Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[jlo]

Now I know that there are a fair few teachers on here so I hope you don't mind my using you - as well as any other Omleteers - as a sounding board.

 

DD is currently in Year 9 so is about to make her choices for GCSE. It was all going swimmingly but the Government have now published their White Paper which suggests - amongs other things - that it will be very difficult to obtain a university place unless a student has an EB certification which would involve (very simply) A* to C in English, Maths, Science, A humanity and a language.

 

It is the language bit that is the sticking point. I am all for people learning a language - I think that it is a great skill and can be a real asset in future years. She has been doing German for the last two years. She has hated it, with a passion this year and has no desire to do it at GCSE.

 

The school is not going to make it compulsory but will of course be recommending that all those who wish to carry on to university that if they don't do a language at GCSE, it could jeopardise their future plans. There seems to be some suggestion that, with the competition for places, universities will simply not consider those applicants who don't have the EB qualifcation.

 

I just wondered whether anyone has any further views or information on the subject. Ta

[sadietoo]

Yes it's an interesting move by the government, but I thought that it was designed to throw the emphasis back onto academic subjects, and away from media based qualifications which (some) universities seem to have a problem with?

 

My guess is it depends what you want to study at Uni. Difficult to say in my case because my DD continued with French to A level and it's now part of her degree course. My DS liked French but hated the disruption in his French class and gave it up in year 9. He regrets it now, because he thinks it does give you an extra edge...(remember when Latin was required for a Uni place.?..well my personal feeling is that a MFLhas taken over that role..) However that said, his subjects are science based (physics maths chemistry geography) and he's had some good offers for Uni's next year. Personally I think if you are following an "Arts" route it is probably more important to have a MFL in your "Ooops, word censored!"nal!! The problem with applications to Uni is that for the oversubscribed courses everyone has A grades at A level in everything, and you have to have something else to set you apart for an offer

[Cinnamon]

So what about those who are doing their GCSE's this year,and have choose not to do a language?

Are they now going to be at a disadvantage compared to those who have?

 

Personally I like children to have a language,but learning one is a skill that doesn't suit everyone.

I could never have persuaded my youngest to do one at GCSE,as she hated the subject

[Angie]

My DD's were educated outside of the EU and took O'levels not gcse's, the YD chose mostly maths ,physics,biology and chemistry.....no language.

Onto 6 th form where they only studied for the International Bacc, again no language.

She was offered 5 unconditional places at Uni....if a language is not her forte, she is not alone. Don't let it worry you.

[bluekarin]

Well, my daughter is also in Yr9 and I hadn't given it too much thought until I read your post Think I better had now, so thank you for the nudge Not sure what language she'd like to do though. Probably French as she has only been doing German for the past year and a bit and she started with French in Yr7.

[Geoid]

I think it is mainly to do with leauge tables, not with university places (at the moment, may change in the next few years)

[laurmurf]

I wouldn't be too sure it won't make a difference...

There are already some universities requiring a MFL to apply and that was before the EB came in.

 

The fact that this EB was brought in by the gov't without consultation with teachers and 8 MONTHS AFTER the exams were sat means that this is a retrospective league table this year but will be expected to be followed in the upcoming years; and that does include my current year 10s only one of whom is taking a language.

 

I would imagine many schools will be insisting or persuading year 9s to do a language now for their own league tables and for the expectation that there will be links to school funding and the league tables, and more universities will start to insist on it.

 

I really felt for the Headteacher interviewed on the Today programme who had turned around the results at an inner city London school and whose kids - over 90% of whom spoke English as an additional language - turned out a stunning set of GCSE results in grades A*-C but whose place on the table dropped like a stone when the EB was brought out. It seems that as her students already speak 2, 3 or more languages they were focusing on taken subjects other than MFL

[poachedegg]

I think it is mainly to do with leauge tables, not with university places (at the moment, may change in the next few years)

 

YS started his A level course in September (AS's), and we have started to look at Uni's and indeed even when we were looking for ES, and some Unis do ask for MFL, moreso with YS as he is looking at doing English Language, whereas ES does Chemistry.

[Christian]

If you really would like her to study German, then think about getting a tutor as this often helps things 'click' into place? The teacher makes a huge difference to the subject too. If possible, change Teacher (if there are two)?

