We advise students with grade 7/8/9 at GCSE to choose standard or higher level, rather than an ab initio qualification in a language previously studied at GCSE.

Aims of the course

The ab initio Standard level course is available in Japanese. The overall objective of the ab initio course is for students to achieve communicative competence in a variety of everyday situations. To promote this, the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing will be regularly practised so that students develop their ability to both understand and use the written and spoken word.

Learning a foreign language provides the opportunity for enjoyment, creativity and intellectual stimulation. We will encourage an awareness and appreciation of the different perspectives of people from other cultures.

The aim of the ab initio course is to promote the idea that learning a language is more than a school subject and to encourage students to continue to use their language skills independently after the course.

Course outline

The course focuses on everyday situations and aspects of the culture related to them. This ensures that the appropriate emphasis is placed on communication. The course is organized into topic areas which provide the teacher and the student with a context in which communicative functions and grammatical structures and vocabulary can be practised. Topics studied include the following:

• Identities
  Personal attributes, personal relationships, eating and drinking, physical well being

• Experiences
  Daily routine, leisure, holidays & tourism, festival & celebrations

• Human Ingenuity
  Transport, entertainment, media, technology

• Sharing the Planet
  Neighbourhood, education, the workplace, social issues

• Social Organisation
  Climate, physical geography, global issues, environment

Assessment

External assessment:

• Paper 1: Writing 1 hr (25%)

• Paper 2: Receptive skills:

  • Listening comprehension 45 min

  • Reading comprehension 1 hr (50%)

Internal assessment:

Individual oral 7-10 min + 15 min preparation time (25%)

This is an intensive language learning course which will enable committed students to achieve a very high standard by the end of the two years. During the course, visiting the target language country to practise language skills acquired is therefore highly recommended.

University opportunities

An ab initio language can be continued to a higher level at university and languages can also be combined with a wide variety of other subjects in joint honours courses.

Apprenticeship opportunities

Students who enjoy languages may think about a higher or degree level apprenticeship to train in the areas of aviation operations, nursing, event operations, international trade/logistics operations or HM Forces.