Many parents with the same concerns are doing just that. And here’s why…

Demand for modern foreign languages (MFL) is on the up.

“The 2024 GCSE results reveal that more young people in schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are opting to study a language.” said Sascha Stollhans of the University of Leeds School of Languages, Cultures and Society in her article GCSE results: more young people are studying languages.

“French and Spanish remain the most popular languages, with increases of 2.9% and 6.2% from last year respectively. Even German’s making a comeback (+3.5%), while Irish (+14.8%) and other modern languages like Mandarin, Arabic, Portuguese, and Urdu (+8.1%) are on the rise.” 

Accordingly, MFL GCSE tuition is increasing to supply to demand.

Why Add Extra MFL GCSE Tuition into the Mix?

A little extra support now makes a big difference later. The beauty of MFL GCSE tuition is that qualified tutors fill in the gaps left by the classroom, on a 1:1 basis or in small groups.

The benefits include:

• Personalised attention – Tailored learning paths zero in on weaker areas.
• Russell Group readiness – Many top universities still require an MFL GCSE. For this reason, supplementary help can equip them to apply for their first choice higher education establishments when the time comes.
• Convenience and flexibility – Learn in your local language school or online at home.

But a word of warning. Don’t expect any gratitude for your efforts!

Play the Long Game

Your teenager might well roll their eyes and have a moan now. But they’ll hopefully come to see the method in your madness in the long run.

After all, speaking another language helps them to:

• Open career doors
• Boost cultural awareness
• Improve cognitive skills

So, you might be met with grunts and scowls now. But you’re giving them a lifelong advantage, besides helping them pass an exam.

Help Them Find the Words to Shape Their Future

At la Academia, we understand MFL GCSE tuition means more than the grade (although that’s vital of course). Additionally, it equips your intrepid student with confidence and opportunity, opening up their future in many and varied ways. 

Get in touch about the various options, so you can decide what works best for your family situation and get your child started.

Here’s the thing. You potentially need language tips on three different tongues!

For this reason, Belgium’s National Day on 21st July is the ideal time to take a closer look at the languages of Belgium.

Plus, it’s also your official excuse to indulge in steamy mussels, Belgian chocolate-drenched waffles, and, naturally, a chilled Belgian beer (or two).

So, let’s break down Belgium’s linguistic banquet. 

What are the Three Official Languages of Belgium? 

Belgium may be small. But it speaks big. In fact, it has three official languages on top of its regular use of the lingua franca, English:

• Dutch (Flemish) – Spoken in Flanders, the northern part of the country. It’s similar to the Dutch you hear in the Netherlands. Although it has its own local flavour.

• French – Dominates in Wallonia down south. In addition, it’s also the main language in the bilingual Belgian capital Brussels.

• German – The smallest language group, spoken near the eastern border. All the same, it still gets official status. 

Quick Language Tips for Business or Leisure Travellers

 The rule of thumb doesn’t always apply in terms of the above categorisation. It’s going too far to suggest total linguistic anarchy, where language tips become lost in the melee. But, it’s wise to keep the following intel up your sleeve: 

• In Brussels, you’ll see French and Dutch bilingual signs everywhere

• Most Belgians are multilingual, e.g. Dutch and French, and often English too

• Locals can be sensitive about language identity, so don’t assume Flemish = Dutch or Walloon = French.

 Why It Matters

 Learning a few local phrases goes a long way when ordering your next portion of moules frites.

So, there’s no better day than Belgium National Day for team “Bonjour”, “Hallo” or “Guten Tag” to toast its culture, cuisine and linguistic diversity.

At la Academia, we have a brilliant variety of language courses and tuition option for French, Dutch and German.

Get in touch and join us for lessons packed with language tips extending beyond the classroom or Zoom screen. After all, the languages of Belgium are meant to be lived.

It’s tough watching your child flounder. But there’s a way to turn their GCSE language learning around.

Why Supplementary GCSE Language Learning Works

Your child deserves to step into the exam room brimming with confidence, fully prepared for whatever the exam boards throw their way. But truthfully, GCSEs can be daunting, especially when it comes to mastering a foreign language.

This is where tailored tuition comes in, giving your child the extra edge they need to shine as a direct result of:

• Personalised attention – Every student is different. This is why supplementary language tuition provides fully customisable learning paths. Correspondingly, expert tutors focus on your child’s specific needs in order to turn weaknesses into strengths, whether it’s nailing the tricky grammar or boosting oral confidence.

• Flexibility and convenience – Some children don’t perform to their full potential in a classroom environment. But, language tuition makes it easier than ever to succeed, whether they learn best in a classroom setting or the comfort and privacy of home.

Need any further convincing? Take a look what these parents have to say about the help their children received for GCSE language learning ahead of their 2024 exams.

Real Parents, Real Results

“Allyson began tutoring my son after he failed his French mock, scoring as low as a 2 in speaking, reading, and writing. Her calm and supportive approach grew his confidence immensely, and instead of dropping the subject, he achieved his stretch target of a 6 in his GCSE. Highly recommend.” J Aughton

“Ellie came on massively over a six-month period with Allyson, going from a predicted 6 in GCSE Spanish to achieving an 8! We were all ecstatic with her result. Thanks so much.” Proud Parent

At la Academia, we don’t believe in letting your child’s GCSE language learning be a source of stress. Together, let’s make them a success story instead! Get in touch with your questions and discover how your child can walk into their exams ready to conquer the world next year.

