GCSE German language tutoring

Our goal is your child's success

One-to-one online tuition will give your child the tailored support they need to master the German language. Using a blend of traditional teaching methods and multimedia resources, we will build our students’ vocabulary and deepen their grammatical understanding. We will encourage them to speak German as much as possible in tutoring sessions in order to prepare them for their GCSE oral exams.

GCSE language assessments have become even more demanding in recent years, so exam preparation is central to the way we teach. We will be going through past papers , studying mark schemes, or devising effective revision techniques in order to enable your child to shine in the exam hall and stand out from their peers.

Exam boards we cover

Trough immediate feedback and homework support we will make sure that your child will have their individual needs met while enjoying the language learning process at the same time. We will develop their speaking, writing and listening skills in an effective and enjoyable way.

Our qualified and skilled tutors are experts in preparation for multiple exam boards. They will help your child develop the necessary skills and confidence needed to excel at their GCSE & A-Level exams. The main exam boards for GCSE & A-level Modern Foreign Languages are:

AQA exam board specifications

Students study three ‘themes’ in German: identity and culture; local, national and global areas of interest; and current and future study and employment.

Listening: Students are assessed on their understanding and responding to different types of spoken language. This is a 45 minute exam worth 25% of the GCSE, with a total of 50 marks. Section A of the paper has questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally. Section B has questions in German, to be answered in German or non-verbally.
Speaking: This is a 10-12 minute assessment that has 60 marks and is worth 25% of the total course. There are three sections: a Role-play, a Photo card assessment and the General conversation part.
Reading: It is a 1 hour exam worth 25% of the total GCSE, and a total of 60 marks to be gained. Section A of this test will have questions in English, Section B has questions in German, and finally Section C is a translation from German into English, with a minimum of 50 words.
Writing: A 1 hour 15 minute exam worth 25% of the total course, with 60 marks. The questions will be set as follows: Question 1– a structured writing task (producing approximately 90 words in total), with a choice from two questions. Question 2– an open-ended writing task (consisting of approximately 150 words in total), with a choice from two questions. Question 3– a translation from English into German (minimum 50 words).

EDEXCEL exam board specification

Students learn about identity and culture; their local area; holiday and travel; school; future aspirations, study and work; and international and global dimensions.

Listening and understanding: 45 minutes including 5 minutes’ reading time; 50 marks, 25% of the total qualification. Students are assessed on their understanding of standard spoken German by one or more speakers in a range of public and social settings. Students will respond to multiple-response and short-answer open response questions based on a recording featuring male and female German speakers.
Speaking: 10–12 minutes plus 12 minutes’ preparation time; 70 marks, 25% of the total qualification. This examination is internally conducted and externally assessed. Students are assessed on their ability to communicate and interact effectively through speaking in German for different purposes and in different settings. There are three tasks which must be conducted in the following order: Task 1 – a role play based on one topic that is allocated by Pearson. Task 2 – questions based on a picture stimulus based on one topic that is allocated by Pearson. Task 3 – conversation based on two themes. The first theme is based on the topic chosen by the student in advance of the assessment. The second theme is allocated by Pearson.
Reading: 1 hour; 50 marks, and 25% of the total qualification. Students are assessed on their understanding of written German across a range of different types of texts, including advertisements, emails, letters, articles and literary texts. Students are required to respond to multiple-response and short-answer questions based on these texts.
Writing: 1 hour 20 minutes; 60 marks, 25% of the total GCSE. Pupils are assessed on their ability to communicate effectively through writing in German for different purposes and audiences. Pupils are required to produce responses of varying lengths and types to express ideas and opinions in German. Word counts are specified for each question.

IGCSE exam board specification

IGCSEs were introduced 30 years ago by Cambridge Assessment International Education and were created for international students. Many independent schools, as well as state schools, now offer IGCSEs as an alternative to the more common qualification. Universities and employers regard IGCSE and GCSE as equivalent qualifications.

Listening: It is a 30 minute exam worth 25% of the course, with a total of 40 marks. Candidates listen to a number of recordings and answer questions testing comprehension. This paper assesses listening skills across five topic areas: Home and abroad; Education and employment; Personal life and relationships; The world around us; Social activities, fitness and health.
Reading and writing: A 1 hour 45 minute exam, worth 50% of the total IGCSE qualification, with 80 marks in total. Candidates read a number of texts and answer questions testing comprehension. This paper also assesses all the same topics as the listening paper.
Speaking: The total assessment time is 8-10 minutes, worth 25% of the IGCSE, with a total of 40 marks. The examination is made up of three tasks. Pupils will present and answer questions on a picture. They will also discuss two different topics chosen at random by Pearson, from the following: Home and abroad; Education and employment; Personal life and relationships; The world around us; Social activities, fitness and health. There is more information about the few sub-topics that will not be discussed during this paper on the Pearson website.

German A-level exam preparation

The step up from GCSE is huge, but our experienced tutors will make sure that support is at hand in order to achieve the highest grade.

What prior knowledge and skills are required?

You should ideally have an A or A* at GCSE and at least an A at IGCSE.

How is the course assessed?

For the A level, there are three exams that cover all four general topic areas together with the film and literary text.

Unit 1 (Listening, Reading and Writing) will check your comprehension of a variety of texts and extracts along with two translations of 100 words each: one into German and one into English.Unit 1 lasts 2 hours 30 minutes and is worth 50% of the A level.
Unit 2 (Writing) consists of two 300-word essays in German with questions set on the film and the text studied. Unit 2 lasts 2 hours and is worth 20% of the A level.
Unit 3 (Speaking) will be a discussion of a theme based on a stimulus card followed by a presentation and a discussion of an individual German research project. Unit 3 lasts 21-23 minutes and is worth 30% of the A level.

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