Some employers might prefer it if you can speak a second language, but an A level alone doesn't really count for much.
It certainly has no grounding on university applications whether you do a language or not. What an odd thing to say.
No wonder A-Levels mean and are worth squat
- Thread starter Hatter The Mad
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Some employers might prefer it if you can speak a second language, but an A level alone doesn't really count for much.
It certainly has no grounding on university applications whether you do a language or not. What an odd thing to say.
Not true in foreign language GCSE's though. If you get the total required number of marks, you would still get an A* even with spelling mistakes.
So long as your construction, understanding and grammar are correct then you will score highly. I had another link somewhere else but I can't find it atm which states that marks should only be deducted for spelling if it no longer becomes easy to differentiate between two different words.
UNfortunately, it really is still a bell curve grading system, they just renamed C to an A, d to B and so on, so you're only seeing half the curve anymore
So we're not seeing the end of the bell now?
Sorry, that is all I had to contribute
Soldato
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In most colleges/sixth forms it's compulsory to take either general studies or critical thinking if you do 4 or less A Levels. Since general studies and critical thinking have no value at all what so ever (they're not taken into consideration by universities) it's pointless doing it. Doing something that will enhance career prospects, such as a language coarse will be more beneficial:
1. It will be counted toward UCAS points/grades, which universities will prefer
2. It will enhance career prospects
3. It will teach diversity
4. Has more value than general studies or critical thinking
"By that point it's extremely hard to learn a language." - Way to generalise.
I'd like to see the option for more languages being available - I think people would be interested in learning Spanish because it could open doors to Latin America.
However, as far as French and German are concerned, I really don't see the point. They are the 10th and 11th most spoken languages in the world. If any language should be compulsory it should be Chinese/Arabic or even Japanese.
However, as far as French and German are concerned, I really don't see the point. They are the 10th and 11th most spoken languages in the world. If any language should be compulsory it should be Chinese/Arabic or even Japanese.
Soldato
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You don't see the point because you're not seeing the wider picture. Different fields prefer different languages. Engineering firms love a graduate who understands and speaks German. It's because Germany has a strong Engineering sector and a lot of engineering firms are based there. Just because it's the 10th/11th most spoken language doesn't make it pointless.
And yet as I sit in my office in Thailand I find utterly no call to use French or German, and as I train to be a barrister to practice in the UK I again find absolutely no need for it.
I'm a firm believer in the benefits studying languages and would certainly have liked to have a compulsory one instead of general studies - but the fact that BMW speak German and Air France wants fluent pilots is not justification enough for such a limited pool of languages.
I'm a firm believer in the benefits studying languages and would certainly have liked to have a compulsory one instead of general studies - but the fact that BMW speak German and Air France wants fluent pilots is not justification enough for such a limited pool of languages.
Seriously - they are getting easier. Your generation is not brighter than every generation before you, yet every year more A's are being dished out.
GCSE's were already ridiculously easy when I sat them in the 90's. I had no doubt then that they were getting easier and I have no doubt now. If what you say is indeed true, you should be fully capable of passing an a GCSE paper from 10 - 20 years ago. I'm sure you'd pass, but you wouldn't have the same grades you currently have. Straight A students used to be rare... now it's just the norm and no longer impressive.
You might not admit it now, but in 10 years time you'll change your tune when you results stating even more people are apparently A grade students.
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Man of Honour
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Save for the odd 'Core 1/2/3/4' changes a few years ago, A-level maths hasn't changed in a long while. I know because my teacher had taught it for 26 years, and heck we still used the same books!
The books/methods used to teach have got a lot more friendly I suppose - but surely that's a good thing!
As for other subjects I don't really know apart from the ones I took - Physics was straightforward, computing was a joke, and the German AS was terrible.
The books/methods used to teach have got a lot more friendly I suppose - but surely that's a good thing!
As for other subjects I don't really know apart from the ones I took - Physics was straightforward, computing was a joke, and the German AS was terrible.
Soldato
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We're not dumber either. And its the younger generations that will be paying taxes toward your pensions when you're old will they not?
Soldato
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I disagree, effectively telling students they only passed because the exams are easier is a slap in the face. Primarily peddled by older people who likely have a 'snob-complex' or constantly condemn everything that doesn't conform to how things were 'back in the day'.
I dont think anyone is saying that though are they?
I mean I certainly am not. I'm merely saying that exams have been getting progressively easier. Certainly not saying that the only reason students passed is because its easier, or indeed that students are dumber or less intelligent.
Soldato
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Thats if they havent beaten us to death in the streets first
Now there's a good method of population control...
+1
Perfectly sums up this attitude I feel.
Not directly, although it is fairly heavily implied through the way people are posting.
Well at least I've clarified my stance on what I mean when I say that they've got easier.
Soldato
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Seeing how many adults appear to dislike teenagers in particular nowadays, its a wonder why they're still having kids?
I mean, if you're just going to sycthe younger generations to pieces for everything they do what's the point? Either teenagers are the ultimate menace, vandalising public property and knifing old people or they're getting decent A Level results and are just plain thick.
You can't win.
I mean, if you're just going to sycthe younger generations to pieces for everything they do what's the point? Either teenagers are the ultimate menace, vandalising public property and knifing old people or they're getting decent A Level results and are just plain thick.
You can't win.
I'm not telling kids that they only passed because the exam was easier. I'm sure the majority would have passed regardless. What I am saying is that the grades don't reflect the reality. Every year, substantially more kids magically get A/A*'s, and that is a load of rubbish.
Each generation is not more intelligent than the one before it, or at least not to the extent that the exam boards and government want people to believe. The amount of A grade students around now completely devalue the worth of the mark. When something becomes the norm, then it is no longer sought after. Straight A students are ten a penny these days.
The proof comes when todays kids can't pass older exams. What's the point in schooling children to only get a narrow and specific education capable of passing the exams for one year?
Then you take into account other ways in that the system has been dumbed down - spelling not being an issue in an ENGLISH exam. Text speak being being considered as acceptable in an exam. Subjects being taught completely incorrectly and on purpose (science is a wonderful example of this).
On top of that you look at reports from watchdogs who all say that subjects are being dumbed down from year to year, and realise that there is something VERY wrong with the education system.
A is the new C and has been for some time.