You might not see or hear much if Halloween isn’t a thing in the country you’re visiting, or if the local version of Halloween isn’t widely upheld.

But, in other countries you’ll experience a sensory spooktacular of spine-tingling strangeness and terror-inspiring voices from beyond the grave. Imagine gruesomely ghoulish gurglings in other languages!

Here’s a spell-binding selection of weird and wonderful monster mashes you might find yourself involved with if you’re abroad in late October –

·        China

Halloween is known as Teng Chieh in China. The Chinese enjoy phantasmagoric fun by placing food and drinks in front of photographs of their dearly departed friends and relatives.

Besides offering refreshments, the Chinese also have bonfires and light lanterns to guide the spirits of their loved ones who return to roam the earth for one night every year. 

·        Czech Republic

The Czech people pull up an extra chair on Halloween for spirits to come and join them. So, don’t be fooled by thinking you’re in a half empty room. It might be packed to the rafters. You just can’t see how many ghostly party-goers have taken up the invitations of their earthy kith and kin.

·       Latin America, Mexico and Spain

El Dia de Los Muertos – Day of the Dead – is a major three-day supernatural celebration.  Parades of revellers dance through the streets dressed as skeletons. Someone is chosen to be carried in a coffin, with other participants throwing fruit, flowers and sweets to them.

Candlelit church services and prayers at home are held throughout the fang-tastic fiesta.

It isn’t without its macabre elements. But it’s an uplifting affair that celebrates the cycle of life from birth to death.

There’s nothing scarier and more ominous than not being able to speak any other languages besides your own native language.

At La Academia, we can’t promise other languages will protect you from supernatural spirits. But we can guarantee your time abroad will be a whole lot less blood-curdling when you have other languages at your disposal to communicate with the living… and the dead.

Sources

Halloween Traditions and Celebrations Around the World, Pumpkin Patches & More
https://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/halloweenglobal.php

Vicky Gough, the British Council’s schools advisor, perfectly summed up the importance of modern foreign languages GCSEs in her recent statement.

They broaden the outlook of high school students. Equipping them with life-enhancing skills for personal and professional purposes.

But which modern foreign languages GSCEs are making the grade with our teenagers?

Most Popular Modern Foreign Languages GSCEs with UK Teens

It’s many years since I was at high school. In fact, GSCEs didn’t even exist in my day. High school exams were still O-Levels and CSEs.

French was the most popular O-Level language subject then. And it’s still the most subscribed modern foreign languages GSCE course now. 124,043 students took the revised lockdown version of the exam in 2020. Up by 1,240 in 2019.

Spanish hasn’t overtaken the popularity of French. But the number of 2020 Spanish GCSE entries – 103,993 of them – was up from 96,811 in 2019. Representing a 7.4% year increase.

The increased allure of Spanish might explain the slight decline in German GSCE entries. From 41,222 in 2019 to 40,688 in 2020.

These combined figures across all three languages represents an overall 3% increase in modern foreign language GSCE entries. Up from 260,836 in 2019 to 268,723 in 2020.

Why modern foreign languages GCSEs matter for University applications

It’s very worth knowing that modern foreign languages GCSEs or equivalents are required for many Russell Group university courses.

The Russell Group comprises what were known as the traditional red brick universities before the binary divide was removed in 1992. It includes Oxbridge. Russell Group universities are still considered to be the best Universities in the UK by many people.

At La Academia, we offer award-winning modern foreign languages GSCE tuition on a group or individual basis. Simply drop us a line with any questions you have about our booking process.

Sources – Language GCSE entries up by 3%, Express & Star – https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/209/08/22/languages-gcse-entries-up-by-3/

GSCEs 2020: French and Spanish revival continues – John Toberts, Tes – https://www.tes.com/news/gcses-2020-french-and-spanish-revival-continues

First – some facts

In England’s schools, entries for language GCSEs have dropped by 48%. German has dropped by 65% and French by 62% over the past 15 years.

The plunge began when languages were made non-compulsory GSCE subjects in 2004. In 2018, just 5.5% of England’s GCSE entries were for a modern foreign language, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications. A third of schools in England allow pupils to opt out of languages in year nine, according the British Council’s annual language trends survey.

By contrast, the government wants 75% of pupils to take a modern language GCSE by 2022.

The situation is worse at A-level, down by more than one-third in French and 45% in German since 2010. Which means a fall of 12% in those going on to learn a language at university since 2013. Worse, many universities have cut back or scrapped language degrees.

So – what’s the good news?
Fewer learning a language means more opportunities for those who do. We know that there is a big demand for multi-lingual speakers throughout the world in all sorts of careers. From engineering to nursing and from computing to banking, a second language is highly sought after by companies large and small.
We can help you achieve great results, at every stage of education. Our language classes, from French to Mandarin, group based and/or 121 work. With us, we will give you that extra va va voom to get through your language exams. Contact us now for how we can help you open up a great career.

