Suzanne Graham (Professor of Language and Education, University of Reading) was invited to share her views on the BBC News channel on the decision by England’s Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) to grade French and German GCSE exams less severely in England from 2020. The change could mean a potential increase of half of a grade for some pupils.
In her interview which was broadcasted live on Tuesday 5th November 2019, Professor Graham commented that this decision was the result of a thorough analysis by Ofqual and was very much to be welcomed. On asking why language assessment appeared to be much harder than the assessment of other curricular subjects, Professor Graham said “You need to take into consideration how long it takes to learn a language, […] and I think we have to be realistic about what is possible to achieve in a certain amount of time at school, and it is likely that [it] isn’t enough to get [language learners] to the level that has been expected currently.” She also emphasised the wider benefits of language learning and why it is important to encourage young people to study them at GCSE.
To learn more about Prof. Graham’s research interests, visit her profile page here. She also tweets at @SuzanneJaneGrah.