[thatitootoo]

(Original post by ilovelily2006)
Wow you are learning Dutch? 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?

I'm originally from Liberia :P I lived in Holland for a couple of years though and well for my English GCSE I had to complete a lot of coursework! & coursework + private candidate = Hell! Though I think the exam board AQA offers an English exam for private candidates? And don't worry! Universities don't care too much about GCSEs as long as your A-levels are good! Now I think about it... If you don't have an English GCSE most universities would let you do an exam called the 'IELTS'? I don't know much about this but I think it's meant to test your understanding of English..so you would ACE that exam if you took it! haha

[ilovelily2006]

(Original post by thatitootoo)
I'm originally from Liberia :P I lived in Holland for a couple of years though and well for my English GCSE I had to complete a lot of coursework! & coursework + private candidate = Hell! Though I think the exam board AQA offers an English exam for private candidates? And don't worry! Universities don't care too much about GCSEs as long as your A-levels are good! Now I think about it... If you don't have an English GCSE most universities would let you do an exam called the 'IELTS'? I don't know much about this but I think it's meant to test your understanding of English..so you would ACE that exam if you took it! haha

Well I took that 'IELTS' exam and luckily, I got a fairly good score. If you're from Liberia, so English is your mother tongue? You know sometimes I really envy people who can speak English fluently and effortlessly. I have been learning English for about 7 years and my English is just a little above average . I thought English is a popular subject, why didn't your school offer GCSE English? Ahhh my school doesn't have English too. Only English literature. So bad because I'm thinking about A-level English too. By the way,A-level English and A-level English language are the same right? About the exam board (AQA, Edexcel,...), can we choose them or our school choose for us?

[thatitootoo]

(Original post by ilovelily2006)
Well I took that 'IELTS' exam and luckily, I got a fairly good score. If you're from Liberia, so English is your mother tongue? You know sometimes I really envy people who can speak English fluently and effortlessly. I have been learning English for about 7 years and my English is just a little above average . I thought English is a popular subject, why didn't your school offer GCSE English? Ahhh my school doesn't have English too. Only English literature. So bad because I'm thinking about A-level English too. By the way,A-level English and A-level English language are the same right? About the exam board (AQA, Edexcel,...), can we choose them or our school choose for us?

Ahh well that's you sorted then! NOOOO!! Well I have a Liberian nationality but I grew up speaking Edo language which has no connexion with English whatsoever! I only picked up on English when I moved to the UK 4 years ago :P Lmao I know what you mean...but atleast we are able to pick up new languages fairly quick :P How is French going? are you still covering the basics? :P And it did lol I completed English Language last year...and got a B :P I despised english literature at GCSE At A-level English Literature is much more respected than English language...so I guess there is a difference! And yes the college normally chooses which exam board you take

[SixteenHundred]

(Original post by Romanorum-Hellas)
Ah, interesting! So, are there any big differences between Biblical Greek and Classical Greek?

None that I could tell you about with any accuracy! Keeping up with the differences between Classical Greek and Homeric Greek was difficult enough for me!

[Ronove]

(Original post by ilovelily2006)
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?

When studying at a school/college it is possible to sweet-talk a teacher/the exams officer into putting you in for the exam through them. Certainly this is absolutely possible for GCSE English/Maths if you had a reason for doing them and other people at the school/college were doing them already (you'd just need to be added on to the list of people attending the exam/submitting coursework). However, you don't need English since you've done IELTS, and I'm guessing you were examined in Maths at age 15/16 in Vietnam so you don't need GCSE Maths either. Universities are generally happy to accept foreign qualifications as long as they're roughly equivalent in level to the UK examinations. Basically, I wouldn't have thought you needed GCSE Maths or English.

I self-taught Spanish A-level while in Year 13 and convinced my school to sort out the exams for me. I had to be sent to a fancy private school about an hour away to do the speaking exams since you can't get an examiner to come to a school for just one student, but they sorted all that out for me. I didn't even have to pay the entry fees for the exam units but even if your school ask you to, they're only something like £15 per A-level unit and perhaps £10 per hour if the exam is at a time when no other exams are happening and you have an invigilator (random person who sits in the room and makes sure you're not cheating) all to yourself.

