How hard/useful is a German A Level?

Hi everyone, I'm trying to decide my fourth AS choice and am thinking about German. :confused:

I got an A at GCSE, not far off an A* but I don't really enjoy German. I do however want to take languages at uni, just not German.
I'm doing an accelerated Italian course that should lead to an AS or A Level in my second year.

But I was wondering if doing German would be useful if I wanted to take languages at uni, even if I don't want to take German. And also, how hard is it? Because I've heard it's one of the hardest A Levels.

Any help and advice would be great! Thanks!

Reply 1

littleshambles

If you don't enjoy studying a language you'd probably be better off not taking it.

Reply 2

GenieK

I'd agree, but none of the options left to me at the College I'm going to are ones I think I'll particularly enjoy, so I'm going on the grounds of usefulness.

Reply 3

PinPin

its a big jump from GCSE to AS but its not 'hard' if youre into languages
i didnt enjoy german that much when i started AS but then had a really good teacher who made it really fun to learn and now its almost my favourite language. that said, even though i enjoyed german more than french i came out with an A in french and a B in german at A2 - and it took me 2 retakes to get the B.

its useful though - hardly anyone takes german anymore & it'll look impressive on your CV

Reply 4

lessthan0

German's great! if you are good at it you should be ok, though not liking it may be a problem.

Most of all, be aware that it isnot a "class time" subject. You will be required to put in rather a lot of effort on your own time, not just on homework but just general re-reading of stuff.

It's great when paired with sciences btw, especially for engineering!

Reply 5

timelordess

Like PinPin said, German AS is quite a big jump from GCSE. But once you make the jump, it shouldn't be that hard.

As for usefulness, German is very useful if you are learning other languages because the grammar is quite logical and it gets you into the right mindset for learning other languages at uni. Just don't expect to be fluent in German just on the back of the A-Level. If you want to be able to use your language in a future career you really need to work at it, visit Germany, go on courses etc. But at least having the A-Level will show that you have reached a decent standard. :smile:

Reply 6

username225218

I did German for both AS and A2, and I can't lie - I hated it. But I hated it less than I hated Chemistry at AS which is why I continued it. I struggled in comparison to other people in my class and had to put in a lot of time and effort to get the same results as they could get from spending 10 minutes on a piece of work, when it took me an hour. However, despite having the impression I was going to get an E in the final exam, I came out with an A. It just depends on if you will be willing to put in the effort if you are struggling with it - something that you may not want to do if you aren't particularly interested in German itself. On the other hand, wanting to do Languages at University may spur you on when you find it tough.

German itself, is a hard language to learn - I found it harder than a lot of my class, but even they found it tough at times. As far as usefulness, a language is always a useful thing to have, and if you want to go into Languages, then it can only be useful to you!

Good luck with your choices (:

Reply 7

blueyedtori

I found it really difficult, jumping from gcse to A level, but you sound to be really good at it and you can drop it after one year.

Reply 8

JM_Magick

I found it hard going from GCSE (I got a B) to AS Level (An A at the end of year 12). In A Level I also got an A. Like others have said, it depends.
If your teachers have a real passion, knowledge for and experience of teaching it, it can be the best subject by a mile. If you're willing to accept it (probably) will be hard at the start of AS, then it will become more natural and easier at A Level. There is lots of stuff to learn, and things to learn to a decent depth and standard.
Having said all that, I personally love it. I have to work at it, especially with my written; but then that's my passion. It can be so rewarding, an old addage, but you reap what you sow, if you're willing to work then you'll be rewarded : )
Good luck with whatever you choose!

Reply 9

alicebytemperley

GenieK

Hi everyone, I'm trying to decide my fourth AS choice and am thinking about German. :confused:

I got a high A* at GCSE German and, like you, don't really enjoy it. I decided to take it as a fourth AS level subject (along with English Lit, French, and History). I'd like to read English with French at university and, like you, thought that German would be useful for language skills in general.

A month into the course, I hate it. The grammar is so much more difficult than at GCSE level and I don't feel any enthusiasm for the language. It just takes up valuable reading time and I much prefer French. It's known as the hardest A-Level and I underestimated the giant leap.

Read this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2004/dec/02/schools.alevels2004

I really don't want to discourage you; this is just my experience. I know hard-working people at my school who got Cs and Ds at AS Level German after getting As at GCSE level. If you don't love German, it's advisable to think about dropping it.

Alice
xxxx

Reply 10

GenieK

Thanks alicebytemperley, i only just got your post.

I took German in the end, I've been taking it for about 2 months and I absolutely hate it. I hate the subjects, my teacher is horrible and my class is boring. I'm thinking about dropping it, but that will leave me with only 3 AS Levels and a 4th one i plan to take in the second year, i don't know what to do!

Really wishing I hadn't taken German at this point though. Like you, I just have no enthusiasm.

Thanks for the advice! x

Reply 11

Superstar6318

think about it properly. unless you know you're highly academic and you absolutely love German (like many people love English or maths and can do it for the rest of your life) then please don't take it unless you're 100% sure. I took it as an AS and it consumed the other subjects I did. I failed most of my AS's. (although this was coupled with panic, and depression :frown:

Reply 12

cbyrnex

I Love German! It's fantastic, my teacher is AMAZING, a really inspirational woman, and the class is so fun. Yes, 5 people dropped it, because it is very hard, but languages are fun! More people should do them!
Deffo. carrying it on to A2!