Description of AQA GCSE specification

1. York PGCE Wed 28th October
Morning
New GCSEs - presentation
Discussion - pairs
Example of classroom oral techniques
Teaching grammar and vocabulary
Afternoon
New A-levels – presentation
Teaching film and literature
Teaching with texts – pairs
Example game

2. MODERN LANGUAGES GCSE
First teaching September 2016

3. Linear exam – no controlled assessment
• 25% of marks for each of the four skills
• All assessment done in May/June from 2018
• New grading structure from 1 to 9
• Foundation and Higher Tiers as before, but no “mixed
tiering”
• Greater emphasis on literary texts, grammar, translation
and spontaneous speaking

4. Thematic content (1)
All awarding bodies – directed by DfE and Ofqual
Three broad themes:
• Identity and culture
• Local, national, international and global areas of interest
• Current and future study and employment

5. Thematic content (2) - AQA identity and
culture
Me, my family and friends
• Relationships with family and friends
• Marriage/partnership
Technology in everyday life
• Social media
• Mobile technology
Free-time activities
• Music
• Cinema and TV
• Food and eating out
• Sport
Customs and festivals in French-speaking countries/communities

6. Thematic content (3)
AQA Local, national, international and global areas of
interest
• Home, town, neighbourhood and region
• Social issues
• Charity/voluntary work
• Healthy/unhealthy living
• Global issues
• The environment
• Poverty/homelessness
• Travel and tourism

7. Thematic content (4)
AQA Current and future study and employment
My studies
Life at school/college
Education post-16

8. Assessment – AQA listening
Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language
Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier)
40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 marks (Higher Tier)
(Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the
listening stimulus is played.)
• Questions
• Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
Section B – questions in TL, to be answered in TL or non-verbally

9. Assessment – AQA speaking
“Non-exam assessment” – conducted by teacher, recorded, marked by exam board
7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time
10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time
60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)
Questions
The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
• Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier)
• Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier)
• Conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier)

10. Assessment – AQA reading
Understanding and responding to different types of written language
Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier)
60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)
Questions
Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
• Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
• Section B – questions in TL, to be answered in TL or non-verbally
• Section C – translation from TL into English (a minimum of 35 words for
Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier)

11. Assessment – AQA writing
Foundation Tier
• Question 1 – list task (student produces six nouns) – 6 marks
• Question 2 – message (student produces nine sentences in response to nine tasks,
approximately 60 words in total) –18 marks
• Question 3 – translation from English into TL (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks
• Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to five compulsory bullet points,
producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks
Higher Tier
• Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to five compulsory bullet points,
producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks
• Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to four compulsory bullet points,
producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks
• Question 3 – translation from English into TL (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks

12. Task types: what will you do in lessons?
• Vocabulary acquisition
• Grammar explanation and
practice
• Working with written texts
• Working with recorded texts
• Translation
• Pair and group oral work
• Teacher-led oral work
• Games
• ICT-based work
• Compositional writing
• Preparing for assessment
• Extensive reading
• Extensive listening (film)
• Developing learning strategies

13. Pros of teacher-led oral work (1)
• It allows the teacher to carefully control the input students receive.
• It provides a lot of listening input, released in small manageable chunks. So
question-answer should not just be seen as oral activity, but, more importantly,
a listening activity.
• It is part of a whole pedagogical approach which assumes grammar and
vocabulary can be internalised by controlled practice.
• It can be effective as a class-controlling activity. The teacher controls the pace
and is the only person talking.
• It can be entertaining and motivating for pupils when done well.
• It can be an effective way of differentiating between faster and slower pupils.
With a "hands up" approach, the teacher can direct harder, more open-ended
questions at faster pupils, easier closed questions at slower pupils.

14. Pros of teacher-led oral work (2)
• Cleverly scaffolded question sequences can encourage pupils to infer language
rules on their own.
• Many pupil enjoy taking part in whole class question-answer, Younger ones
especially often enjoy showing off what they can do.
• A "hands down" approach should encourage all pupils to listen intently and be
ready to answer.
• At higher levels it allows the teacher to adapt instantly to student answers,
challenging them further and taking conversation in interesting directions.
• It is highly adaptable. You can do all kinds of variations on question-answer e.g.
giving false statements, seeking questions to answers, getting a pupil to play
teacher at the front, doing true/false or instant multi-choice and so on.

