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Vocational languages/applied learning
Organisational issues
Choosing the right qualification
If you are going to accredit the language learning which the students are undertaking, take care to choose the qualification which will suit your students’ needs best. Some points to consider before deciding:
- Would your students benefit from taking an external exam either at the end of the course or some time during the course? If your students like to build up a lot of language and be tested all in one go, this may be an option for them.
- Some external assessments can be taken on a computer. If your students are confident computer-users and would enjoy this method of assessment, this may be a consideration
- Would your students do better if they are continually assessed via assignments set by the teacher? If your students are better at being assessed on little bits of learning at a time, a competency-based, continuous assessment may be more suitable for them
- Will your learners benefit from following a flexible course with no set syllabus, where together you and they can decide what language they learn and what language they are tested on? If so, choose a course with no set syllabus where you can design a tailor-made course
For information on all of the language qualifications available for the 14 to 19 age-group, visit the section on alternative accreditation.
For information on which qualifications to use as part of a Diploma linked to one of the fourteen lines of learning, visit the Diploma section.
Funding and performance points
If you are teaching in an FE college, take care to check that whichever qualification you choose is fundable under section 96 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). But you must also check that your local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is willing to fund the qualification, even if it is on the NQF. Local LSCs have the autonomy to choose what they fund according to local need.
If you are teaching in a school, check that the qualification will attract the number of points which your pupils require. Information about points can be found on the post-14 language qualifications spreadheet on our qualifications page.
Internal management of the vocational language course
If you are teaching a language element as part of a vocational course, try to ensure that it is viewed as seriously as the mainstream course in order for it to be given the same importance by the students and other departments. Within schools, once students have chosen to do a language, there are rules to make sure that they attend, however in FE colleges this is not always the case. Some good practice in managing vocationally-related language courses:
- Ensure that the department in charge of the mainstream course is committed to the language element and that they will support you in its management
- Ensure that you liaise with the vocational departments in the design of the syllabus for the language element, so that staff in these departments feel that they have ownership of it. This will also ensure relevance of content for the learner
- During Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) and during enrolment, make it clear to students that they will be doing a language and that they will be expected to treat the language element as seriously as any other subject. Try to avoid 'springing' a language on learners once they start college.
- Making the language compulsory is an effective way of ensuring that students treat it as seriously as their other subjects.
- Agree with the vocational department beforehand that they will support you in following up on attendance and disciplinary matters
- Link the language element to an overseas trip as this can be extremely motivating. Visit the Leonardo website for information on funding for work-placement trips via the European-funded Leonardo da Vinci programme. You can use CILT’s Work Placement Toolkit to help you to prepare your students linguistically and culturally for work experience in an international environment
