Cultural topics
A-level French, German and Spanish
Autumn 2014 V 1.1
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Useful information
This booklet must be read in conjunction with the relevant specification.
Vertical black lines indicate a significant change or addition to the previous version of the
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) issued in spring 2014.
Any changes to these FAQs will be published on our website and the version on the website will
always be the most up to date version. Please make sure that you always use the most up to date
version.
Our website
Where we refer to resources on our website in this document, you will find them using the links
below:
French specific resources
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Specification
Teaching and learning resources
Past papers and mark schemes (including Listening sound files)
Exemplar student marked work
Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations (including blank copies of STMS forms)
German specific resources
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Specification
Teaching and learning resources
Past papers and mark schemes (including Listening sound files)
Exemplar student marked work
Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations (including blank copies of STMS forms)
Spanish specific resources
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2
Specification
Teaching and learning resources
Past papers and mark schemes (including Listening sound files)
Exemplar student marked work
Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations (including blank copies of STMS forms)
Contents
Section
Pages
General
4
Examination and marking
6
Topic-Specific Queries
8
A target language region/community
8
General
8
French
10
German
12
Spanish
13
th
3
A period of 20 century history
14
General
14
French
15
German
17
Spanish
21
A target language author
23
General
23
French
25
German
29
Spanish
30
A target language dramatist/poet
31
General
31
French
32
German
33
Spanish
33
A director/architect/musician/painter
33
General
33
French
36
German
40
Spanish
41
Overlapping of two cultural topics
42
Overlapping of a cultural topic with
the general topics set for A2
47
General
Q: How many Cultural Topics must
students study?
A: During their A2 course, students must
study two of the five Cultural Topics
listed in the specification.
Q: How many Cultural Topics must
students talk about in Unit 4?
A: In the A2 speaking test students must
talk about both of the Cultural Topics
which they have studied.
Q: How many Cultural Topics must
students write about in Unit 3?
A: In the Unit 3 written paper students must
write an essay on one of the cultural
topics which they have studied.
Q: Must students decide in advance
which Cultural Topic they will write
about?
A: The speaking tests are scheduled to take
place before Unit 3, so centres may
decide in advance which of the two
topics students will write about in Unit 3
and prepare them accordingly, or they
may wish to leave the choice to the
student on the day of their exam.
Q: What if a Visiting Examiner asks a
student about aspects of a Cultural
Topic that they have not studied?
A: It is made clear to Visiting Examiners
that not all the bullet points provided for
guidance in the specification will
necessarily have been covered when a
topic is studied.
Q: Is it possible to write about a third
topic which students have not
discussed in the speaking test?
A: Yes.
Q: Do all students in a class have to
study the same topic or can they
choose and research their own?
A: Students study two Cultural Topics but
they do not have to study the same as
each other - they can each choose
individual topics to suit them, or the
4
whole class can study the same topics.
However, in Unit 4, if teachers examine
their own students, it would not be
acceptable for all students to be asked
the same questions.
Q: How do we decide what Cultural Topic
to study?
A: This is entirely up to teachers. However,
you should consider the following points
before your students embark on a course
of study:
• There must be sufficient material to
study to enable students to produce
an effective response to the
examination questions.
• The bullet points set out in the
specification indicate the sort of
material you need to cover.
• Exemplar questions and past papers
are available on our website.
Teachers are advised to look across
all three languages for additional
guidance on question types.
• In order for your students to give a
good personal reaction they must
enjoy their research into the topics
they are studying.
Q: Is it necessary to cover for Unit 3
every bullet point per topic as listed in
the specification?
A: The bullet points are suggestions and
should be covered if relevant to the topic.
A good example would be the Region.
History and geography are only important
if they play a significant role in the
development etc of the region whereas
economy, population and industry will be
important for every region.
Q: Is it necessary to cover every bullet
point per topic for Unit 4 as listed in
the specification?
A: It is not necessary to ask questions on all
of the bullet points in the A2 speaking
test. However, the student must study
sufficient material so that he/she is able
to express opinions, views and ideas in
sufficient depth for A2. He/she must also
be able to speak spontaneously in order
to gain access to the higher marks for
Interaction.