This year it’s on from September 16 to October 3. There’s a riotous mix of attractions – live music, fairground rides, and plenty of traditional German food and beer. Seven million litres of beer . . .

Oktoberfestbier is brewed exclusively for Oktoberfest every year. There are strict rules for the genuine tipple. It has to conform to the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) and it must have been brewed in the city of Munich. Perhaps the most important phrase to memorise for Oktoberfest is ‘Ein Bier, bitte’ (‘A beer, please’). Go carefully though, its alcohol content is a whopping 6%.

To get you started, here’s a few useful phrases:

1. Bierzelt (das) A beer tent. There are 34 tents at Oktoberfest. The most important is the Schottenhamel. In 1867 this had just 50 seats, now it has around 10,000. It’s here, on the opening day at noon, that the mayor of Munich taps the first keg and calls out “O’zapft is!” (It is tapped). Now all the other tents may begin to serve beer.

2. Brezel (die) is German for pretzel. In Bavaria also called Brezn. The perfect salty snack with your beer.

3. Prost is German for ‘cheers’. You could also say ‘Zum Wohl’ (‘To your health’).

4. Schweinshaxe (die) Pork knuckle. Bavarian food tends to be hearty – and this is probably the heartiest of them all. Think a whole ham hock with a portion of Sauerkraut and potato dumplings. Rib-sticking.

And finally – if you want to impress the locals, you’re not going to talk about Oktoberfest, you’ll call it ‘die Wiesn’.

If all this has whetted your appetite then contact us now to join one of our fun German evening classes.

Swiss people are used to speaking more than one language – almost two-thirds (64%) of Swiss people use more than one language at least once a week. 38% use two languages, 19% three and 7% four or more languages.  Although Romansch is an official language it is spoken only by a small minority in the canton of Graubünden, and English is the fourth most-used language, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

20% of German-speakers and 12% of Italian-speakers use French regularly; 19% of French-speakers regularly use German and 11% use Italian. One of Switzerland’s most famous sons, Roger Federer, is an example of how Swiss people work across language barriers – he is fluent in Swiss German, Standard German, French and English.

English is widely and regularly spoken in Switzerland – by 43% of German-speakers, 38% of French-speakers and 30% of Italian-speakers. Given that younger people were more likely to be multilingual, and to speak English, the trend for multilingualism looks likely to grow.

As if the Swiss did not have enough languages already, there are also a few other languages spoken there, including Spanish (6%), Portuguese (5%) and Balkan languages. All in all, you can have a multilingual trip if you visit Switzerland! It would definitely be worth trying your German in the German-speaking cantons, French in the French-speaking ones and Italian in the regions neighbouring Italy. Ask your la Academia tutor before you go for hints on dialect and accent in Switzerland, and give your languages a try!

Adzuna found 6,800 vacancies for German speaker, paying an average salary of £34,534. This was more jobs and better pay than for any other language. Of the other European languages commonly taught in the UK, French came 3rd and Spanish came 5th in the salary list. More exotic languages such as Arabic, Japanese and Mandarin also made the top 10 in terms of pay.

Other languages widely used in the UK, such as Welsh and Polish, were also in demand, with Welsh just beating Polish out of the top 10 spot for pay, and Polish beating Welsh to a spot in the top 10 of most-demanded languages. There were even 120 jobs requiring Gaelic – mostly all for teaching jobs in Scotland.

Rounding out the league table for highest pay were Dutch, Russian and Italian. Though not so widely taught as French, German and Spanish there is still a demand, and employers are prepared to pay for these language skills.

Our advice? If you haven’t ever learned a foreign language, or you have but you’re rusty, why not come to la Academia? We offer German and all the other languages on the list, so have a chat with us and decide what’s right for you. You could enhance your job prospects and salary, but even if you don’t get a new job you’ll have lots of fun! 0161 491 1444 info@laacademia.co.uk

German classes

Whether a beginner or advanced student, la Academia can provide the teachers and materials to help you in your German language journey!  From general German vocabulary and grammar to specific business, technical, literary or any other niche – the sky’s the limit!

German conversation classes

Always popular, we can offer tailored teaching for groups with specific interests – if your football club is planning a tour, if your family is off to Austria for a holiday, or for any other reason, come to us for knowledgeable and sympathetic German teachers.

GCSE and A-Level German

Give your son or daughter a career boost by helping them to achieve a good language qualification. Language speakers are very popular with employers!

German classes for business

Local companies with links to overseas customers and suppliers are increasingly coming to la Academia to help their staff to learn a language. It’s a recognition that part of good customer service is doing a little more of the conversational work – in person or on paper – and allowing your business contacts to relax a little more.

This is particularly true for exporters – as Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany ) from 1969 to 1974 said “If I’m selling to you, I speak your language.  If I’m buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen” (translates as “then you must speak German”). Germany’s post-war economic success owed a lot to its employees’ ability to speak the language of their customers in the UK and the US.

Give us a ring, and tell us your current level (if any!) and what you want to get from learning German – we’ll find the right teacher for you! 0161 491 1444.