Languages
March 2024 Languages Update
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to your March 2024 Pearson Edexcel Languages qualifications update.
If you had one I hope your February half term break was enjoyable. In this update I am pleased to be able to share with you various support documents and resources related to both the current and new GCSE specifications. I am also including information related to the speaking exams as these are coming up soon for most of our qualifications.
As always, please do get in contact if there is anything I can support you with in relation to our languages qualifications.
Best wishes
Rebecca Waker
Subject Advisor for Languages
- New resources for GCSE (2024) Spanish and German
- GCSE (2024) published resources updates
- New GCSE (2016) support videos
- Upcoming training
- Speaking exam support
- Association for Language Learning - Language World Conference
- National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) CPD
- German Expert Mentors (GEMS)
We are now pleased to be able to share with you the Spanish and German versions of our vocabulary and grammar guide. These guides contain everything you need to know about the vocabulary and grammar lists for the Pearson GCSE (2024) qualifications. They are specific to each language as some aspects are different.
If you haven’t seen it already, our French version has been available since October:
You are now able to pre-order our GCSE (2024) French, Spanish and German textbooks.
Read more about our new resources
Recently I have completed a set of support videos for our current GCSE qualifications. The speaking videos are based on the issues observed by our assessment team and your most frequently asked questions. These are a handy reminder for any teacher, but particularly important for external adults conducting speaking exams who don’t usually teach the specification.
GCSE Speaking – during the exam
As a reminder, these already exist for A Level:
We still have face to face and online dates for our Getting Ready to Teach training for the GCSE French, German and Spanish 2024.
These are all free of charge.
Delegates will:
- develop understanding of the specification content and requirements (e.g. thematic contexts, vocabulary and grammar)
- deep dive into the new elements of the qualification and better understand their mark schemes
- find out more about the support available
- have the opportunity to discuss best practice and share ideas with other teachers.
Acting on feedback you have given us during our Getting Ready to Teach events we have arranged a new phonics training session.
In this session we will explore a range of teaching and learning strategies that can be used for both introducing and recycling phonics knowledge in the Modern Languages classroom from KS3. We will explore common challenges of the new Read Aloud and Dictation tasks and help you develop students’ phonic abilities in these areas.
In January we ran a new event related to the new GCSE writing paper. We are now running this session again in March.
In this event, we will focus on exploring key features of the question paper and mark criteria in the new Pearson Edexcel (2024) Paper 4, Writing, for French, German and Spanish, with a particular focus on:
• comparing the structure of the paper with the existing AQA structure, to support the centres who are switching to our qualification
• understanding application of the best fit mark criteria for writing tasks
• understanding the Pearson Edexcel approach for marking the translations
• considering teaching and learning approaches to best prepare your students for the examination.
Extra time in speaking exams
A reminder that for speaking exams any extra time is applied to preparation time. If you believe you have a candidate who should be entitled to extra time during the recording you should email us on uk.special.requirements@pearson.com.
If you have not had this approval our examiners will stop marking at the usual cut off time.
Pictures for International GCSE
A reminder that pictures for the International GCSE languages speaking exams should be photographs. Not drawings, AI generated images or any other type of illustration. Guidance can be found in our Administrative Support Guide on page 10.
We have arranged a range of training for the speaking exams. You can attend our regular speaking exam conduct training or one of my drop in sessions. My sessions will be short, 30 minute sessions with some top tips followed by time for your questions.
We'll also be sharing the updated versions of our Administrative Support Guide and London Centre Orals documents shortly.
GCSE Drop in sessions
GCSE exam conduct training
A Level Drop in sessions
A level exam conduct training
We have had some exciting meetings with NCLE hub leads and specialist teachers recently and look forward to working with them even more in future.
National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) CPD
You may have already heard about NCLE, but have you explored what they have on offer? The Institute of Education, together with the Goethe-Institut and the British Council is leading the nationwide hubs programme funded by the DfE up to £14.9 million over the next three years to re-energise language learning in state-maintained primary and secondary schools in England.
On their website you can access 10 modules of universal CPD and see their upcoming CPD webinars.
Do you teach German?
German Expert Mentors (GEMS)
The GEM Network is a sister initiative of the NCLE Hub schools, and, as part of GIMAGINE, is supported by the UK`s Department of Education and Germany's Foreign Office.
You can bool a GEM free of charge and they will work with you to provide bespoke training, coaching and action planning to support the teaching and learning of German.
Subject advisor
Rebecca Waker
Languages
Subject updates
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April 2024 Languages Update
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you have had a restful break and are ready for the summer term. As languages teachers you will likely be conducting speaking exams early on this term so I have made sure to include all the speaking exam support you may need at the very start of this update.
Please remember you can get in contact with all of your questions about Pearson Edexcel Languages qualifications. My contact details are at the bottom of this page.
Best wishes,
Rebecca Waker
Subject Advisor for Languages
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Speaking Windows for International Languages Qualifications - November 2024 and January 2025
As well as the summer series some of our International GCSE and A Level qualifications are available in November and January. Please see the speaking window dates below.