Q: How can we check if a subject of
study is appropriate for a particular
topic (eg could Picasso be considered
as Spanish or French? Is Berlin a
region?)?
A: Email the Languages team
[email protected], with your subject line
headed ‘Cultural Topic Query’.
Q: Can we study a work by someone
born outside the target language
speaking country?
A: For topics where the work being studied
involves the target language, it is the
language of the work rather than the
country of origin of the person who
produced it which determines whether it
is appropriate as a subject of study. This
applies to the author topic, the dramatist /
poet topic and to film directors within the
director / architect / musician / painter
topic. It may also apply to the musician,
where there are target language lyrics.
For topics where the work being studied
does not involve the target language, the
country of origin of the person who
produced it determines whether it is
appropriate as a subject of study. This
applies to the architect and painter.
Therefore Picasso would be restricted to
Spanish, and as Van Gogh was born in
the Netherlands it would not, therefore,
be acceptable for students studying
French to choose the work of this artist
for one of their Cultural Topics. It may
also apply to the musician, where the
music produced does not have lyrics in
the target language.
Q: What type of question will appear in
the exam?
A: Teachers should look at questions from
past exam papers.
5
Q: Is there a recommended reading list to
help teachers plan for delivering the
Cultural Topics?
A: There is no reading list and we don’t
recommend any set text books for
specific Cultural Topics. Nor is there a list
of prescribed poets / dramatists /
directors, etc.
However, our website contains many
materials, including specimen question
papers, additional sample questions for
writing, student exemplar work and a
suggested resource list. You are also
referred to the specification and the
assessment criteria.
Q: Can the same source material be used
as the sole material for study of two
Cultural Topics?
A: No.
Q: Can students make reference to more
than one author / dramatist / director,
etc?
A: No. The topics call for the study of an
author / a dramatist / a director; students
must, therefore, answer with reference to
one author / one dramatist / one director,
etc.
Q: If someone is, for example, both a
dramatist and an author what
happens?
A: If the writer is studied as a dramatist then
only the questions on a dramatist can be
answered; students may not answer a
question on an author using a play as the
work studied, nor would we set a
question drawing comparisons between
a play and a novel by the same writer.
It is acceptable to study a play by a writer
for the dramatist topic and a novel by the
same writer under the author topic.
However, for Unit 4 students do have to
beware of repeating themselves in Part 2
where they are required to discuss two
Cultural Topics. If they do repeat
information, this could have a detrimental
effect on their marks for Interaction.
Q: When will we be able to see the
specifications and specimen materials
for new French, German and Spanish
A-levels?
A: We will post our specifications, specimen
materials and selected resources on the
AQA website as soon as we submit to
Ofqual for accreditation. We expect that
to be during June 2015, but that the
timescales are liable to change.
We are discussing our thinking and plans
with teachers throughout the
development period and would be happy
to take records of teachers who wish to
be involved and informed as part of the
process.
Examination and marking
Q: Is there any guidance for students on
the Unit 3 question paper in terms of
what is required?
A: Yes, the following text appears at the
start of the Writing section:
To gain the highest marks:
• read the question carefully
• make sure your answer is fully
relevant to the title
• plan before you start to write your
answer
• back up the points that you make
• write as accurately as possible, using
as wide a range of vocabulary and
structures as you can.
You are strongly advised to discuss the
requirements of the assessment criteria
in the specification with your students to
ensure they are fully aware of what they
need to do in the exam.
Q: Will an Essay Planning Sheet be
provided for students as an enclosure
to the Unit 3 question paper?
A: Yes. It is not compulsory to use it.
Q: Do we need to send the Essay
Planning Sheet to AQA with the
scripts?
6
A: No. Any Essay Planning Sheets should
be kept by the school/college as they are
not assessed. They should be
confidentially destroyed.
Q: Is there a minimum number of words
on the Unit 3 question paper?
A: There is a minimum number of words
specified on the paper (250 words).
There will be no automatic penalty for
writing less than the minimum: this will be
self-penalising.
Q: Is there a maximum number of words
on the Unit 3 question paper?