15. Pros of teacher-led oral work (3)
• It is a useful starter or what used to be called oral warm-up. It brings
the group together and allows the teacher to review previous work,
giving the class confidence in what they have already learned.
• Although an artificial form of communication, pupils are willing to play
the game, especially if you explain to them why you are doing it.
• It can be part of a multi-skill activity e.g. teacher asks question, pupils
answer orally then write down the answer.
• Skilled question-answer allows you to keep the class running in the
target language.

16. Cons of teacher-led oral work (1)
• When used to promote oral practice it has limitations. Only one person can
speak at a time so it is highly inefficient. Pair work is far more productive.
• It places high demands on concentration so can be hard to make work with
some classes. It can be boring.
• Although the teacher is in control, it places demands on the teacher's energy
and, at higher levels, oral skill. If the teacher's skills are limited the quality of
input will be low.
• You can never be certain if pupils are actually listening, even with a "hands
down" approach. Students would appear to be very inactive most of the time.
• With both a hands down and hands up approach it puts pressure on pupils to
perform in front of their peers. Many students dislike this and some argue that
it hinders progress. We learn less well when anxious. Many pupils prefer pair or
small group work where there is less pressure to be correct.

17. Cons of teacher-led oral work (2)
• Some classes may be less well-behaved during question-answer
than is pair or group work situations.
• If the main role of question-answer is to promote listening
comprehension then there may be better ways to do this.
Question-answer exchanges are usually very artificial in a
classroom setting. "Where is the pencil"? "It is on the table." (It's
pretty obvious where the pencil is, so it's a redundant question.)
• Some would argue that the "accoutrements" of question-answer
(powerpoint slides, flashcards etc) are an unnecessary and
inefficient way to improve students' skills. Translation, they might
argue, is more effective.

18. Translation L1 to L2 - pros
• It probably helps fix grammatical accuracy and revise vocabulary.
• Some pupils enjoy it. It satisfies the puzzle-solver and accuracy fan.
• As a testing tool it can be made to be quite unpredictable and therefore hard to learn up
for.
• As a testing tool it can be marked quite objectively.
• It reflects a reality that language learners often work from L1 to L2. Why not develop
this skill?
• It is challenging for students when set at the right level.
• There may be an element of real life activity involved. Adults do sometimes need to
translate, even if technology makes this less likely nowadays.

19. Translation from L1 to L2 - cons
• It limits the amount of target language use in the classroom.
• It is an uncommunicative sort of activity - it's talking about the language rather than
using it for communication.
• When used as a testing tool, because of the washback effect, teachers may do too much
of it in the classroom. Teachers love to teach to the test.
• It offers almost no new comprehensible input to further language acquisition.
• It may encourage interference from the first language, based as it is on a cognitive
rather than natural approach to second language acquisition.
• It may suit able learners, who are good at cognitive problem solving and pattern
spotting, more than students of lower aptitude. Some may see this an unfair and argue
that naturalistic methods do not have this bias.
• Many students find it boring and would be more motivated by other tasks.

20. Translation into English - pros
• Sentences and passages in the TL are a source of comprehensible input.
• Translation requires a fine attention to detail. Everything must be understood
and rendered accurately.
• Some pupils enjoy the challenge of doing it. It can be satisfying to find the
solution.
• There may be some real life use for it, despite changes in technology.
• We often translate in our heads so why not help develop this skill?

21. Translation into English - cons
• Beyond a certain level it becomes a test of English usage as much as a test of comprehension.
• Students are writing English when they could be writing in the traget language. This limits
acquisition.
• Detailed comprehension can be assessed in other ways which provide more language input
e.g. TL multiple choice.
• Teaching this skill in the classroom involves using English, not communicating in the TL.
• It is a task which involves talking about the language not using it.

22. Literary text issues
• Matching difficulty level with students’ maturity
• Can be prose, drama, poetry, letters, song
• Text books will have examples
• Best done in moderation?
• Problems with using authentic sources

23. Learning-acquisition continuum
Learning Acquisition
Conscious Unconscious
Form-focused Meaning focused
Formal --------------------- Natural
Synthetic Analytic
Skill-building Comprehension
Output Input