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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May 2026 Languages Update
Welcome to the May 2026 languages update,
May is a busy one for languages teams, with speaking assessments firmly in focus across centres. So this month’s update is intentionally brief – just the essentials, right when you need them most.
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April 2026 Languages Update
With the exam season now getting closer, many of you are moving from planning into delivery – particularly when it comes to speaking assessments. This update focuses on the things we know matter most right now, along with a small number of wider sector updates to keep on your radar.