Important steps and decisions to take prior to introducing the
course are:
- funding for INSET prior to the introduction of the entry level
course is to be recommended so that teachers are familiar with the
requirements of the course and the types of assessment the students
will need to undertake
- the opportunity in training days to review schemes of work,
resources and teaching and learning practices
- staffing – choosing the correct staff who will embrace the new
initiative is essential. With an Entry Level certificate
course it is important that members of staff are well organised and
can encourage the students to keep neat and organised portfolios of
work.
Preparing for the assessments
The reading and writing tasks are set by the Board. It is important
to make sure the right ones are used (with some awarding bodies
they do change every year). Using past examples can be excellent
practice together with the Listening and Speaking examples
suggested on the website (AQA) (easily adaptable for
French/German/Spanish).
When completing continuous assessment tasks the availability of ICT
makes it more manageable for students to sit a task when they are
ready to do so, enabling others to be engaged in practising another
skill.
A good model to follow may be to undertake the assessments in the
following order: Reading, then Listening, Speaking and
finally Writing, as the skills build on each other.
Administration
Each awarding body produces guidance documents for teachers on
their own administrative procedures. Teachers need to be sure that
they are familiar with the paperwork which needs to be completed
for the specific Entry Level course being delivered and that they
are aware of key dates for work to be submitted.
A suggestion made by Ringwood School who follow an AQA Entry
Level course is as follows:
'You are advised to keep up the paperwork as
you go along, one file per student, recording their achievements
per Unit. The group have to complete 4 separate units (one per
General Area). We tend to complete 6 or 7 allowing for absence and
ensuring that the students are able to put forward their very best
work.
3 Levels are possible, students can mix and match within Units. Aim
high: there is no point in letting students believe they can only
achieve a Level 1. They can drop a level on certain tasks and still
achieve the number of points required for Level 3.'
Parental concerns
Parents may be concerned if their child is following an Entry Level
course and not a GCSE in a foreign language. Teachers may need to
be aware of this issue and be prepared to explain to parents that
the course is more appropriate for their son/daughter as it offers
ongoing assessment at a basic level in line with their
abilities. Students who have followed an Entry Level course
can progress to a GCSE or other Level 1 or Level 2
course.
Performance points
It is important to note that the performance points for an Entry
Level certificate will reflect the level of difficulty of the
qualification and will not be comparable with a GCSE language
qualification. For more details about performance points for
Entry level courses consult the National
Database of accredited qualifications.