 

I am lucky as my Parents are German, but needed a bit of help with french and Spanish. The school hired 2 language assistants that really helped me 'get' the languages, as the rules are so different to German.

[hazard]

my daughter is in college studying child health and early year education part of her course is the welsh bacc (living in wales) and she has to learn a language she has choosen to learn bsl sign language and this is accepted as a language for uni as she is hoping to go uni next year to do a nursing degree worth thinking about

[Sam]

Having a language will probably give you an advantage, but there are also other things that can set you above the rest. As someone previously said when everyone gets A's at A-levels they have to consider other things and then they look at GCSE results. I think it's more important to get overall good grades because we have been told if we have just one subject where we get a D or below, people who are consistently good in all subjects will be favoured. I think this matters more than a langauge. At my school, languages (french/spanish) have been compulsory for years; I'm sure there must be a reason

[Cinnamon]

my daughter is in college studying child health and early year education part of her course is the welsh bacc (living in wales) and she has to learn a language she has choosen to learn bsl sign language and this is accepted as a language for uni as she is hoping to go uni next year to do a nursing degree worth thinking about

 

That sounds really interesting.

My youngest has said she wants to be cabin crew,& to learn sign language would be a great thing for her to have under her belt

[bellekatz]

DD is doing (all being well) MFL at UNi from september so she has been oK. DS is 2 years younger and is doing sciences, but with Spanish hopefully. Reading info about what subjects will get them a job after Uni...... MFL has the highest % of graduates with a job after 6 months out of any subject. And I was also reading that Science with an MFl will put you right at the top of the job pile. So it isnt just about getting into Uni now, it's about getting that decent paid job after as well

[jlo]

Thanks for all the views. I think that I agree with you all.

 

The sad thing is that she did like German and even went on an exchange last year. The class that she is in has some fairly disruptive elements and the teacher doesn't seem to be able to cope with that. If I am honest, DD will not be acting like an angel in those circumstances although I do know that she does all the work that is set for her.

 

The school is looking to offer Spanish but that is not certain. In those cirumstances, she would be more readily persuaded. I would too as I think that it is a far more useful language than German (no offence Christian!)

 

I agree that it is unfair for the league tables to be looked at retrospectively - another case of moving the goal posts. I understand that last year, 16% of the students would have attainted the EB nationally. I cannot see that only 16% of students would be offered university places - although now that schools know where the goal posts have moved to, that percentage will of course rise.

 

At the moment she is interested in speech and language therapy so I guess that MFL would be an advantage there. If Spanish doesn't become available at the school, maybe she could do a GCSE for it at college???

 

I did German and French at that level and then went on to do French A Level and some French at Uni. I really wish that she had chosen French rather than German in Year 8 - so that I could at least give her some assistance. Still - no use crying over spilt milk!

[Christian]

Yes, she probably will be able to do a GCSE in a MFL when she goes to college, but as the entry for Uni is a 'language', why not plod on with the one she already has knowledge in? Surely that would be easier than starting a new one and having to get a good grade from 'scratch'. The actual Language isn't important, unless she is studying it at uni, it is just a box ticked to get in, or have I misunderstood?

 

Will PM you later jlo, off out in a bit.

[jlo]

Yes, she probably will be able to do a GCSE in a MFL when she goes to college, but as the entry for Uni is a 'language', why not plod on with the one she already has knowledge in? Surely that would be easier than starting a new one and having to get a good grade from 'scratch'. The actual Language isn't important, unless she is studying it at uni, it is just a box ticked to get in, or have I misunderstood?

 

Will PM you later jlo, off out in a bit.

 

I know where you are coming from Christian. One issue is that, if she gets the same teacher for the following two years, there is a good chance that she will not even attain the EB because she won't get the grades. (I appreciate that I can probably look for a tutor and that is an option.)

 

She is doing triple science which means that, if she has to do a language she will have to choose between drama and PE and she loves both and is really good at both.....

[sadietoo]

Not for everyone, and not cheap, but my DD really enjoyed her A level Revision course with Apple Languages in Nice. You live with a host family but have daily lessons .

I can't seem to post a link to the page but it's www.applelanguages.com