BA (Hons) Modern Foreign Languages with QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) will prepare you to train as a secondary teacher of French and Spanish, and gain QTS 11-16. If you choose to follow the four-year route with Year Abroad, you will develop language skills in your major language allowing you to teach post-16 and A-level. This route, in addition, provides you with the opportunity to teach 17 to 18-year-olds in your major language during placement.
During your studies, you will develop the professional and linguistic skills required of a teacher of languages, and by the end of the programme you will be ready to start employment as a qualified teacher.
Why us?
- Sunderland is one of a handful of universities offering opt-in QTS in Modern Foreign Languages
- Our Education courses are in the top 20 in the UK according to The Guardian University league tables 2019
- Option to access a £9,000 bursary in your final year
- Option to study abroad and immerse yourself in a foreign culture
- Students spending a year abroad as part of this course pay no fees for the year abroad
- Teaching staff are research-active, which enhances the curriculum and student experience
- Course is accredited by The National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) for QTS
- Gain valuable international experience and skills which will make you globally competitive
Course structure
This course uses a wide variety of teaching and learning methods. Most classes consist of seminars and workshops which take place in the language laboratories. You will be taught in a mixture of English and the foreign languages.
The Year Abroad is a requirement for students wishing to teach 11-18. It offers the opportunity of gaining pedagogic/teaching experience through a placement as an English assistant in a school in France or Spain. A year of residence abroad is a key element of a language and necessary for the highest level of proficiency for Stage 3. The placement will provide you with the confidence to teach a Language at advanced level.
In Year 3 you will undertake at least two school placements for a minimum of 100 days in Secondary Schools.
Students unable to take a year abroad, and who enter with A-level equivalent, can opt to take a three-year route which qualifies them to teach 11-16 only.
Employment
This degree awards Qualified Teacher Status, this will enable you to teach in schools in England as a qualified teacher. Qualified secondary school language teachers will always be in high demand. The average starting salary for a teacher is £22,000, and experienced teachers can earn up to £56,000 outside London, and £64,000 in London. Head teachers can reach a salary of between £42,379 and £112,000. Teachers also benefit from excellent holidays, and the teachers’ pension scheme is the second largest public sector pension scheme in the UK.
Fluency in a modern foreign language is also a skill valued widely by employers outside of the Education sector.
Be in demand
The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has identified a requirement for more qualified language teachers in secondary schools. This programme is designed so as to facilitate opt-in to Year 3 from Combined Subject Programme (CSP) routes in French and Spanish. Years 1 and 2 of this degree closely parallel CSP language modules, and students are taught alongside CSP students. In year 3, students can opt-in to the French with Spanish Studies or Spanish with French Studies with QTS routes with no disadvantage. Equally, students deciding a career in teaching is not for them can transfer to CSP languages.
Modern Foreign Languages Scholarships
£28,000, tax-free MFL teacher training scholarships available via the British Council.
The scheme is aimed at high-quality linguists, passionate about teaching French, Spanish or German. Successful candidates must secure a training place by September 2019, which leads to achieving QTS status, at an ITT provider or lead school with permission to recruit by DfE. They should have a subject-relevant 2:1 (or predicted) degree. Candidates with a 2:2 (or predicted) degree may be considered if they can demonstrate significant subject knowledge. Successful applicants will receive additional support to enhance their subject knowledge and gain access to high-quality professional development resources.
Applications are now open. Candidates can apply via the British Council website. For further details, including eligibility, please visit Get Into Teaching.
