PGCE - Secondary - Languages

This page includes specific details for the Secondary PGCE with a subject specialism in Languages. Full details of the course are available on the wider Secondary PGCE course page.

Languages Tutor: Isabelle Schäfer

Are you enthusiastic about Languages?
Are you a graduate in Languages, a Foreign National or a graduate in a combined degree including Languages?
Would you like to share your enthusiasm, teach and inspire pupils to speak another language?

Then you could consider applying to do a PGCE course or follow the Graduate Teacher Programme route in Languages at the University of Worcester. Employment success for PGCE students in Languages in 2010 - 2011: 100%

Various routes to suit your needs

As a Teacher Training University, we are committed to offering you various routes in order to suit your needs:

PGCE full-time
GTP

Key features of the course

Bursary for PGCE trainee teachers training to teach 11-18 pupils
An integrated programme of University and school-based work
Opportunity to work at Master’s Level
Opportunities to experiment with a cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning
Opportunities to work with colleagues from different subjects and with Primary colleagues
A wide range of partnership schools, including Language Colleges
Foreign Nationals with relevant qualifications welcome
Placements in two different schools
Very good career prospects

Feedback from previous students

a really enjoyable and valuable course
committed tutors who are always ready to help
sessions carefully structured
thought provoking sessions
good balance of theory and practice
great to get practical ideas
a lot of support with assignments
good to strike up relationships with other students so you can support each other

The PGCE course was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2010.

For further information, contact Isabelle Schäfer at i.schafer@worc.ac.uk

Some previous trainees were invited to describe their route on to the course to illustrate this:

PGCE MFL with SEN pathway (French, German and Italian)

"Teaching has always featured in my life since leaving University in way shape or form. Following the completion of my Masters Degree I spent a year in France teaching primary school and secondary school pupils English. On my return I applied for a job teaching at my local FE College, which I got and where I spent just under a year teaching A levels and adult learners. My next move was to a secondary school in Wolverhampton where I was offered the job of Language College Manager, a role which involved coordinating language events, managing budgets and primary liaison work. I spent two years in this role until I finally decided to apply to do the PGCE Course at Worcester."

"I was successful in applying for the course and began my training to teach French, German and Italian at secondary level. The course at Worcester was extremely comprehensive and covered all elements of teaching so I felt totally prepared for the classroom at all times. The highlight of the course for me was the fact that I made good friends with whom I still have regular contact whether it be to off load problems or to share resources. A further highlight was being offered a job whilst on my first placement, this meant that I was very fortunate not to have to undergo the enduring interview processes at the end of the course and offered a great deal of peace of mind."

"I am now a mentor for a PGCE student from Worcester University which is great as I can fully empathise with the workload of the student and at the same time I am aware of the high standards Worcester expect from their trainees."

PGCE MFL with Citizenship Pathway (French, German, Russian and Polish)

"The course at Worcester provided me with a excellent standard of training which prepared me well for my 1st position as an NQT at a Secondary Language College in Worcestershire. The course provided outstanding subject specific sessions, as well as sessions dedicated to whole school issues."

"All lecturers were supportive and provided excellent guidance. I was really lucky to gain experience in teaching in a variety of different schools, both during my placements and through days when the PGCE students were invited to team-teach at other schools. One of my main highlights was being the MFL course rep on the PGCE Staff/Student Committee. This enabled me to make an impact in how the PGCE course at Worcester was going to develop."

"The Citizenship Pathway enabled me to broaden my experience and teach another subject separate from MFL. I was also given the opportunity to visit London to be a student representative at a conference dedicated to issues surrounding behaviour management. I was also given the opportunity to be an external examiner for GCSE and A-level speaking exams in Polish and Russian. This was good preparation for my 1st teaching post. I firmly believe that the experience I gained whilst studying for my PGCE at Worcester prepared me well for my NQT year and furthermore enabled me to gain a promotion the year after my NQT year, where I was made assistant head of year."

PGCE MFL ( French and Italian)

"After leaving school at eighteen with three A-levels, I returned to full-time studying ten years later, by which time I was divorced and had a four year old son."

"After obtaining a degree in Italian Studies from the University of Birmingham, I continued my language and literary studies at Warwick and Oxford Universities. During the course of these, I taught Italian at colleges and, as a PhD student, at university, but in 2008 I decided to turn my hand to full-time teaching in secondary schools. The PGCE was the toughest course of study that I have ever pursued since the learning curve was very steep, and I had to juggle it with single-parenting and travelling a fair distance to my placement school. However, teacher training really was the best decision I have ever made."

"The job requires patience and stamina, but this is easily forgotten when you hear your pupils say, ‘Oh, now I get it, Miss!’. Witnessing children achieve, both academically and in other ways, is really thrilling and it is especially touching when they thank you – which they do! I chose to do my PGCE with the University of Worcester because I was aware of its reputation for producing strong NQTs, and I found the campus both welcoming and convenient."

"Now, as a teacher in a large secondary, my school is always keen to welcome trainees from Worcester since we have confidence in the mentoring support and theoretical training that they receive from the university. In fact, I am still benefitting from the university’s dynamic School of Education, being involved in a collaborative research project that develops content and language integrated learning methods. Teaching is like parenting – never easy, but really very special. There is nothing I would rather be doing."