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A-Level

German

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As the most in-demand additional language in the UK job market, learning German is a gateway to employment opportunities, particularly in business, finance, engineering, the automotive sector, and pharmaceuticals. Being in the same language family as English, German is highly approachable, with logical grammar, highly regular phonetics and spelling, and lots of shared vocabulary with English.

Exam Board

AQA

Entry Requirements

GCSE grade 6 in German

Assessment

  • 100% Exams
About this course FAQs Pathways Information

What is German? 

German is an official language in six countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Liechenstein. With more than 95 million speakers, German is one of the most widely-spoken native languages in the European Union. Across 42 countries, around 110 million people speak German as their primary language. (source: Study in Germany).

 

What will I study? 

You will study a wide range of cultural, historical, political and social topics; including digital culture, immigration, racism, art and architecture, cultural life and heritage, the reunification of Germany, German’s role within the EU, and several others. You will also study and analyse two literary texts (a film and a book) and undertake a research piece into an area of personal interest in a German -speaking country.

 

Assessments 

You will take three final exams:

50%       Paper 1 (listening, reading, writing, summarising, translation)
20%       Paper 2 (analysing the film and the book)

30%       Paper 3 (speaking, including about your research project)

We help you to prepare for these assessments by giving you lots of opportunities to practise all of the skills you’ll need, and giving you high-quality feedback, tips and advice.

 

Trips, Visits and Enrichments 

Opportunities to enter national German competitions run by a range of UK universities
Dedicated preparation sessions for those applying for German at Oxford or Cambridge
Opportunity to work on teaching skills for MFL, working with a local primary school
Opportunity to take part in a trip to Berlin
Workshops and stretch-and-challenge sessions, such as by a professional translator
Guest speakers related to employability skills with MFL
Guest speakers as part of the Aspire programme

 

What can it lead to? 

Students of A Level German have gone on to study Modern Languages, Law, English, History, Medicine, Business Studies, Economics, Music, Sciences and Maths. Not all of our students choose to study a modern language at university, but many do, whether this is for their main degree, as part of another degree, or just for enjoyment. Whatever degree or route you choose to take, your German A-Level will set you up well, by providing you with lots of the employability and study skills that will help you be successful at university and in the workplace. Speaking a language is highly valued in the world of business, and fluency in a language can increase your salary by up to 20%.

