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Any of you done an a-level in a 'less common' language?

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Reply 40
Original post by SimplyEccentric
I know somebody who has an A-level in Modern Hebrew. He's originally from Israel and sat the exams without any lessons whilst studying for his actual A-levels (Physics, Mathematics, Fine Art and History).

Employers view languages as great but as Modern Hebrew is his first-tongue, most universities wouldn't accept it as an A-level in it's own right. It's rather unfair, really, when they accept English natives studying English Language :rolleyes:


&& How exactly do uni's distinguish between one's first and second language? :redface: Did this person have an Israeli nationality? Because if he didn't he could have easily convinced them that English was their first language right...or am I missing something?:confused:
Reply 41
Original post by Romanorum-Hellas
Yeah, that is true. The Latin translation of the Bible was laughably inaccurate. People forget that Biblical Hebrew was a language deeply imbued with philosophy, just like Mandarin which is at least 4,000 years old. Word-for-word translation is a recipe for chaos when studying ancient tongues.


Ahh I see...:biggrin: and word for word translations are even laughably wrong with modern languages...When just relying on google as your main translator a lot of funny situations will arise...I learned that the hard way! :lol:
I got an A* in russian in both gcse and a level :smile: and no its not my native language.
Reply 43
Original post by TheWorldEndsWithMe
One of them is semi-native (in that she's from Estonia, and the languages are fairly similar in pronunciation and some of the words are the same) and the other was a complete beginner who's on track for an A*. I think our school has about five people studying it, only the one of them's native-ish.


Ahh a bit like a Portuguese speaker doing Spanish? and well I know from experience that learning a language which is similar to one you already know, can bring a lot of confusion! So yeah that's really impressive :smile: WHAT from nothing to an A*? No way:eek: Are you talking about A-levels or GCSEs? :wink:
Reply 44
Original post by Jtking3000
I got an A* in russian in both gcse and a level :smile: and no its not my native language.


Reaaally!? :O wow just wow! This has dumbfounded me, very impressive! :lol: So i guess the subject was offerd at your school? How does one grasp that distortion of an alphabet and tricky pronounciation so wel?? :s-smilie: :L
Original post by thatitootoo
Reaaally!? :O wow just wow! This has dumbfounded me, very impressive! :lol: So i guess the subject was offerd at your school? How does one grasp that distortion of an alphabet and tricky pronounciation so wel?? :s-smilie: :L


Yeah I think the school/sixth form I went to was the only one to offer Russian in the entire county and since I enjoyed Russian GCSE and the teacher who taught it I decided to continue with it. The alphabet part is quite easy really, it can be picked up easily within a few weeks and there are only a few hidden surprises when it comes to learning pronunciation as the word is pronounced as it looks (unlike words in english that are weird like 'sure' and 'aisle' and the way 'beard' is pronunced differently from 'heard' etc) although perfecting how you pronounce the words is quite hard, native russians seem quite picky when it comes to pronunciation compared to other languages :redface:
Hello everyone. This is the first time I have joined a discussion in a forum. I'm so nervous. I'm going to the UK to study A-level this September, and because I like languages, I want to take A-level Japanese ( I have learned Japanese for 2 years). However, my school doesn't offer this so I am thinking about French. But I have never learned French before. Can I still take A-level French if i know nothing about it? Do I need any qualifications? I know these questions seem stupid. Anyway, I am preparing to study French now. Thank you for your help.
Reply 47
Original post by ilovelily2006
Hello everyone. This is the first time I have joined a discussion in a forum. I'm so nervous. I'm going to the UK to study A-level this September, and because I like languages, I want to take A-level Japanese ( I have learned Japanese for 2 years). However, my school doesn't offer this so I am thinking about French. But I have never learned French before. Can I still take A-level French if i know nothing about it? Do I need any qualifications? I know these questions seem stupid. Anyway, I am preparing to study French now. Thank you for your help.