A: No. Students are advised on the front of
the paper to spend no more than one
hour on this section of the paper.
Examiners will mark all the work that a
student produces.
Q: How many words does a student need
to write to produce a good essay in
Unit 3?
A: Individual students will produce different
outputs in the hour that is recommended
for this part of the examination. Students
can have access to the top mark bands
by writing the minimum number of words,
however, it should be pointed out that not
all students will be able to meet the
requirements of the top mark bands, eg
for Content ‘provide a thorough
knowledge of the task’ in an essay of 250
words. A well-structured and wellplanned essay of 250 words with a wide
range of vocabulary/range of structures
will be eligible for the highest marks.
Examiners will focus on the quality of the
response and not the number of words.
Q: Do examiners annotate the scripts for
the Unit 3 Writing section?
A: Yes. Ticks are used to indicate
acceptable Content points in the body of
the answer but the number of ticks does
not relate to the final Content mark. “NR”,
“rep” and “?” will be placed in the margin
to indicate irrelevant material, repeated
points and lack of clarity. The mark for
each criterion is written at the foot of
each answer accompanied, where the
examiner deems it necessary, by a word
or phrase from the assessment criteria.
The complete list of annotations appears
in the published mark scheme.
Q: Should students write on alternate
lines? Will they be penalised if they
do?
A: No.
Q: Do students need to include
quotations for the Unit 3 Writing
section?
A: There is no requirement to do so.
Quotations can be used to support
points, but no extra credit is given
specifically to quotations. They must be
explained in terms of relevance to the
point being made rather than being
quoted for the sake of it. It should not be
left to the examiner to assume the
relevance of the quotation used. They
are, therefore, valid when they are used
appropriately by the student to justify or
exemplify a point. Quotation will not
automatically attract credit; it needs to be
used to support an argument or point. It
is possible to achieve the highest marks
without direct quotation, provided there is
close textual reference.
Q: Is a traditional introduction to the
essay referring to the title and
outlining the key points totally
unnecessary? Is it sufficient simply to
convey the area of study and briefly
relate it to the topic in the title?
A: We do not prescribe a particular format
for essays. It is, however, important that
the essay has a logical and coherent
structure and the essay planning sheet
can be useful in ensuring that the essay
is well-structured. A brief introduction will
probably help to focus the student on the
specific question set but students who do
not structure their essay in that way will
not automatically be penalised, provided
that they answer the whole question. It is
the content of the essay rather than the
format which will be the hallmark of
quality.
7
Q: Will a student who answers on more
than one book / work have an
advantage?
A: No, not necessarily.
Q: Are spelling and accents considered
for the Unit 3 Writing section?
A: Yes, under Accuracy.
Q: What exactly is meant by ‘Content’?
A: Examiners will look for evidence of
knowledge and understanding of the
task, evaluation and justified personal
reaction. The task means the question
set in the exam and it is very important
that students answer the question rather
than writing in a general way about what
they have studied. The Content mark
limits the marks that can be awarded for
Quality of Language.
Q: In Unit 3 Writing, why are the marks
for Quality of Language dependent on
those awarded for Content?
A: We cannot award maximum marks for
Quality of Language for a piece of writing
which does not address the task set. A
student could produce a piece of writing
in excellent target language which bore
no relevance to the task.
Q: In Unit 3 Writing, students are
expected to give their own
perspective. How is this to be done?
Do they merely state feelings and
impressions or do they back these up
with pertinent quotations and
references to precise events? Is there
a structured way in which they ought
to proceed?
A: The assessment criteria published in the
specification include, in the top band,
‘clear evidence of evaluation and welljustified personal reaction’. Therefore,
merely stating feelings and impressions
would not meet this criterion; students
would need to justify them with pertinent
references (not necessarily quotations,
although quotations could be useful) to
precise episodes in fiction or events in
the period of history. The key to success
will be to answer the precise question set
in a well-structured way, with an
appropriate amount of depth and
showing the ability to analyse and justify
the opinions expressed.
Q: Is it possible to study one Cultural
Topic but in the examination use the
material studied to answer the
questions set for a different Cultural
Topic? For example if all students
have studied a novel, but prefer the
questions set on the dramatist, could
they answer the questions on the
dramatist, but refer to the novel they
have studied?