FAQs

I’m a native speaker of German. Should I still study this subject?
If you want to, yes! In our MFL subjects almost every year we have native speakers of that language. We know that native speakers have different needs to those taking their language post-GCSE, and we are very used to helping everyone make progress from their own individual starting point. Even as a native speaker, you won’t already know everything we learn about, such as politics, history, literature and social issues, and our native speakers in the past have commented that they learned much more than they thought they would on this course, which makes it really fulfilling, and links them more closely to their heritage.
I’m not a native speaker, but there might be native speakers in my class. Should I panic?
Absolutely not! All of the MFL teachers in our department have studied foreign languages from scratch to a high level, so we know how it feels to be a novice in a language. Rather than see the presence of native speakers in your class as something to worry you, or someone to compare yourself to, see them as a fantastic resource, and someone to learn from. There will also be things that you might be better than them at! We work hard to make our MFL classrooms a community where we ALL learn from each other, regardless of our starting points.
What exam board will I study?
We do AQA. We chose this board because we really like some of the materials produced for AQA, and we like the style of the speaking exam.
How much work will I do?
Just like all of the A-Levels here at King Ed’s, you will have just over 4.5 hours of lessons a week, and you will do around five hours a week of independent study. Some of this will be homework, set by your teacher, and some of this will be activities that you find for yourself, to support your own learning. In the second year, you will also have fifteen minutes a week one-to-one with a language assistant or your teacher.
Is there any coursework?
No. This course is assessed through exams. For part of your speaking exam, you will talk about a research project you’ve carried out, which feels a bit like doing a piece of coursework, but you don’t hand in any written work for it – it is assessed in the speaking exam.
What are the main differences between GCSE and A-Level MFL?
A-level German builds on the foundations of GCSE but takes your language skills much further. You will explore contemporary issues and cultural topics in greater depth, develop a wider range of vocabulary and grammar, and learn to express more complex ideas and opinions. You will also study a German film and literary text, complete an independent research project, and take part in discussion-based speaking assessments. The course is challenging, but it is highly rewarding and intellectually stimulating.
I love literature. Can I do more than the set film and book?
Yes, absolutely! Every year we have MFL students who choose to do their research project on another film or book, a play or poetry. The film and book paper (Paper 2) is about 20£ of your final assessment. If you do your research project on literature or a film too, you can make almost 40% of your A-Level assessment be able films and/or literature.
I love literature. Can I do more than the set film and book?
Yes, absolutely! Every year we have MFL students who choose to do their research project on another film or book, a play or poetry. The film and book paper (Paper 2) is about 20£ of your final assessment. If you do your research project on literature or a film too, you can make almost 40% of your A-Level assessment be able films and/or literature.
I’m not that into literature. Will I struggle?
Everyone has to do two literary texts (one book and one film). This is 20% of your final assessment. However, we know that not everyone loves literature or film studies, so we help you with the analysis as much as we can. You can get a respectable frade in this paper with analysis not that much deeper than what you are likely to have done in GCSE English Literature, so if you’re joining us with a GCSE in English, and are prepared to watch the film, read the book, and do the activities your teacher asks of you, you have all the skills and tools you’ll need for the German A-Level film and book analysis.
What support will there be for me if I find German difficult?
The MFL department is a very supportive group of experienced teachers. We know that studying a language to A-Level is challenging, so we are used to providing a high level of individual and small-group support. We also work hard to create a community of language students you can turn to if you are struggling, and they may turn to you for other aspects of the course.
What if I am not that confident in my German grammar?
We know that King Ed’s students come from a range of schools where grammar will have been approached in many different ways. Some people might feel really confident in their grammar, but others may not when they join us in September of Year 12. We teach all of the grammar from scratch to make sure that even those who come feeling confident don’t have any niggling misconceptions. We like to know we are building your language on a strong foundation.
Do you teach in English or German?
We know that hearing and speaking as much German as possible will benefit you, so over the course, we build up to teaching a significant percentage of the time in German. We don’t teach solely in German though, because we know that some things are better taught in English – tricky grammar points, or difficult bits of literature analysis, for example. We also aim to not overwhelm you with too much target language when you first join us. We try to balance it carefully, and help you to improve your speaking and listening, but also to make sure you feel supported in lessons.
Where is the trip to?
We are in the process of planning a new German trip – to Berlin. We will shape our itinerary around the German A-Level course, and of course we will make sure there is plenty of time for trying German food and enjoying the Kaffee und Kuchen culture!
What are your average class sizes?
Our MFL classes are usually around 16-20. We find that this is a big enough group for some great group work, and so you can work with and learn from your peers, but not so big that you don’t feel seen by your teacher.
I’m thinking of studying two languages. Is this likely to confuse me?
Nearly all of the teachers in our department were dual linguists at school and university, so we know why you might have this worry. German is a Germanic language, like English, and French and Spanish are both Romance languages, from Latin, so you are less likely to be confused between German and French/Spanish than our A-Level dual linguists who take both French and Spanish. Taking two A-Level languages does means you’ll have two research projects to do in the second year, but it’s only like taking two subjects with a coursework element – that in itself shouldn’t be something to put you off, and we will help you manage your workload.
What employable skills will I be able to learn?
Being able to speak and write in fluent German is an extremely useful employable skill in itself: Germany is the UK’s biggest trading partner, and German is the most in-demand additional language in the UK job market, with up to 32% of foreign-language job postings requiring German. You will also be able to work on your organisation, time-management, self-direction, and communication skills. You will be able to improve your research and presentation skills, and you will be able to understand complex texts you read and listen o, as well as spotting the main points in these, and being able to translate them.
What jobs and courses have German A-Level students gone on to in the past?
After studying for a German A-Level, students have gone on to a wide range of jobs and courses, including teaching, sales, medicine, nursing, speech and language therapy, law, banking, the travel industry, procurement, the media, and academia. Basically, anything that involves you applying yourself and working well with others is possible after an A-Level in German.

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