Hello! & welcome to TSR! :lol: May I ask where you are from? And well if your Japanese is of a good standard you can just have a look at the syllabus (I think the exam board Edexcel offers it) and if you think youre able do what's in the specification then you could always sit the exam as a 'private candidate' I'm sure your college would allow you to do this if you tell them you have had some previous experience of learning Japanese in your home country :smile: and that's really up to the college to decide but I would definately advise against taking A-level French if you have no prior experience of French! A-level French builds on the knowledge people have acquired from GCSE French...as youre starting to learn French now maybe you could look into sitting a French GCSE? I'm sure future employers would be blown away to know you speak (4+?) languages! :tongue: Anyway what other A-levels are you planning on studying in September? :smile:
Oh you are my first friend :biggrin: . I'm from Vietnam. I am planning to take Maths, Further Maths, Economics, and another language ^^. I love English, but my Japanese is so so ( I have just taken the N3 test, wonder if you know it or not haha). Everything about the UK and A-level seems very new to me. From what you said, I need to have GCSE French in order to start A-level French? And this is the first time I've heard of "private candidate" *Google quickly*:colone: Thanks a lot for your advice. Are you studying A-level too?
Reply 49
Original post by ilovelily2006
Oh you are my first friend :biggrin: . I'm from Vietnam. I am planning to take Maths, Further Maths, Economics, and another language ^^. I love English, but my Japanese is so so ( I have just taken the N3 test, wonder if you know it or not haha). Everything about the UK and A-level seems very new to me. From what you said, I need to have GCSE French in order to start A-level French? And this is the first time I've heard of "private candidate" *Google quickly*:colone: Thanks a lot for your advice. Are you studying A-level too?


Woo! Now this post is definately worth a '+' :lol: ohh I seeee...well your subject combination is already strong!...I'm guessing you want to study maths/economics at uni? :rolleyes: Those A-levels would be fine, though you could do an AS-level (half A-level) in Japanese? AS is a bit easierthan full A-level I'd imagine :P and yes i've indeed never heard of an N3 before! but most international qualifications equivalent to GCSEs are in reality a bit harder than GCSEs!:colondollar: so your definately in a good position to do Japanese! :biggrin: and GCSE french isn't a compulsary requirement to do the A-level but colleges tend to be very picky about who they'll allow to do a language >< They normally want an A*-B at GCSE in the language you want to do an A-level in...but that's just in general ofcourse! :smile:

Maybe you could do French during your first week of college (if they'll allow you to), and then if it proves to be too much, you could drop it at anytime :smile: Are you planning on doing a GCSE in Maths and English? I ask because these gcses + your A-levels are the only qualifications most universities care about... :wink:

And you're very welcome :biggrin: I'm currently doing an A-level in Dutch a year early...:smile:
Original post by thatitootoo
&& How exactly do uni's distinguish between one's first and second language? :redface: Did this person have an Israeli nationality? Because if he didn't he could have easily convinced them that English was their first language right...or am I missing something?:confused:


No he is Israeli and he only moved to the country two years before commencing his studies :smile:
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by thatitootoo
Ahh a bit like a Portuguese speaker doing Spanish? and well I know from experience that learning a language which is similar to one you already know, can bring a lot of confusion! So yeah that's really impressive :smile: WHAT from nothing to an A*? No way:eek: Are you talking about A-levels or GCSEs? :wink:


Yeah, like that.
Both. She got an A* at GCSE and is on track for an A* at A-level after getting like 90-something on every paper in L6.
Reply 52
Original post by thatitootoo
Ahh a bit like a Portuguese speaker doing Spanish? and well I know from experience that learning a language which is similar to one you already know, can bring a lot of confusion! So yeah that's really impressive :smile: WHAT from nothing to an A*? No way:eek: Are you talking about A-levels or GCSEs? :wink:

It won't be like Portuguese and Spanish because Estonian and Russian are not related. The fact that they have similar pronunciation and some common words is due to their geographical proximity. Common words will be loan words to one or both languages. Estonian is related to Finnish and Hungarian and this family of languages are not part of the Indo-European family. Indo-European covers a LOT of the world's languages so the Finno-Ugric family (Finnish, Estonian and many others) is really pretty interesting.
Original post by Ronove
English Language A-level is not the English []
equivalent of Modern Hebrew A-level. They're completely different things. You're thinking of an A-level in English as a Second Language. Not sure whether it exists - there are plenty of tests of English language ability for non-natives around.

Edit: On another note, I would like to be able to do Danish GCSE/A-level but neither exist. Pffff.


Ah, sorry :colondollar: I was going on the basis of a girl who is studying German Language and German Literature at A-level (neither being her mother-tongue, nor Germany being her nationality) as she groups German and English Language and German and English Literature together, other than being tested in a separate language :smile:

I'm not particularly knowledgable about languages, I must admit; the highest achievement I've gotten so far in life is being able to write a semi-coherent letter to a Spanish penpal in Year 7 :biggrin: I am fluent in BSL, however, but that's not offered at A-level so I can't do it :frown:

That's odd about the lack of Danish subject choices! They seem to offer everything else going so I wonder why Danish hasn't been included (or BSL!) :rolleyes:
Reply 54
Original post by SimplyEccentric
No he was Israeli :smile:


Ahhh I seee I seee :smile:
Reply 55
Original post by Ronove
It won't be like Portuguese and Spanish because Estonian and Russian are not related. The fact that they have similar pronunciation and some common words is due to their geographical proximity. Common words will be loan words to one or both languages. Estonian is related to Finnish and Hungarian and this family of languages are not part of the Indo-European family. Indo-European covers a LOT of the world's languages so the Finno-Ugric family (Finnish, Estonian and many others) is really pretty interesting.


