updates on our languages qualifications including upcoming training and events.
As always, if you need support with any of our languages qualifications, please feel free to reach out to me using the contact details at the bottom of this page or utilize our support portal.
Best wishes,
Rebecca Waker
Subject Advisor for Languages
I look forward to seeing some of you face-to-face on Saturday 18th January at the Association for Language Learning London branch January event.
I’ll be joining a panel of teachers and exam board representatives to talk about your experience with the GCSE so far and answer questions.
I’ll also be leading a session on Examiner Report feedback to support you with your last Year 11 cohort in the current specification.
In the breaks you’ll be able to catch up with me and my colleague Gemma, who you may know if you teach in this area, and we’ll address any questions and feedback you may have for us.
We look forward to seeing you.
I’ll also be taking part in this webinar from the NCLE on Wednesday 15th January 4-5pm.
Join teachers, German Expert Mentors and curriculum developers from the NCLE hubs programme to explore and enjoy breathing new life into the GCSE. We will be modelling and sharing examples of how to make phonology accessible, how to bring excitement into reading aloud, how to describe pictures and draw on creating while building pupils’ skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. We will focus on new areas of content from the specification and will welcome colleagues from the awarding organisations to join a panel of specialist teachers to field your questions.
As the spring term begins we know that planning for speaking exams will be on your mind. A reminder of the windows for the speaking exams this year:
| Qualification | Speaking window |
|---|---|
| GCSE (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Gujarati, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu) |
9th April - 14th May 2025 |
| A level (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish) |
9th April - 14th May 2025 |
| International A/AS levels (French, German and Spanish) This qualification is only available in international centres. |
9th April - 14th May 2025 |
| International GCSE (Chinese, French, German, Spanish, English as a Second Language 4ES2 (New specification)) |
24th March - 2nd June 2025 |
International GCSE The speaking test is optional for these qualifications. |
24th March - 16th May 2025 |
Further guidance on the ROES will also soon be available. The booking system for the Remote Service will be open on Monday 3rd February and close on Friday 28th February 2025. The information with regards to booking will be available on the subject qualification page on our website. However, if you are struggling to locate the information on the website, you can contact us on the following email address: remoteoralexaminerservice@pearson.com.
The Administrative Support Guide for 2025 will be available shortly via the ‘Forms and Administration’ of the ‘Course Materials’ on the relevant qualification page. There are no significant differences this year. The document also outlines different arrangements for conducting the speaking assessment such as through a consortium, private tutor or visiting examiners as well as the Remote Oral Examiner Service (ROES) formerly known as the London Centre Orals (LCOs).
As with A Level, the Administrative Support Guide will be available shortly from the Course Materials on the qualification pages.
This year there is a small change to the CS2 forms; based on teacher feedback these are now in spreadsheet format and can be downloaded from the Forms and Administration pages.
For GCSE (2024) we are continuing our series of popular Drop-In Clinics. You can submit your questions in advance of the session or ask them live.
Subject advisor
Rebecca Waker
Languages