A: No, this is not permissible. Questions set,
for example, for the Dramatist Cultural
Topic, must be answered by reference to
a play/poem(s) and questions set for the
Author/Poet Cultural Topic must be
answered by reference to a novel (or
collection of short stories).
This ruling ensures that all students have
the same experience in terms of the
number of questions available to them.
Students will be reminded of this
instruction on the question paper.
Q: Can students take their book,
research notes or any other materials
into the examination for Unit 3 and/or
Unit 4 (Cultural Topics section)?
A: No, none of these approaches is
permissible.
Q: What sort of starter questions should
we prepare for the cultural topics in
the A2 speaking test?
A: They must elicit views and opinions (see
assessment criteria published in the
specification). Questions requiring
students to give a lot of factual
knowledge would be less effective: as a
rule of thumb the factual knowledge a
student demonstrates will be in support
of views and opinions being expressed.
There are a number of example starter
questions on our website to provide
guidance as to the type of question which
is appropriate.
8
Q: What if the examiner doesn’t know the
topic my students have chosen. How
will he/she be able to mark their work?
A: Obviously there will be a very wide range
of topics covered by schools and
colleges, but examiners are experienced
and will be trained to assess topics that
they may not have come across
previously. If they felt unable to assess a
particular centre’s work, they would be
able to forward it to the Principal
Examiner for his/her judgement. This
would, however, be very rare.
Q: What are the criteria concerning
the use of tenses in the Unit 3 essay?
A: There is no requirement at this level
artificially to use a range of tenses.
Under Quality of Language the range of
vocabulary and structures is assessed
but students are free to use whatever
tense or tenses is appropriate and will
not be penalised if, for example, they do
not use a future tense. The present tense
could be used in analysing the literary
themes being studied as this is the most
natural thing to do.
Topic-Specific Queries
A Target Language Region/Community
General
Q: Can a country count as a region?
A: It depends to a large extent on the size
and homogeneity of a country. The
deciding factor is that the material
studied should allow the student to
provide a focused answer for the Writing
section in Unit 3 and sufficient material to
discuss in the conversation in the A2
speaking test. Therefore, we would be
happy for a student to study, for
example, Uruguay (which is quite small
and self-contained) rather than insisting
that only a region of Uruguay could be
studied. On the other hand, it would not
be appropriate to study the whole of
Spain, for example, as this would provide
too wide an area of study and make it
very difficult for the student to focus
his/her answer and thus have access to
the highest marks. When studying any
area it is important to refer to the bullet
points listed in the specification and to
make sure that all the points are covered.
Q: Can a city count as a region?
A: We cannot approve towns or cities on an
individual basis. It really depends on the
nature of the source material students
study and the use they make of it. The
material needs to offer the student an
opportunity to study at a level appropriate
to A2 (so not mere descriptions of tourist
attractions, monuments, etc) and to
cover the various aspects (geography,
history, population etc) in sufficient depth
to meet the requirements of the
assessment criteria. Please refer to the
bullet points in the specification and also
the sample and previous examination
questions to ensure that the region
chosen would enable the students to
answer the types of questions likely to be
set. It is likely that the study of the wider
area would offer a wider selection of
material and therefore meet the
requirements more easily. However, the
city itself alone could be appropriate
provided that it was dealt with as
described above.
Q: Does a region have to be an officially
designated administrative region?
A: No
Q: It is possible to study regions other
than mainland France / Germany /
Spain?
A: Yes, it must simply be a region where the
target language is spoken.
Q: Would a novel set in the chosen
region be suitable source material to
study for this topic?
A: For the region topic, students need to
consider aspects such as the population,
economy, industries etc, and novels
would not be adequate source material in
this respect. We would advise centres to
look at the bullet points in the
9
specification and also at the sample
questions and past exam questions in
the Teaching and learning resources
page on our website to ensure their
students have a sufficient depth of
knowledge to cope with the relevant
aspects.
Q: It is necessary to learn statistics for
the study of a region?
