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What makes PGCE - Secondary - Modern Languages at Worcester special?

Age phase: 11-16 with post-16 enhancement

  • Develop your own philosophy for learning and teaching in modern languages.
  • Learn how pupils develop, consolidate and deepen their knowledge and understanding of language in meaningful contexts.
  • Reflect on how to enrich pupils’ language learning experiences by giving them opportunities to develop an appreciation of language and cultural diversity.
  • Be taught by an enthusiastic, experienced and inspiring tutor.
  • Work with our partnerships of excellent Modern Languages Departments where you will be supported by teachers passionate about modern languages and teaching.
  • Enrich your thinking and your practice by working together and with trainees from other subjects.
Overview

Overview

Modern languages combinations

  • French
  • Spanish
  • French with Spanish 
  • Spanish with French   
  • French with German   
  • German with French

Key Features

  • Very high employment rates
  • The subject specific part of the course aims to build on your expertise in modern languages and to familiarise you with current teaching methodology and research, thus enabling you to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills required for the successful teaching of modern languages
  • Learn to teach modern languages in high quality placement schools
  • Use our support systems to help you write assignments at Master’s Level and our additional targeted support for international trainee teachers

We work in partnership with

NB Modern languages is offered through both Core and School Direct routes.

Applying early will allow time for applicants to attend a subject knowledge enhancement course prior to the start of the PGCE course if this is a condition identified at the interview stage.

Subject Knowledge Enhancement

Not sure about your subject knowledge?

Build up or refresh your existing knowledge with a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) programme before the course.

Subjects offered at the University of Worcester:

English, biology, chemistry, physics, design technology (food), religious education.

Find out about the bursary.

teacher RT

Scholarships and Bursaries

If you study this course you may be eligible for a tax-free bursary or scholarship.

Visit the Get Into Teaching website for information on eligibility and how much funding may be available to you.

Visit the Get Into Teaching website

"I really enjoyed my PGCE year at Worcester; it gave me a very supportive start to my teaching career."

Victoria Honeybourne, PGCE Secondary graduate

Entry requirements

What qualifications will you need?

Entry requirements

Please consult individual subject specialism pages for full details of entry requirements, but most specialisms ask for:

Academic requirements

  • Honours degree normally (2:2) or higher from a United Kingdom higher education institution or equivalent qualification, in a relevant subject area. Applicants with a 3rd class degree will be considered on an individual basis.
  • All entrants have achieved a standard equivalent to a grade 4 (formerly grade C) in the GCSE examinations in English Language and mathematics (or equivalent) (for 2022 entry, applicants must have these qualifications by the start of the course). Alternatively, we offer equivalency test if you don’t have the required GCSE grade to apply for our courses. Trainees who begin courses before providing evidence of the required GCSE standard (or equivalent) will not be eligible for financial incentives, such as bursaries or grants until they achieve the required standard.

Qualifications not listed? Contact the Admissions Office for advice by email: AdmissionsB@worc.ac.uk

Additional requirements

  • An Enhanced DBS check. You will be sent details of how to apply for your DBS in the summer term. You will need to pay for this. You may already be part of the DBS update service. Find out about the update service here. As part of the DBS process you will be checked against the Children’s Barred List.
  • A check against the Prohibition List.
  • If you have lived, studied or worked overseas for three months or more in the last five years a Certificate of Good Conduct from the country of residence will be required. Further information and guidance associated with additional costs are available from the Home Office.
  • An online occupational health check. All those on a teacher training programme must be certified as meeting national requirements for physical and mental fitness to teach, as set by the Department for Education.
  • International students: IELTS 6.5 or equivalent

Other information

To help you prepare for your interview you can expect questions covering the following:

  • the subject knowledge required for teaching the subject curriculum in school
  • your ability to critically reflect on your prior experiences in relation to your future development as a teacher
  • your understanding of the UK education system and the wider role of a teacher
  • how you have overcome challenges in your life and shown resilience
  • how you plan to meet the academic and teaching demands of the course.

In addition, we are looking for enthusiasm, commitment, and potential. Clear verbal and written communication skills are integral to this which you will have an opportunity to demonstrate throughout the interview.

  • School experience is desirable, but not essential.
  • Interviews will be conducted online. Applicants will be contacted directly with more details.

All applications for PGCE Secondary should be made via the Government's Find Postgraduate Teacher Training website.

Additional useful information is available on the Government's Get Into Teaching website.

Course content

What will you study?

