The new AQA GCSE MFL specifications have been developed for learners of all abilities and backgrounds, creating updated assessments that are clear and accessible with engaging and relevant content.

Specified vocabulary lists are now included, drawn from the top 2,000 high-frequency words in the target languages. There are 1,200 words for Foundation and a further 500 required for Higher (1,700 words in total).

The grammar content for the new specifications has also now been comprehensively listed, ensuring what is required is clearer for teachers and students.

New areas of content have been brought in, including a new unit on celebrity culture added to the Popular culture theme, as well as changes in approach to some of the subject content.

All exam questions will now be in English to ensure that students can fully understand what is being asked of them. Listening and Reading papers will require either non-verbal answers or answers in English.

The listening assessment will now include dictation, where students transcribe short sentences, including some words from outside the prescribed vocabulary list. In the speaking assessment, a reading-aloud task and short conversation have been added, and the role plays will now all be in informal contexts.

How do the resources build students’ knowledge and confidence?

The resources prepare students for exams with complete coverage of all the key skills.

For example, regular transcription activities and dictation interactives are provided in the Student Book and on Kerboodle. Practice dictation tasks, matching what students can expect during the listening exam, will help to build confidence and provide reassurance.

Students are nurtured to become confident linguists with dedicated phonics pages that support clear pronunciation. The Phonics pages at the start of each book present key sounds and useful language to support revision and transition from Key Stage 3.

Test and revise pages feature exam-style questions, tailored to Higher and Foundation tiers. Matched to each theme, they provide practice questions to build skills for listening, reading, speaking and writing. A cross-theme Test and Revise section is also provided at the end of each book.

How do the resources support my teaching and planning?

The new and improved Kerboodle Online Learning platform includes teaching and learning materials designed to save you time and make planning easy, with everything in one place.

The Kerboodle Assessment hub allows progress-tracking and reporting, helping you to identify students’ areas of strength and weakness to inform future teaching and support exam preparation. Interactive activities can be completed by students on their tablets or mobile devices, and you can also add your own resources to create bespoke lessons for your class.

Digital Kerboodle Student Books include audio transcripts, sound files, answers and interactives, now launched directly from the page. New and improved adaptive vocabulary builders support students’ learning alongside auto-marked interactive grammar, listening and reading activities. Grammar interactives with built-in next steps depending on your score test and extend students’ grammar knowledge and application.

Oxford’s AQA approved* Student Books and digital resources provide a supportive learning environment that will engage learners of all backgrounds.

Culturally rich and inclusive content has been written by expert teacher-authors who have lived experience from target-language countries around the world, ensuring that the topics and settings are authentic and relevant to students’ interests and daily life.

Culture pages introduce students to the wider world in which the target language is spoken, and they are encouraged to expand their cultural knowledge by researching what interests them, developing skills that can enable them to take their language studies beyond GCSE.

The accessibility of the texts and illustrations is carefully thought through, and all the printable student resources on Kerboodle are provided in an accessible format. The resources are written to challenge stereotypes and include positive role models, with under-represented groups depicted authentically throughout in artwork and images.

Where can I find out more?

Browse all the new GCSE MFL textbooks for teaching from September 2024 here.

The AQA website includes lots of support and resources to help you teach the new MFL GCSE specifications with confidence.

To find out more about Oxford’s AQA GCSE French, German and Spanish courses, new and approved for the 2024 specification do get in touch.

* Higher and Foundation Student Books and digital Kerboodle Books have been approved by AQA. All other resources were not involved in the AQA approval process.