Secondary Modern Foreign Languages with QTS - PGCE draft

Program Overview

This PGCE Secondary in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) equips aspiring teachers with the knowledge, skills, and professional practice to teach foreign languages effectively. The program emphasizes inclusion, critical inquiry, and research-informed pedagogy. Graduates are highly sought after by schools within the West Midlands region and beyond, benefitting from partnerships with various educational institutions.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This PGCE Secondary in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) will allow you to become a highly-skilled graduate teacher with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning languages, enabling you to demonstrate the highest levels of professional practice. You will be trained to become a confident and reflective practitioner and will be able to teach using contemporary methods and practices. The course will challenge, extend and develop your understanding of teaching foreign languages. As an Associate Teacher following this course, you will be encouraged to explore a wide range of creative and systematic approaches to teaching, covering the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), as well as focusing on the role of grammar, cultural awareness and new technologies in language teaching. The course is built upon principles of inclusion and equality of opportunity in teaching and learning for all students, whatever their potential and achievements. You will also be encouraged to develop an attitude of critical enquiry and see yourself as a teacher who researches your classrooms so that you make informed choices in all that you do. Our ambitious curriculum incorporates the ITT Core Content Framework (DfE, 2019) and the nationally agreed competences - the Teachers’ Standards - which all teachers must meet throughout their career. With a gradual progression in solo teaching hours, our PGCE programme is carefully sequenced to allow you to succeed in the classroom and become a reflective practitioner, whilst supporting you in making learning Modern Languages an engaging, challenging yet fully inclusive experience for pupils. The Progress Journal also maps your development as a subject specialist with reference to identified subject priorities appropriate to the needs of secondary teachers entering the profession.

Careers:

We are a key source of new teachers to schools across the West Midlands region; a destinations survey of our 2021/22 Secondary Teaching graduates showed they were employed in nearly 100 West Midlands schools as Early Career Teachers. We have partnerships right across the West Midlands and beyond so you can benefit from training in a range of schools and early years settings, preparing you for work in a wide variety of schools when you qualify. You will complete at least 120 days across a minimum of two placements, in line with Department for Education (DfE) requirements, supported by a subject mentor in your school and a personal development tutor at the University. Should you wish to take your development further, you'll gain Master's level credits gained as part of this course that you can then use towards a full Master's degree.

Other:

The route into postgraduate teacher training has changed. All applications now go through the Department for Education rather than UCAS Teacher Training. It is not a requirement to obtain work experience in a school or education setting before applying for a teacher training course, so if you are unable to obtain work experience, this will not affect your application. Although this is a postgraduate course, current PGCE students are eligible for the finance support package available to full-time undergraduates. You may also receive a Teacher Training Bursary for most Secondary teacher training courses and Primary Mathematics. The purpose of ITaPs is to strengthen the links between evidence based and classroom practice and to enable you as an Associate Teacher to focus on specific and pivotal areas of the ITE curriculum in an intensive way, and so develop the skills and knowledge to be able to strengthen the link between evidence-based theory and practice. ITaPs will be in a variety of areas such as transitions, assessment, planning and adaptive teaching.

UK students - £9,250 in 2024/25 International students- £16,085 in 2024/25