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Subject Knowledge with a Deep Understanding
  • Enrich your subject knowledge drawing on the expertise of tutors with national and international research profiles in partnership with school mentors with excellent current practice in your specialist area.
  • An excellent teacher requires confident subject knowledge and an understanding about how pupils learn. The majority of your time in university is in subject workshops.  

Specialist Subject Opportunities
  • Carry on working on your subject knowledge throughout the course.
  • Plan activities for the European Day of Languages for KS3 pupils at a local school.
  • Work with Modern Languages mentors and Heads of Department, for example, to explore links between grammar teaching and problem-solving, to reflect on how to work effectively with disadvantaged learners and to understand how to motivate boys to study languages.  
  • Network with PGCE Modern Languages students from another University to share good practice.
  • Teach a lesson at a Primary school and reflect on KS2/KS3 transition.
  • Take part in cross-curricular sessions with trainees from different PGCE subjects to enrich your practice.
  • Links to subject associations.

Pedagogy
  • Understand and apply theory and research on how children learn and develop.
  • Explore a range of learning and teaching styles, and classroom organisation.
  • Discover how to promote progress through observing, planning, teaching and assessing learning.

Professional Studies
  • Develop adaptive teaching strategies to respond to the unique needs in a range of contexts, leveraging the diversity inherent in schools.
  • Be informed by the research and evidence about effective teaching at a general level before applying this knowledge to subject-specific approaches.
  • Learn the expectations, standards and behaviours which are appropriate to the profession and the wider responsibilities of a teacher.

Enhancement Activities
  • Gain expertise through one of our unique Enhancement Activities: PSHE and Citizenship, Developing a Second Subject, English as an Additional Language, Education in Climate Emergency, Teenage Mental Health, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Research in Education or Technology Enhanced Learning.  In addition we also offer an Aspiring Leaders programme 

Your career
  • Become a reflective self-evaluating practitioner.
  • Enjoy great employment prospects; our support takes you from trainee to ECT (Early Career Teacher) and beyond
  • Prepare for leadership and your Masters with 60 credits and a strong research foundation.
Manon Atangana

Manon Atangana

What I loved the most about the University of Worcester PGCE programme were the subject sessions. It was an opportunity for us to come together with the other trainees to share our placement experiences and our practice which really helped us develop as teachers. Before starting my PGCE, I was working as a French language assistant in a university in Canada while doing an online masters in teaching French as a foreign language. 

The UW PGCE programme definitely helped me with my understanding of teaching in secondary schools, the contrasting placement experiences gave me the confidence and the knowledge to teach a wide variety of students. I am now teaching French and Spanish in a London school and I am at the same time completing a learning to lead training so that I can eventually go into leading French as head of subject.

Viktoriya Litynska

Viktoriya Litynska

Secondary School Spanish Teacher

“Prior to the starting the PGCE at the University of Worcester I had just completed a degree in English at the University of Malaga in Spain. I had some experience of teaching English in Spanish schools. In addition, as part of an Erasmus programme, I had a part time job teaching Spanish to university students in the UK. This is where my interest in teaching other languages began.”

“From the very beginning, the PGCE gave me the opportunity to refresh my knowledge on French by offering me an intensive course in French, as I had not studied French for more than 5 years. Taking that course made me feel much more confident. I taught French in my first school placement, which was a wonderful experience. All the PGCE tutors are very helpful and supportive. They also provide a varied range of activities to make the university sessions interesting and interactive.”

 

Nick Kajkowski

Nick Kajkowski

Modern Foreign Languages Teacher 

Before studying for a PGCE in Modern Foreign Languages at Worcester, Nick lived in South America for 5 years working as an English teacher.

“I wanted to do a PGCE in Modern Languages in order to take the next step in my career and to build on the experience I had gained teaching English as a foreign language.”

“The programme gave me the ‘real-world’ experience, the theoretical knowledge and the confidence to teach languages at a secondary school and to overcome the challenges that the job entails.”

Nothing is more valuable than supportive university tutors and school mentors. When faced with challenges I was able to persevere because I knew that they had confidence in me and they equipped me with the skills, advice and knowledge I needed to succeed.

Helena, Trainee Teacher

Register your interest

Enter your details below and we will keep you up to date with useful information about studying at the University of Worcester.


Information sessions

Attend online information events throughout the year to find out more about the PGCE Modern Languages course.

