Studying MFL PGCE - which university?

I'm not able to give a recommendation on a German PGCE (my programme was for Spanish and French), however, I will point out the difficulties you'll have in completing a SKE in French if you've not even got a GCSE in it. To complete a SKE with just Year 7-9 French (which is very low level) will mean you'll have to complete a full-time SKE course and I struggle to see how you would be able to complete this as part of your course. Even if you complete it, the fact that you hold an SKE in French but no GCSE/A-Level will likely restrict you to only teaching KS3 French and there are very few schools who will want that. Combine this with the fact that the number of students studying German is decreasing every year and you might have trouble finding a job once you complete the course.

This is just something to consider - PGCE providers will of course paint a rosy picture concerning recruitment for MFL but the reality is that you need to be able to teach two languages to KS4 and hold the qualifications to do this and an SKE without a GCSE may not allow this.

I know that this is very subjective, but only having 3 choices is killing me haha! Has anyone done an MFL PGCE and highly recommend it? I also want to go abroad afterwards and either teach English or foreign languages. I am also aware I need to do an SKE course in French (I study German, economics and Dutch at uni) and for some you need prior knowledge (UCL for example) and others not (like York said the fact that I had studied it year 7-9 was adequate).

Any recommendations or personal experiences you'd like to share?

Hi,

I would definitely recommend doing an SKE course in either French or Spanish as sadly German is in decline in a lot of schools so recruitment is lower.

The other poster is right that after the SKE your French still wouldn't be of a standard to confidently teach above KS3. But it should still be of a sufficient standard to have a much better chance of getting a job, in a school which offers both French and German and requires a German specialist for GCSE. You would be able to teach Y7-9 French and Y7-11 (or above if you get a job in a school with a 6th form) German.

I have a French and History degree, AS-Level German and GCSE Spanish. I did an SKE course in Spanish in the summer before my PGCE, and also volunteered on an archaeological dig in Spain to improve my spoken fluency. I now teach French up to GCSE and Spanish at KS3 and it's not a problem. My department has Spanish specialists who want the Y10 and 11 groups and wouldn't be confident teaching top set Y11 French either, so it works out fine.

I think the previous poster paints an overly bleak picture of German. Yes it is in decline. Yes, there are more schools offering French / Spanish than German. But that doesn't mean there are no opportunities with German - you just have to be prepared to cast your net wider and be willing to have a longer commute or move for a job. The Germanists I know from my PGCE and SKE course did all get jobs in the end.

Hi,

I would definitely recommend doing an SKE course in either French or Spanish as sadly German is in decline in a lot of schools so recruitment is lower.

The other poster is right that after the SKE your French still wouldn't be of a standard to confidently teach above KS3. But it should still be of a sufficient standard to have a much better chance of getting a job, in a school which offers both French and German and requires a German specialist for GCSE. You would be able to teach Y7-9 French and Y7-11 (or above if you get a job in a school with a 6th form) German.

I have a French and History degree, AS-Level German and GCSE Spanish. I did an SKE course in Spanish in the summer before my PGCE, and also volunteered on an archaeological dig in Spain to improve my spoken fluency. I now teach French up to GCSE and Spanish at KS3 and it's not a problem. My department has Spanish specialists who want the Y10 and 11 groups and wouldn't be confident teaching top set Y11 French either, so it works out fine.

I think the previous poster paints an overly bleak picture of German. Yes it is in decline. Yes, there are more schools offering French / Spanish than German. But that doesn't mean there are no opportunities with German - you just have to be prepared to cast your net wider and be willing to have a longer commute or move for a job. The Germanists I know from my PGCE and SKE course did all get jobs in the end.