Languages
GCE A Level Chinese and Japanese amendment
We are very pleased to announce that Ofqual have approved our amendments to A level Chinese (9CN0) and Japanese (9JN0), for first teaching from September 2024 (first assessment summer 2026).
These changes reflect an update to the A level subject content set by the Department for Education for both qualifications, which was announced in October 2023 following a consultation.
As a summary, the main changes are:
- Questions and responses to comprehension (listening and reading) tasks now appear in English instead of the target language (unless writing skills are also intentionally being assessed).
- Questions about the literary works and films now appear in both the target language and English. Students will still be required to respond in the target language to these questions.
Other smaller changes are summarised in the Summary of changes table in the Specification for each qualification.
The updated Specification and Sample assessment materials for each language show the changes which have been made.
Subject advisor
Rebecca Waker
Languages
Subject updates
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February 2025 Languages Update
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the February 2025 Languages update. At the top of this month’s update I am providing you with all the links and information you may need regarding speaking exams for all of our languages qualifications, as I realise these are fast approaching.
Beyond the speaking updates you will find a range of other items from GCSE 2024 support and training to Assessment Associate vacancies and a chance to have your say on our Subject Advisor updates. Please do take a few minutes to respond to this survey so that I can make these updates as useful as possible for you.
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
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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