Languages
Consultations on A level Chinese and Japanese have been published by DfE and Ofqual
The Department for Education and Ofqual have both published consultations seeking your views on changes to the current Subject Content and assessment arrangements for Chinese and Japanese AS and A levels to allow the use of English where it is reasonable.
The DfE’s consultation invites stakeholders to comment on the following proposed changes:
- When assessing comprehension (listening and reading) skills, questions and responses are expected in English.
- Questions on literary works or film are provided in both the language of study and in English.
Ofqual’s consultation, as a response to the changes proposed by the DfE, invites stakeholders to comment on proposals to change the assessment requirement that limits the number of marks that can be used for responses in English.
For full details please read the consultation documents:
Access the Ofqual consultation
These changes are proposed to take effect from September 2024, for first assessment in Summer 2026. Therefore, you should not make any changes to the delivery and assessment of your current A level courses.
Please note that the consultations reference the Subject Contents for A level and AS qualifications, but Pearson Edexcel offers the A level route only.
The consultations will be open for 5 weeks, closing on 31st May at 11.45pm.
Subject updates
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June 2024 Languages Update
Dear colleagues,
I hope the summer term is going well for you and your students. The exam period is nearly over and of course you are planning ahead for the next academic year. This update includes various resources that you may need such as the speaking windows for next year, live and recorded training for the 2024 GCSEs in French, German and Spanish and some research you may be interested in.
As ever, you can contact me via the details at the bottom of this page and I’ll be happy to support with your questions related to our qualifications.
Best wishes,
RebeccaSubject Advisor for Languages
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2025 speaking windows confirmed
The prescribed speaking window dates for centres to conduct their Modern Foreign Language oral assessments have now been confirmed for the May/June 2025 series.