PGCE (Secondary): Modern Languages

In the Autumn Term, College-based sessions complement school-based work by covering issues raised in lesson planning – eg. speaking skills, group work, or using ICT. The sessions are based on workshop-type activities, but offer the opportunity to reflect on the underlying teaching principles.

They also allow you to follow up General Professional Studies by exploring equal opportunities, classroom management, Every Child Matters and Inclusion.

For the Spring and Summer Terms, you move to a second school and take on more responsibility for teaching classes; you may also continue to team-teach with your mentor in school.

Your university tutor and mentor share responsibility for assessing your teaching practice, and help you identify your strengths and work on any weaknesses.

You also work with your mentor on a curriculum development project in which you explore a current initiative in language teaching, devising teaching materials and trying them out in the classroom.

You complete one formal subject assignment during the year. This includes a review of current language teaching methodologies and how they have developed, as well as a focus on a particular issue related to current classroom practice.

Download the programme specification. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.

Between 2020 and 2022 we needed to make some changes to how programmes were delivered due to Covid-19 restrictions. For more information about past programme changes please visit our programme changes information page.

You apply for this PGCE through the Department for Education’s Apply for Teacher Training website. More information about the process can be found on the Get into Teaching website.

Please take a look at the information on applying, including the specific qualifications or experience you need for this course.

There's no closing date for primary or secondary applications, but we advise you to apply early to avoid disappointment.

A range of teaching methods are employed across the PGCE programmes, including:

• Taught subject sessions
• Taught General Professional Study sessions
• Practical workshops
• Core lectures
• Group tutorials/seminars
• Individual tutorials
• Individual and group presentations
• Supported self-study

As with the other PGCE courses, you’ll be given the opportunity to work with children in a wide range of contexts. These might include focused interventions with individuals or groups, or larger scale events for the community.

You'll need:

• to meet our fitness to train requirements
• a GCSE Grade C/4 or above in English and Mathematics. Please note, we can only accept some UK and international GCSE equivalent qualifications.Please view our list of accepted UK GCSE equivalencies. If you have a non-UK qualification that you believe is GCSE equivalent, you must check this with the Admissions team.
• an undergraduate honours degree, at 2:2 or above from a university in the United Kingdom or an international equivalent that includes an appropriate element of French, German, Spanish or Mandarin or an A-level (or equivalent) in French, German, Spanish or Mandarin (normally at Grade C or above).
• For European languages, some knowledge of one of the other languages, ideally as a subsidiary subject in your degree or at A-level, but GCSE or O-level is a help as a starting point. This requirement does not apply to Mandarin students.

The requirement for European language teachers to have some grasp of two of the three languages (French, German or Spanish) is because most of the partnership schools used for teaching practice find it easier to timetable lessons if you have two languages, even if one is at a basic level and there are many more posts requiring two languages, even if the second language is only offered at beginners’ level, than for just one language.

In terms of long-term career prospects, most heads of department have two languages in order to be able to advise/lead the rest of the department.

If you were educated in France, Germany, Spain, or another country where one of these languages is spoken, you must have a degree from a university there.

This does not have to be a degree in the language, but usually it should be in a subject that requires writing clear, grammatically accurate coursework/assignments/dissertations. A degree in English from such a country is also acceptable since it requires translation and good, grammatical understanding.

We do take a very limited number of students with only French, Spanish or German. If you only speak one of these languages, we advise you to apply early as there are very few of these places. If you have no second language, or only a limited knowledge, we expect you to make every effort to develop this before the programme starts (eg. through evening classes, courses, holidays abroad, or self-study).

If you have lived outside the UK and have not worked in a British school (for example as a Foreign Language Assistant), it is very helpful if you arrange to visit a secondary school for a day to observe lessons before you submit your application. You can then refer to this visit in your personal statement.