A: Students must give relevant examples
and evidence when responding to the
task set. In some cases, quoting
percentages etc might mean better
quality of evidence and therefore a
higher mark when responding to the task
set. However, this would be the case
where the statistics were being used
appropriately to exemplify or justify a
point rather than being quoted for the
sake of it. It would be possible to gain a
high mark without quoting statistics if
there was sufficient relevant and
accurate evidence presented in another
form.
Q: If I put a city such as Berlin within the
time frame 1961-89 does it become a
historical unit even if I look at
geographic and economic factors?
A: As far as a city such as Berlin is
concerned, it is fine to study it on its own
as a region, as it is of sufficient size to
constitute a region in itself. However,
history is just one of the bullets to be
studied in the region topic. There is a
danger, particularly in the case of a city
such as Berlin, that some kind of hybrid
emerges which is neither the study of a
period of history (which cannot be tied to
a region) nor the study of a region (which
cannot be tied to a particular period of
history). Of course the history of Berlin
can be included in the study of Berlin as
a region, but other aspects (population,
industry, topography etc) will need to be
studied also if students are to access
examination questions.
Q: Is it true that those who choose to
study a region place themselves at a
disadvantage?
A: Provided that students answer the
questions set for the Region topic with
reference to the requirements of the
assessment criteria then they can access
the full range of marks. To score well,
students must address the requirements
of the upper bands of the assessment
criteria (such as evaluation, justified
reaction, wide range of relevant
examples and evidence) in their
responses. We advise you to refer to the
Report on the Examination from the
previous two exam series, across all
three languages, where you will find
excellent advice on how to prepare
students if they choose to study the
Region topic. Please also refer to the
exemplar marked work on our website.
French
Q: I would like to teach Senegal as a
region. As this is a country, rather
than a specific region, would this be
acceptable?
A: Yes
Q: My students have decided that they'd
like to choose Monaco to study for the
French-speaking region. Will this be
acceptable?
A: Yes.
Q: My students would like to study
Morocco. Is this acceptable?
A: Yes – French is one of the official
languages of Morocco.
Q: Would Haiti be acceptable as a
French-speaking country/community,
despite the fact that 80% of the
population speak a dialect and French
is used mainly by the wealthy and the
government?
A: Although it does fit the requirements as
officially being a French-speaking
country/community as outlined in the
specification, our concern is that because
80% of the population speak a dialect
10
students may be unlikely to focus on the
French-speaking aspects during their
studies. However, provided that centres
ensure that students have sufficient
French resources to study and that it is
clear that only French resources have
been used, then a study of Haiti is
acceptable.
Q: Would Vietnam be an appropriate
country to study?
A Vietnam is appropriate as long as
students focus only on the Frenchspeaking community in any answer.
The topic in the specification is ‘A target
language-speaking region/community’,
so the French-speaking community in
Vietnam can be studied. Students must
only refer to the French-speaking
community to ensure they are not
disadvantaged.
Q: Is Madagascar a suitable country to
study as one of the pays francophone
/ region topics?
A: French is an official language in
Madagascar but is not spoken by the
majority of the population. In the case of
the study of a region, it is only the French
speaking community which is relevant (in
referring to Vietnam, for example).
Students can only use source material in
the target language and refer to this
target language source material in their
answers. Please refer to the reports on
the examination on our website.
Q: Please can you advise if Romandie,
Geneva, Switzerland and its
surrounding area is a suitable region
to study as a cultural topic.
A: Strictly speaking it would only be the
French speaking community which is
relevant, but as the majority language of
that area is French, this is acceptable as
a topic.
Q: A student wants to study Algeria. I’m
not really sure that it fits the
requirements as not a lot of locals
speak French anymore. Algeria is
neither a region nor a community of
France. It is true that Algeria was a
colony but the different heads of state
have made sure that everything
French was erased.
A: Algeria is fine for the region topic but the
source material must be in the target
language. The material needs to offer the
student an opportunity to study at a level
appropriate to A2 (so not mere
descriptions of tourist attractions,
monuments, etc) and to cover the
various aspects (geography, history,
population etc) in sufficient depth to meet
the requirements of the assessment
criteria. Please refer to the bullet points
in the specification and also to the
sample questions on our website to
ensure that you are satisfied your chosen
area of study will enable the students to
answer the types of questions likely to be
set.
