(French, German, Latin, Spanish and classics)
Centre policy and reasons for offering AEAs
All the centres contributing to this case study allowed each subject department or individual subject teachers to decide its own policy and criteria for entering students for the AEA tests. At one school the MFL department has been the only subject area to have entered students for the AEA. However, the perceived benefits and students' results have encouraged the school to consider extending the offer of AEAs to other subjects, and in particular offering the AEA in critical thinking alongside their programme for the more gifted and talented.
At departmental level some centres had an open access policy whereby any GCE A level student can choose to join the AEA programme. One school gives the students a past test paper, which they are required to complete on their own. This 'taster' often results in the weaker students deciding not to join the programme. At other schools, heads of departments actively invite and encourage the more able students to consider taking the AEA and a few have clear selection criteria, for example:
The head of department invites students who are not only able but 'readers’.
The most able pupils are fast tracked in their first language, which means they take GCSE in year 10, AS level in year 11 and A2 in year 12. Students can then choose to continue with a language in year 13. For these students the AEA provides accreditation for their further study in year 13. The AEA option is open, therefore, to students who already have a grade A at A level and are able linguists.
In all cases, entry was optional for students considered suitable.
Reasons for offering the AEA
Centres gave the following reasons for offering the AEA:
- an excellent preparation for university work
- a means of rewarding the kind of candidate who already studied more widely
- to stretch, challenge and maintain the motivation of students who are capable of going beyond the demands of the A2 examination
- as an 'insurance policy' for students who do not achieve their required grade for university and an opportunity to enhance their UCAS profile (particularly for students applying for over-subscribed courses) and future CVs
- as a means of increasing the confidence of students in their own knowledge and skills
- as a means of improving A2 work.
At one college where students' ‘knowledge of the society, culture and issues of the countries and communities of the target language is often quite limited, and where the habit of staying on after school for extra study and wider reading of literature is difficult to instil, the AEA provides a further challenge’.
One school reported that an ex-student who went to university to study mathematics was only allowed to change to a classics course because he had gained a distinction in the AEA in Latin and therefore had demonstrated his ability and commitment to the subject through his preparation for the AEA.
Marketing and recruitment
At all centres, whether they specifically target students or operate an open-access policy, students are told about the AEA and its demands in the September or January of year 13, after they have received their AS results or sat their January A2 modules.
Arrangements for supporting and preparing students for AEA tests
In general, centres feel that there is a good match between the skill requirements of the GCE A level specification and the AEA test paper. However, two centres reported that students choosing the coursework option at GCE A level are not used to writing extended essays in examination conditions. One department feels that the skills required are an extension of those required at A2 and that the challenge lies in the more complex grammatical requirements, the greater depth of vocabulary and the ability to manipulate text.
"The skills required for GCE A level reading and listening are very similar, however students are required to deal with more substantial texts. The writing is less well matched, particularly for students who choose coursework, however it does provide a suitable challenge for the most able.
The single themed topic of the AEA paper has not brought any unexpected surprises as in the course of their A level preparation, students study a range of literary passages, an historical period and a wide range of contemporary issues related to the countries and communities of the target language. This broad-based preparation means the AEA candidates have a very good starting point for their own independent reading, research and other extension work." (a case study centre)
Teachers from two schools analysed past AEA papers and their students results. They identified that, to do well in the AEA, students must have the ability to apply higher critical skills, be able to analyse and synthesise language and know how to respond to the different style of AEA test questions, as well as have linguistic ability from the outset.
The centres visited were divided between those that:
- integrate AEA preparation into normal A level classes supported by wider guided reading
- provide additional timetabled classes for AEA preparation
- require students to prepare for the AEA test in their own time, supported by individual guidance on request.
Some schools also offered language or general enrichment programmes for all A level students, which AEA students are encouraged to attend. Included in these programmes were master classes run by the local authority, school trips to see plays and foreign language films, external general lectures on philosophy and critical thinking and lectures specifically for language students and additional classes to prepare for Oxbridge entrance. While some of these activities were not specific to the target language, teachers felt they helped students to become aware of and develop higher-level skills.
Schools either give students the AEA guidance material produced by the awarding body or direct them to the awarding body's website for information about the test. All schools provide past test papers for students to work through and/or answer.
All the schools that integrate preparation into normal A level lessons, reported that all A level students were encouraged to develop independent study skills. At one school, students are given subject specific study guides, which include website references. Students are set a range of research tasks on contemporary issues and also carry out independent grammar exercises, working through a self-study grammar book at their own pace.
The teacher has also developed specific strategies to encourage AEA students to read a wider range of texts and undertake more in-depth language work. For example, AEA students are asked to prepare extended written responses to their reading, prepare weekly news updates, research aspects of coursework in more depth to present to the rest of the class and are asked to explain points of grammar to other students to develop their critical skills. In addition, all A level students have a weekly individual meeting with their teacher and this time is used with AEA students to develop more in-depth discussions and analyse texts prepared in advance.
One school was prompted to run additional weekly 45-minute classes for AEA students to focus on the literature aspects of the AEA, which is not a major feature of their more topic based A level coverage. In these classes students focus on literary criticism, translation, advanced grammar and developing students' critical thinking and extended writing skills.
Activities and resources offering opportunities to enrich and enhance understanding and skills
Subject teachers suggested the following activities and resources.
- Wider literary reading. For example, suggested texts for French include Madame Bovary, Les Petits Enfants du Sei#cle, Bonjour Tristesse.
- Developing a comprehensive language library including classic and contemporary novels and poetry, literary criticisms and more accessible books in both the English language and in the MFL target language, for example thrillers by Mary Higgins Clarke and for students studying Spanish, writers such as Isabel Allende.
- Developing a film/video library and/or running a foreign language film club.
- Attending external lectures specifically designed for MFL students, for example the French Institute and the Goethe Institute.
- Participating in locally organised master classes for sixth form students.
- Running debating and discussion sessions on contemporary issues or literary studies.
Also see
> Teaching advanced level subjects
> AEAs
QCA web links
> AEAs
> GCSE, GCE, VCE, GNVQ and AEA code of practice 2007
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Page updated: 12 June 2008