German A level, too difficult?? =S

Well i was thinking of studying German at A level but im not sure cos many people have told me it is really hard! :s-smilie:

. Also, I haven't done german for a year cos i took it a year early and got an A =D.

Anyways, do u think this will have any affect on me taking it at sixth form? Plus, anyone who already studies it, is it as hard as everyone makes out??

Thanks, x

Reply 1

x.beth.x

It is pretty hard if you have no interest in the subject at all. Even if you have a natural talent for picking up languages you need practice and that means you need to motivate yourself to do work outside lessons. For example reading German magazines/books, listening to german radio or writing in german on an internet forum. So basically you have to decide how much you like German and whether you want to learn the language, not just pass the A level in it. Generally I have noticed that those people are the ones that get As at A level.

I don't think the fact that you didn't take the language for a year would be a problem as the AS level course starts off slowly recapping basic grammar and some quite simple vocab from GCSE. If I were you I'd do a bit of work in the holidays, just to familarize yourself with the language again :smile:

Reply 2

~Ally~

i can see how your thinking, but since when were A Levels meant to be easy? I managed it, having a year between GCSE and AS level german.. you soon pick it back up.

Reply 3

Nimbus

everyone in my school is telling me that German is the hardest A-level subject, but one of the ones you will never regret taking if you have a natural aptitude for languages and really love the language.
So yeah, take it, if you love the language! ^__^

And just out of interest guys, how can you tell if you have a natural aptitude for languages? Is there a test you can do (like IQ) or something? ^^;;

Reply 4

91ems

German is a lot of work. Language Alevels are some of the hardest as the exmas are so unpredictable. If you are good at speaking german, it will be ok. I took the gcse early and just done the as speaking exam last year and without much teaching managed to get a C - it's just the other exams. Like others have said, you need some passion to learn a language - lots of it is outside lessons learning e,g writing extra essays and reading german texts and websites which is hard work but worth it. Not that many people learn german hence the lack of revision guides (anyone know any good ones?)

Hope this helps

Reply 5

hendy16

Thanks guys, I think i am goin to take it for A Level as i do really enjoy it and hope to work abroad someday so would be useful.

Reply 6

jet'aime

dancingbeth

Definitely, but I think that applies to most A-Levels and not just German.

To the OP-if you enjoy the subject then go for it! I wouldn't say that German is much harder/requires much more work than my other subjects, but you will have to make sure that you work throughout the year, building up your vocab and speaking/listening skills-you can't just leave revising for a language exam to the last minute!

Other than that, it's a great A Level to choose!