Ohhh I see :P
Reply 56
Original post by ilovelily2006
Oh you are my first friend :biggrin: . I'm from Vietnam. I am planning to take Maths, Further Maths, Economics, and another language ^^. I love English, but my Japanese is so so ( I have just taken the N3 test, wonder if you know it or not haha). Everything about the UK and A-level seems very new to me. From what you said, I need to have GCSE French in order to start A-level French? And this is the first time I've heard of "private candidate" *Google quickly*:colone: Thanks a lot for your advice. Are you studying A-level too?

The description of N3 ability (google is my friend) sounds like you would be in a very good position to progress towards taking the A-level exams. You may even be ready to take them now; you will have to have a look at specimen papers and see whether you're comfortable with the level that is being tested. You can find these on the site of the exam board(s) that offer A-level Japanese.

With some preparation you should be able to start French at A-level when you get here. Since you have presumably already learnt a second language to a high level (English) you should have the skills to pick up French a hell of a lot faster than the British students. Try to self-teach to GCSE level. You can find example papers on examining body sites (as with A-level Japanese) and there are lots of resources for GCSE-level learning. I can recommend the BBC Bitesize website. If you purchase a GCSE French revision guide it will also cover everything you need to know in a good amount of detail. You will most likely just need to boost your vocabulary after covering all the information in one of those guides.
Reply 57
Original post by TheWorldEndsWithMe
Yeah, like that.
Both. She got an A* at GCSE and is on track for an A* at A-level after getting like 90-something on every paper in L6.


The smartass.
Original post by thatitootoo
Woo! Now this post is definately worth a '+' :lol: ohh I seeee...well your subject combination is already strong!...I'm guessing you want to study maths/economics at uni? :rolleyes: Those A-levels would be fine, though you could do an AS-level (half A-level) in Japanese? AS is a bit easierthan full A-level I'd imagine :P and yes i've indeed never heard of an N3 before! but most international qualifications equivalent to GCSEs are in reality a bit harder than GCSEs!:colondollar: so your definately in a good position to do Japanese! :biggrin: and GCSE french isn't a compulsary requirement to do the A-level but colleges tend to be very picky about who they'll allow to do a language >< They normally want an A*-B at GCSE in the language you want to do an A-level in...but that's just in general ofcourse! :smile:

Maybe you could do French during your first week of college (if they'll allow you to), and then if it proves to be too much, you could drop it at anytime :smile: Are you planning on doing a GCSE in Maths and English? I ask because these gcses + your A-levels are the only qualifications most universities care about... :wink:

And you're very welcome :biggrin: I'm currently doing an A-level in Dutch a year early...:smile:

Wow you are learning Dutch? :eek: Where are you from? And I'm not planning on doing a GCSE in Maths and English because I apply for A-level program at my school. But if I want to take a GCSE exam (for example English), can I take it as private candidate? I've read about private candidate, but this is so complicated. I am a bit worried and confused. Because i'm from Vietnam, I will only have A-level result when I apply to university. Is it a big problem if I don't have any GCSE results?
Original post by Ronove
The description of N3 ability (google is my friend) sounds like you would be in a very good position to progress towards taking the A-level exams. You may even be ready to take them now; you will have to have a look at specimen papers and see whether you're comfortable with the level that is being tested. You can find these on the site of the exam board(s) that offer A-level Japanese.

With some preparation you should be able to start French at A-level when you get here. Since you have presumably already learnt a second language to a high level (English) you should have the skills to pick up French a hell of a lot faster than the British students. Try to self-teach to GCSE level. You can find example papers on examining body sites (as with A-level Japanese) and there are lots of resources for GCSE-level learning. I can recommend the BBC Bitesize website. If you purchase a GCSE French revision guide it will also cover everything you need to know in a good amount of detail. You will most likely just need to boost your vocabulary after covering all the information in one of those guides.


Thanks a lot. I've known about TRS for a long time, and I'm very thankful that i can receive such great help from you. I find that a lot of students take 'less common' language. If I take a 'rare' language, then I have to sit the exam as a private candidate right?

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