Q: Is it acceptable to study la BasseNormandie for a regional study and
not try to include Haute-Normandie as
well? It seems to us that there is a
wealth of material for La BassesNormandie?
A: We do not define exactly what is meant
by a region, so you can choose either the
whole of La Normandie or either Haute or
Basse-Normandie. However, we would
advise when deciding, to look carefully at
the bullet points in the specification and
ensure your students have sufficient
information to answer likely questions in
the depth required for A-level. You are
advised to look at past papers and the
questions set previously. It is particularly
important to recognise that the
assessment criteria refer to
‘understanding and knowledge of the
task’. ‘The task’ is to answer the specific
question set. ‘Understanding of the task’
is the way in which the answer
addresses the question, e.g. range,
depth, covering all parts of the question
and relevance to the question.
‘Knowledge of the task’ is the amount
and range of detail used to answer the
11
question set. It is not so much the actual
knowledge as the way this knowledge is
used and evaluated that is being
assessed. Further guidance can be
found in the published mark scheme and
the report on the examination on our
website.
Q: Is Ile Maurice acceptable as a region?
A: Mauritius is a difficult one. Looking at the
island's own site suggests that, although
French is spoken more than English,
which is the official language, the normal
language of communication is Creole. If
you study it you must use French
sources and the Principal Examiner
would advise caution as these resources
may be limited.
Q: Is the topic of I’lle de la Réunion
okay?
A: La Réunion is acceptable for the region
topic but please ensure that your
students will have access to sufficient
French source material to allow them to
address the bullet points listed in the
specification. You need to be sure that
students are sufficiently prepared to
answer essay questions in sufficient
depth in Unit 3.
Q: Can I study Corsica?
A: Yes
Q: Can students do the cultural topic of a
region on Tunisia?
A: Tunisia is fine under the study of a region
though we would advise that strictly
speaking it should only be the Frenchspeaking community. However, in
practice, it is difficult to distinguish
between the French and Arabic
speakers.
Q: One of my students would like to
choose Marrakesh as one of two
cultural topics. Is that acceptable?
A: Marrakesh is suitable as a Frenchspeaking region. Although there is no
precise definition of what a region is, it
does not have to be an official
administrative area. What is important is
the source material studied and how the
student uses that material. The material
needs to offer the student the opportunity
to study at a level appropriate to A2 and
to cover the various aspects (geography,
history, population etc) in sufficient depth
to meet the requirements of the
assessment criteria. You need to be sure
that the student will have a sufficient
amount of material to refer to in the
examination.
Q: For a target language-speaking region
/ community is Paris acceptable? Or
should it be ‘la région parisienne’ or
‘Ile de France’?
Q: I want to study the Nice area of France
but I am not sure whether it should be
the whole administrative region
(PACA) or the département (Alpes
Maritimes) or 'La région / communauté
niçoise'. Could you please let me
know which of these is acceptable?
Q: As one of our topics, I would like to
talk about the city of Lyon. But is a
city too specific for the ‘region /
community’ topic?
A: We cannot approve towns or cities on an
individual basis. It really depends on the
nature of the source material students
study and the use they make of it. The
material needs to offer the student an
opportunity to study at a level appropriate
to A2 (so not mere descriptions of tourist
attractions, monuments, etc) and to
cover the various aspects (geography,
history, population, economy, industry,
etc) in sufficient depth to meet the
requirements of the assessment criteria.
Please refer to the bullet points in the
specification and also the sample and
previous examination questions to
ensure that the region chosen would
enable the students to answer the types
of questions likely to be set. It is likely
that the study of the wider area would
offer a wider selection of material and
therefore meet the requirements more
12
easily. However, the city itself alone
could be appropriate provided that it was
dealt with as described above.
Q: Is it possible to study regions outside
mainland France? Is it fine to study a
‘Dom-Tom’ (i.e. Guadeloupe,
Martinique…) and places such as
Quebec as part of the topic?
A: Yes.
Q: We would like to deal with Occitanie
(culture, language, its place in modern
society etc). Is this an acceptable
topic?
