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A level Languages

Hi, I am applying for sixth forms and considering picking Spanish as one of my option. I am currently working towards my predicted grade of A* at GCSE, but I heard the jump is very big so I was wondering if I should do it or not. I do enjoy it, however I feel like it might be too overwhelming, especially the 23-25 minute speaking assessment I heard about! Please let me know of your personal experiences.
Original post by flosiphy
Hi, I am applying for sixth forms and considering picking Spanish as one of my option. I am currently working towards my predicted grade of A* at GCSE, but I heard the jump is very big so I was wondering if I should do it or not. I do enjoy it, however I feel like it might be too overwhelming, especially the 23-25 minute speaking assessment I heard about! Please let me know of your personal experiences.


I did German and it's absolutely fine :h: If you enjoy studying the language then absolutely go for it because you will love it!
Reply 2
I do Spanish and German and currently am at A2.

It's not a huge step up as long as you keep up with vocab and grammar rules. At first, it can be quite tricky, but you quickly get the hang of it. Orals are particularly scary, but by the end of the year it becomes very natural talking off the cuff, and they last only 10-15 mins for me (20-25 mins would be a bit much).

If you wanna do it, go for it. It's a subject many say is hard at A-Level, but if you're naturally good at/interested in them then it's a breeze (especially when it comes to revising for the exams - by far the least amount of revision needed for them!)
Reply 3
Original post by Barbastelle
I did German and it's absolutely fine :h: If you enjoy studying the language then absolutely go for it because you will love it!


Thank you for your reply! I am definitely considering it
Original post by flosiphy
Thank you for your reply! I am definitely considering it


You're welcome :h: Just consolidate new words or grammar rules that you learn at the end of each week and you'll be fine. I self-taught myself German for two weeks from scratch and then went straight into the A2 class and did German in one year (and got an A) - it's all about enthusiasm with languages! :h:
Reply 5
Original post by rolaah
I do Spanish and German and currently am at A2.

It's not a huge step up as long as you keep up with vocab and grammar rules. At first, it can be quite tricky, but you quickly get the hang of it. Orals are particularly scary, but by the end of the year it becomes very natural talking off the cuff, and they last only 10-15 mins for me (20-25 mins would be a bit much).

If you wanna do it, go for it. It's a subject many say is hard at A-Level, but if you're naturally good at/interested in them then it's a breeze (especially when it comes to revising for the exams - by far the least amount of revision needed for them!)


Thank you! I love reading and writing in Spanish, just scared for the speaking and listening!
Reply 6
Original post by Barbastelle
You're welcome :h: Just consolidate new words or grammar rules that you learn at the end of each week and you'll be fine. I self-taught myself German for two weeks from scratch and then went straight into the A2 class and did German in one year (and got an A) - it's all about enthusiasm with languages! :h:


Wow that's amazing! and it's making me want to do it now haha
Original post by flosiphy
Wow that's amazing! and it's making me want to do it now haha


It's always an option! If you enjoy it and you have enthusiasm/passion then you'll go far :h:
Reply 8
Original post by flosiphy
Thank you! I love reading and writing in Spanish, just scared for the speaking and listening!


Yeah, thing is, everyone hates those parts! But trust by the end of the two years you'll be near fluent. Kinda the level where I am getting to now :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by rolaah
Yeah, thing is, everyone hates those parts! But trust by the end of the two years you'll be near fluent. Kinda the level where I am getting to now :smile:


haha that's reassuring! Thankyou, I am definitely thinking about doing it now
Do it!! It's really not too bad a jump up if you are getting A-A* at GCSE. I don't particularly like listening either, but you learn to get better at it and the great thing is that you can control the listening exam if you do AQA instead of having to sit in a hall and listen to the same thing read out twice. I do French and Spanish and I am loving it :h:
Reply 11
Original post by flosiphy
haha that's reassuring! Thankyou, I am definitely thinking about doing it now


You defo should - if you find it interesting that that's all that matters. Also on a more practical level, having an A-Level in Spanish is really attractive to employers (something that I am beginning to get to know now I am looking at jobs...)
Go for it, ¡suerte! :tongue:
Reply 13
Original post by rolaah
You defo should - if you find it interesting that that's all that matters. Also on a more practical level, having an A-Level in Spanish is really attractive to employers (something that I am beginning to get to know now I am looking at jobs...)


