Is German A Level like English lit GCSEs?

I’m in the process of picking A-level subjects right now, and I’m set on Maths biology and chemistry, but I’m not sure about the 4th one

I’m considering German as I really enjoy learning a new language and about the culture and I feel it will be useful in the future to be vaguely conversational hopefully?

However since there’s set texts etc, is it similar to English literature GCSE in that sense? (I really don’t like English lit because analyzing words in great detail is not for me at all, so it would be a big deal breaker haha)

Thank you!

Reply 1

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

I did French and Spanish A Levels, and yes as well as grammar, listening, speaking and so on there are indeed books you have to read and analyse in a similar way to English Literature, when you are doing modern foreign languages for A Level. I love learning languages but I hated the books we had to do for French and Spanish A Levels - they were so boring. Bonjour Tristesse I remember from French, and Como Agua Para Chocolate was for Spanish. I think there were others too but it was a long time ago so I forget. Anyway yeah they were mind numbingly boring choices.
I've never done German but I imagine it'll be a similar setup.

As a side note, universities only require you to have 3 A Levels. Your 4th one will be totally redundant, so it would be better if you just stick to 3 (unless your sixth form has some stupid rule about you doing 4).

Reply 2

username7468027

Original post

by KellyC321

I’m in the process of picking A-level subjects right now, and I’m set on Maths biology and chemistry, but I’m not sure about the 4th one
I’m considering German as I really enjoy learning a new language and about the culture and I feel it will be useful in the future to be vaguely conversational hopefully?
However since there’s set texts etc, is it similar to English literature GCSE in that sense? (I really don’t like English lit because analyzing words in great detail is not for me at all, so it would be a big deal breaker haha)
Thank you!

hiya!

we'd have the same a-level combo if you did decide to take german! personally, although the literature section is more like english gcse it's balanced out as it's not the only focus of the course. i also find having a very different subject from science/maths a great change as my timetable's pretty heavy, so it's a nice break from those subjects. i'd also say being able to study literature in another language helps with seeing nuances! don't forget there's also a film aspect, so the whole course isn't just book reading :smile:

if you're thinking of a science based career, german's also a good choice as germany's had a strong role in science.

happy to answer any questions you may have! :smile:

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 3

Godisgood1234

Hey 👋🏽. The last post is right. The set texts are a similar to English lit in a way but they're not the only thing you do. You've still got reading, writing and listening skills. I do AQA and we also have a research topic that we have to present - idk of it's similar for other boards