Dates and times for 2022 are:

  • Thursday 10th November 2022 : 14:00 – 15:00 (face to face or online)
  • Friday 13th January 2023: 13:00-14:00 (face to face or online)
  • Monday 13th February 2023: 17:00-18:00 (online)
  • Tuesday 21st March 2023: 16:30-17:30 (face to face or online)

Please contact the PGCE Modern Languages course tutor i.schafer@worc.ac.uk if you would like to attend.

Teaching and assessment

How will you be taught?

PGCE Psychology students doing group practical work

Teaching approach

  • School experience in a range of settings.
  • Professional Studies sessions in school and at University.
  • University-led workshops, lectures, seminars, fieldwork and guest lectures.
  • Study of key texts and supplementary reading.
  • Participation in high level professional discussion, peer presentations and debate.
  • Directed studies, case studies and problem solving tasks; development of practice-based competence and skills of critical reflection through guided individual mentoring during placements.
  • One-to-one academic and personal tutorial support including access to our first class Firstpoint services
PGCE Psychology students doing practical group task

Assessment

  • Assignments are carefully designed to develop your skills as a teacher.
  • Assessments that move from highly structured to more open briefs as you develop your professional skills.
  • The opportunity to develop skills as a research informed practitioner.

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.

Meet the team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course.

You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Isabelle Schäfer

Isabelle is the PGCE secondary subject leader for modern languages. She spent over 8 years in secondary education including middle management roles in school (Second in MFL Department, i/c Spanish) as well as being a moderator for the IBO (French).

Isabelle has worked at the university since 2008 with additional responsibilities as a PGCE module lead and delivering the PGCE part of SCITT programme. Isabelle is also the interim Quality Coordinator for the School of Education.

Research interests include cross-curricular and cross-phase collaboration, social justice and the development of reading comprehension in modern languages.

She has published articles on trainees’ views of cross-phase collaboration (Schäfer, 2016) on attitudes to teaching literature in modern languages in secondary schools (Ulma and Schäfer, 2018) and on literary extracts in GCSE papers (Ulma and Schäfer, 2022). She presented PGCE students’ work on language learning for social justice at the Language World 2022 national conference.

She co-presented research on the use of literary extracts in GCSE papers at an international conference in France in 2019. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Education. She is a senior fellow of the HEA.

Careers

Where could it take you?

PGCE student on placement
  • Great employment prospects
  • Prepare for leadership and your Masters with 60 credits and a strong research foundation
  • Many University of Worcester trainees gain promotion within the first few years of teaching
Two students are walkng next to each other and smiling

Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential.
Costs

How much will it cost?

Full-time tuition fees

UK students

The standard tuition fee for full-time UK students enrolling on a PGCE in the academic year 2023/24 will be £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on a PGCE in the academic year 2023/24 will be £15,800 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Teacher training funding

You can get help with the costs of teacher training. A student finance package will include a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan. You may also be eligible for extra help if you have children or have a disability.

Some courses are also eligible for a tax-free bursary or scholarship depending on your subject, degree classification or highest academic qualification.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for essential books, trips, stationery, printing and photocopying.

Travel costs for placements vary depending on the location of schools and your mode of transport, sometimes these may be reclaimed depending on your individual circumstances.

We organise occasional visits to increase subject knowledge. Travel costs are at your own expense but we do encourage car sharing. In addition there is sometimes a fee but this is not normally more than £20 in total.

In addition, we encourage you to join subject specific associations. The cost is typically between £25 to £50 for which you benefit from their support, guidance and resources.

The DfE requires all trainee teachers to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check, which you will need to pay for.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Hall' at £122 per week to 'En-suite Premium' at £207 per week (2023/24 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.

Subject Knowledge Enhancement

Not sure about your subject knowledge?

Build up or refresh your existing knowledge with a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) programme before the course.

Subjects offered:
English, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, design technology (food), French.

Find out about the bursary.

How to apply

How do you apply?

Apply now

Applications for PGCE courses, both Primary and Secondary, should be made online through the government's Find Postgraduate Teacher Training website.

Visit the Get Into Teaching website for detailed information on how to apply for a PGCE.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application.

When making your application via DfE, please mention which language you wish to specialise in, from:

  • French
  • Spanish
  • German with French
  • French with German
  • Spanish with French
  • French with Spanish
Make an application

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Admissions office

admissions@worc.ac.uk
01905 855111

Secondary PGCE Office

secondary@worc.ac.uk

Isabelle Schäfer

Personal Academic Tutor
i.schafer@worc.ac.uk
01905 542152

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