Haha that's good, I want to go towards law- I'm definately picking english lit and history as I love them both, it's just that I'm debating over biology, psychology, and spanish
Reply 14
Original post by flosiphy
Haha that's good, I want to go towards law- I'm definately picking english lit and history as I love them both, it's just that I'm debating over biology, psychology, and spanish


All are good choices! Spanish probs works best in that mix, but any of them would be good. Bio is a lot of work from what I have heard tho, and that it's rly hard. But obvs the most important thing is which one of these you like the most. Also you can normally switch in first few weeks if you don't like it - so don't worry about committing now!
Original post by flosiphy
Hi, I am applying for sixth forms and considering picking Spanish as one of my option. I am currently working towards my predicted grade of A* at GCSE, but I heard the jump is very big so I was wondering if I should do it or not. I do enjoy it, however I feel like it might be too overwhelming, especially the 23-25 minute speaking assessment I heard about! Please let me know of your personal experiences.


I do A Level French at the moment (started Year 12 in September), I got an A* at GCSE so I started A Level at a similar level as yourself.

These first two months have been a joke, if anything I'd say they're a step backwards in terms of grammar and vocab learning rather than a step up. If you can get an A* at GCSE the start of A Level will be a breeze. We've just took an old AS listening/reading paper and I got an A on it; IN NOVEMBER; A Level language difficulty gets exaggerated, a lot.

As for the speaking, at my school we have 3 French assistants who are uni students that have come over from France and we all get a 1-1 20 min speaking session with them every week, that is good prep. Also bear in mind you won't have to do the exams until summer of Year 13, if your school uses language assistants like mine (and a few others I've checked); then you'll get more than enough preparation.

EDIT: I also do English Lit and History :biggrin: that's cool, I also do government and politics as a 4th and also wanna go down a law/public service degree and career
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by Connor27
I do A Level French at the moment (started Year 12 in September), I got an A* at GCSE so I started A Level at a similar level as yourself.

These first two months have been a joke, if anything I'd say they're a step backwards in terms of grammar and vocab learning rather than a step up. If you can get an A* at GCSE the start of A Level will be a breeze. We've just took an old AS listening/reading paper and I got an A on it; IN NOVEMBER; A Level language difficulty gets exaggerated, a lot.

As for the speaking, at my school we have 3 French assistants who are uni students that have come over from France and we all get a 1-1 20 min speaking session with them every week, that is good prep. Also bear in mind you won't have to do the exams until summer of Year 13, if your school uses language assistants like mine (and a few others I've checked); then you'll get more than enough preparation.

EDIT: I also do English Lit and History :biggrin: that's cool, I also do government and politics as a 4th and also wanna go down a law/public service degree and career


Wow I'm so glad you told me that haha:smile: How is English Lit and History compared to French then?
Original post by flosiphy
Wow I'm so glad you told me that haha:smile: How is English Lit and History compared to French then?


English Lit is pretty much the same, if you can make the subtle connections and verse form, rhythm and rhyme points, you'll be fine, the texts are a little bit harder, and you need to refer to literary critics, but that isn't hard.

History is meh, that does have a big step up, everything needs to be so much more detailed and the work load is 3 times as much as my other three A Levels. It's the hardest subject I do for sure
Reply 18
Original post by flosiphy
Hi, I am applying for sixth forms and considering picking Spanish as one of my option. I am currently working towards my predicted grade of A* at GCSE, but I heard the jump is very big so I was wondering if I should do it or not. I do enjoy it, however I feel like it might be too overwhelming, especially the 23-25 minute speaking assessment I heard about! Please let me know of your personal experiences.


Hi!

You've already gotten loads of great advice so I'm going to keep this short :tongue: I'm currently doing A-level Spanish (started in September) and like you, I was really worried about the speaking assessment but, although I haven't done a real one yet, I already feel like my speaking ability has improved and the idea of a speaking exam seems to get less scary each day. You improve and practise so much that by the time your exams come around it won't be as big of a deal. Overall, It's a really fun subject and if you enjoy it I definitely think you should take it!

Good luck! :smile:
Reply 19
Original post by Eodi
Hi!

You've already gotten loads of great advice so I'm going to keep this short :tongue: I'm currently doing A-level Spanish (started in September) and like you, I was really worried about the speaking assessment but, although I haven't done a real one yet, I already feel like my speaking ability has improved and the idea of a speaking exam seems to get less scary each day. You improve and practise so much that by the time your exams come around it won't be as big of a deal. Overall, It's a really fun subject and if you enjoy it I definitely think you should take it!

Good luck! :smile:


Yay!! Thank you!!

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