Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

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piggys
Posts: 1636
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by piggys »

Does anyone have a recommendation for me please? dd will likely have to take Spanish externally as she is already taking her quota of MFL in school and isn't allowed to take another one. She's a pretty gifted linguist though. Y9 currently so plenty of time.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd be really grateful. North London. :D

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Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by Guest55 »

I'd strongly advise against this - she'll be doing the new GCSEs in most subjects and that will be quite enough work.
piggys
Posts: 1636
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by piggys »

Thanks Guest55 - I appreciate your comments. In your view will the new course be significantly more challenging than the existing one? I know what the new English lit and lang courses are like but I am not au fait with the MFLs.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by Guest55 »

It's not just the MFL - it's all the other subjects!

Maths and English have already changed but she'll be in the first cohort for many others - check the timeline I posted.

Universities consider the quality of GCSE grades not the quantity.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by Amber »

+1
Gifted linguist or not, she is still going to have enough on her plate with the quota of GCSEs offered by the school. If she is desperate to learn Spanish I suggest she does it for pleasure - i.e. without the exam, maybe at a local college or something. The qualification won't add anything significant to her repertoire. Languages can always be learned later in life - there is in my view no point whatsoever in adding to your daughter's study burden now.
JaneEyre
Posts: 4843
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by JaneEyre »

Hi Piggys,

It is great that your DD has an interest in languages and it is true that she must not put aside her natural inclinations! However, as Amber and Guest55 stress it, sitting all the new GCSEs (so a larger load in all subjects) will be something new and will put the pupils under great pressures. It is a bit like a jump in the unkown, hence the reason why English teachers do not give a predicted grade of 9 at the moment for the new GCSE (according to what I have heard; you must know better as you are an English teacher :wink: )...

Just in MFL languages, here are some info about the content of the reforms:
Specifically, the key changes to languages will be:
Controlled assessments (coursework done under exam conditions) will be scrapped – to be replaced by external assessment (oral exams will be internally conducted but externally assessed),
At least 10% of the marks available must be allocated to knowledge and application of grammar,
The weighting for the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) will be 25% each,
The introduction of a wider range of literary texts,
The requirement to translate short texts from English into assessed language, and
A greater focus on the culture and identity of countries where the languages are spoken.
The focus will be on introducing:
A stronger emphasis on culture and identity,
Much more emphasis on independence and interaction in all skills,
Stronger communication based on a deeper understanding of how language works (activating grammatical knowledge and understanding),
The opportunity to apply languages in personal, academic and employment-related contexts,
A greater focus on spontaneous talk and the inclusion of repair strategies as a skill,
Opportunities for bilingual learning,
Translation but in a very dynamic meaning-focused way, developing 'translanguaging skills' for the global labour force,
Wider and richer sources for listening and reading, including literary texts to inform, inspire and as a stimulus for a personal response.

source: http://www.all-languages.org.uk/news/ne ... n_launched" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


To summarise, I am under the impression that the new key things in the new MFL GCSE are these:
- the translation
- there will be 'literary texts' in the exams paper (BUT they will be adapted or abridged)
- questions will be in the assessed language (apparently 30% reading questions and 20% listening questions according to some info I have from OCR)
- at the moment there is 5% of the vocabulary which can be unseen in the material provided by the boards; that will be more with the new GCSE

May be you could discuss with the school for your DD to have 3 MFL in her 10 GCSEs? Would this be doable? You lose nothing asking for it; some headmasters are open minded and try to accomodate their pupils as much as possible! :)
piggys
Posts: 1636
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by piggys »

Thanks JaneEyre; I am fully aware that the new exams will be in place by the time my dd sits her exams in two years time and that overall the courses are more rigorous; I am still keen on obtaining details of private tutors who teach the Spanish GCSE so I can at least discuss the matter - so my original question remains! :)
JaneEyre
Posts: 4843
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by JaneEyre »

piggys wrote: so my original question remains! :)
Hi piggys :D

I hope some forumites will pm you some recommandations. If not, maybe you could contact the Instituto Cervantes in central London ; they may be able to give you some contacts as often in this kind of centre, tutors who do not work there still use it to advertise for their tuition.
http://londres.cervantes.es/en/default.shtm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wishing all the best to your DD! :D
piggys
Posts: 1636
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by piggys »

Thanks so much JaneEyre, I will definitely try them ! :D
Daogroupie
Posts: 11101
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Spanish tutor for doing GCSE privately.

Post by Daogroupie »

Why is there a quota for MFL? At DAO some of my dd's friends took Italian, Spanish and French to GCSE and others took Italian, Spanish and German. Are you only allowed to do two at HBS?

Are you not able to have a meeting with the Head of Year and ask to do three? I am sure they would prefer that to you doing an extra GCSE outside school. Having said that a number of DAO students did Hebrew, Greek or Chinese in Y10 privately so as not to have another exam in Y11 so perhaps that would be another option to take Spanish in Y10. DG
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