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Vol/53 No/3 2014 JUNE/JULY The Linguist 17 FEATURES examination materials that satisfy the GCSE criteria and new content while at the same time avoiding too many sweeping changes that could lose them customers. For we must not forget that the AOs are independent commercial enterprises and that their primary consideration is maintaining and increasing their share of the market. The new GCSE So what are the most significant changes in principles and practice that will need to be accommodated? The new GCSE examination will undoubtedly require candidates to demonstrate a higher ability to communicate in the foreign language (both in speaking and writing) than previously, and the emphasis will be on spontaneity of language use. Speaking, listening, reading and writing will be given equal weighting for the first time, and there is a strong desire to eliminate the possibility of candidates simply reproducing, in assessment, language previously learnt by heart. It is expected that more complex language, drawn from authentic texts, will be featured, and that candidates will be expected to have a better understanding of how language works and how to manipulate it. Reading texts are likely to be more demanding and translation will make a comeback too, although it will be for the AOs to decide in what form. Perhaps the biggest change, however, is likely to be the move away from internally assessed coursework. Some teachers will welcome this, as it will mean more direct classroom teaching time; others may be concerned that pupils will be entirely summatively assessed. All the old arguments about 'traditional' exams have been re-ignited, but Ofqual's criticism that 'controlled assessment is proving a valid test of students' memory but not a valid test of their language skills' (Ofqual 2013) has clearly been taken seriously. The desire to discourage rote learning and 'teaching to the test' has been a strong thread in all the deliberations over the new MFL curriculum, and at both GCSE and A-level the challenges are strongly felt by the Awarding Organisations. It is their task to take the criteria written by the DfE and to design the subject content and assessment – the specifications for each language. Designing speaking assessments that require candidates to demonstrate spontaneous and independent use of language will be challenging, but given the level of technology that schools now have access to, there are exciting possibilities here. The assessment of cultural understanding and knowledge (previously not formally examined), in a meaningful way, will require imagination, but the use of authentic, culturally-based texts will offer greater opportunities to make the GCSE examinations more interesting and intellectually stimulating for candidates. An end to internal assessment will mean more external marking and moderation, but will the AOs pass on the increased cost of that to the consumer? The stakes are high and there are competing interests that may not all be reflected in the examinations that finally appear. There is a danger that in the process of their development, and the production of practical outcomes, the principles established by the advisory bodies and the spirit of their recommendations could become diluted and misinterpreted. The possibility of a huge gap between intention and outcome looms large. A challenge for teachers Change in education is difficult to implement at the best of times, and in the current period, innovation is often thwarted by the external pressures of performance targets and a 'results culture' that breeds conservatism and risk- aversion. Perhaps, then, the greatest burden of responsibility will lie with the teachers, who will have to bring the specifications to life and carry through the spirit of change into practice. They will need to devise more mature topics, with rich cultural content, and they will need to think beyond what they already know. As with the new KS3 curriculum, considerable pedagogic imagination will be required to meet the demands. Target language teaching will re-emerge as the key to success, so many languages departments will have to rethink their teaching approaches. Hopefully, the experience of teaching the new KS3 curriculum from September will prepare the way for the new GCSE specifications, which will be taught from 2017. Teachers will be more accustomed to giving an important place to previously ignored aspects of enrichment culture and will have experimented with introducing literature to younger learners in an appropriate way. The expectation might be that this new content and approach should make 'teaching to the test' anathema. As time goes by, we can expect more of young people as the new principles and aspirations of the modern languages curriculum become a practical reality. Let not the gap be too wide between laudable intention and practical interpretation! Notes 1 Reforming Key Stage 4 Qualifications Consultation: Government response, February 2013, Department of Education. Target-language teaching will re-emerge as the key to success, requiring a rethinking of teaching approaches Are we seeing the beginnings of a languages revolution in England? The potential is there IMAGES: © ISTOCKPHOTO