[Gutsman]

Wish I'd had the opportunity of doing modern Hebrew A-level. Not sure if that exists as an A-level TBH.

[Ronove]

(Original post by Gutsman)
Wish I'd had the opportunity of doing modern Hebrew A-level. Not sure if that exists as an A-level TBH.

If you read the thread you'd see it does. AQA do it at the very least.

[Dominicque]

(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

A-level English Language isn't about learning the language, though. It's about how we learn to speak, aspects of language, the structure and form of language, and creating pieces to fit a certain audience. They probably have something like that In Israel, called Hebrew (language).

[Dominicque]

I'm doing GCSE Russian this year, with the possibility of doing the full A-Level next year. This is if I pass ofcourse! I need at least a B, but I'm really hoping for an A*.

[Dominicque]

(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.

It's possible to not have to take GCSE French as long as you are proficience in the language to GCSE level or above. Ask the college that you're applying to/the language teacher.

[SleepySheep]

I did GCSE Modern Hebrew (as a private candidate). Would've loved to have carried on to A Level but obviously my sixth form didn't offer it and the whole private candidate thing is a bit of a hassle

[KaurPrincess]

i did punjabi a while ago and got a B....my parents want me to redo it.....=(

[Alexandra's Box]

I have only got experience with the classic French GCSE... although many unis offer language tuition and I'm hoping to pick up Arabic or Russian

[raaaiku]

(Original post by ilovelily2006)
I love English, but my Japanese is so so ( I have just taken the N3 test, wonder if you know it or not haha).

Is that the old N3 or the new one (now there's 5)? Either way you should be fine for AS, A2 is a little harder as theres set texts and you basically prepare an essay in advance and regurgitate it for the essay question in the paper! (so without a teacher it would be hard to get a perfect essay, but you could always check it over with a native)

[HumiT]

I was forced to do Urdu a-level. Didn't pay much attention in class, didn't revise for my exam and I got a C.

[thatitootoo]

(Original post by Dominicque)
I'm doing GCSE Russian this year, with the possibility of doing the full A-Level next year. This is if I pass ofcourse! I need at least a B, but I'm really hoping for an A*.

Hmm judging by the responces so far, Russian is definately the most common - less common language of choice! So did you start learning Russian from year 10 or did you cover some russian before?

[thatitootoo]

(Original post by KaurPrincess)
i did punjabi a while ago and got a B....my parents want me to redo it.....=(

wow this is the first time I've heard of a Punjabi A-level! I'm guessing your parents are fluent Punjabi speakers... Have you ever lived in a Punjabi speaking country? It seems like a really hard exam to do for a non-native...

[thatitootoo]

(Original post by HumiT)
I was forced to do Urdu a-level. Didn't pay much attention in class, didn't revise for my exam and I got a C.

Your college offerd classes in Urdu!?!?!?!:O
and a C is great...I honnestly find any language with a non-latin writing system, EXTRA IMPRESSIVE!

[HumiT]

(Original post by thatitootoo)
Your college offerd classes in Urdu!?!?!?!:O
and a C is great...I honnestly find any language with a non-latin writing system, EXTRA IMPRESSIVE!

Nooo I had to do it at school when I was 15

Thanks

[ilovelily2006]

(Original post by thatitootoo)
Ahh well that's you sorted then! NOOOO!! Well I have a Liberian nationality but I grew up speaking Edo language which has no connexion with English whatsoever! I only picked up on English when I moved to the UK 4 years ago :P Lmao I know what you mean...but atleast we are able to pick up new languages fairly quick :P How is French going? are you still covering the basics? :P And it did lol I completed English Language last year...and got a B :P I despised english literature at GCSE At A-level English Literature is much more respected than English language...so I guess there is a difference! And yes the college normally chooses which exam board you take

French pronunciation is so weirddddddddddd. I can't even pronouce the alphabet correctly. Now I can understand why my friends who learn French speak bad English. Their tounge just doesn't move! I am considering geography and French. I like geography too and Economics also has a close relationship with it. How many A-level are you studying? Are we allowed to study 5 A-level subjects or only 5 AS subjects and then drop to 3-4 subjects in A2 year?