Q: I was considering ‘Provence / Côte
d’Azur’ or would that come under the
actual region ‘Rhône Alpes’?
A: There is no definition of how big a region
can or must be. It depends on the source
material studied and on how the student
uses that material. The material needs to
offer the student the opportunity to study
at a level appropriate to A2 and to cover
the various aspects (geography, history,
population, economy, industry, etc) in
sufficient depth to meet the requirements
of the assessment criteria. When
studying any area it is important to refer
to the bullet points listed in the
specification and to make sure that all
the appropriate aspects are covered,
when the region is being studied.
German
Q: Could you please let me know
whether the city of Salzburg counts as
a region? Or would we have to study
the county Salzburgerland?
A: We cannot approve towns or cities on an
individual basis. It really depends on the
nature of the source material students
study and the use they make of it. The
material needs to offer the student an
opportunity to study at a level appropriate
to A2 (so not mere descriptions of tourist
attractions, monuments, etc) and to
cover the various aspects (geography,
history, population, economy, industry,
etc) in sufficient depth to meet the
requirements of the assessment criteria.
Please refer to the bullet points in the
specification and also the sample and
previous examination questions to
ensure that the region chosen would
enable the students to answer the types
of questions likely to be set. It is likely
that the study of the wider area would
offer a wider selection of material and
therefore meet the requirements more
easily. However, the city itself alone
could be appropriate provided that it was
dealt with as described above.
Q: I am interested in selecting a ‘target
language-speaking region’. Rather
than selecting a ‘Bundesland’ of the
BRD I would very much like to do ‘die
Nordsee-Region’. This would include
the coast of Niedersachsen /
Schleswig-Holstein, das Watt und die
Nordseeinseln. My question is: would
you accept that as a ‘region’?
A: There is no definition of how big a region
can or must be. It depends on the source
material studied and on how the student
uses that material. The material needs to
offer the student the opportunity to study
at a level appropriate to A2 and to cover
the various aspects (geography, history,
population, economy, industry, etc) in
sufficient depth to meet the requirements
of the assessment criteria. When
studying any area it is important to refer
to the bullet points listed in the
specification and to make sure that all
the points are covered, when the region
is being studied.
Q: Could you please confirm if
Wittenberg, a Kreisstadt (in SachsenAnhalt in Germany) with about 50,000
citizens is a big enough
region/community to study?
A: Essentially, a city can count as a region if
it offers enough suitable material for
study at A2 level and specifically, if the
bullet points in the specification can all
be covered. It might be safer, therefore,
to study Sachsen-Anhalt but to focus
13
mainly on Wittenberg to produce the bulk
of the evidence for the historical,
geographical and social aspects.
Spanish
Q: For the topic requiring the study of a
region or community, do I assume
that you wouldn't accept an entire
Latin American country, and would
need us to choose a region or
community of one country, eg,
Chilean Patagonia or the Peruvian
Amazon? Some countries (eg,
Uruguay) are pretty small and
homogenous.
A: It depends to a large extent on the size
and homogeneity of a country. The
deciding factor is that the material
studied should allow the student to
provide a focused answer for the Writing
section in Unit 3 and sufficient material to
discuss in the conversation in Unit 4.
Therefore, we would be happy for a
student to study, for example, Uruguay
(which is quite small and self-contained)
rather than insisting that only a region of
Uruguay could be studied. On the other
hand, it would not be appropriate to study
the whole of Spain, for example, as this
would provide too wide an area of study
and make it very difficult for the student
to focus his / her answer and thus have
access to the highest marks.
Q: I would like to know if you recommend
doing ‘The Peruvian Amazon’ as a
target language-speaking
region/community?
A: Provided that all sources studied are in
Spanish and that, after having looked at
the bullet points in the specification
outlining the scope of the Region topic,
the specimen questions and questions
from the live examinations for this topic,
you feel that your studies will allow the
students to answer the sorts of questions
that will be set, then this will be
acceptable.
Q: Is the Atacama Desert (region) in Chile
a suitable Spanish speaking
region/community?
A: It is suitable but please ensure that the
materials studied are sufficient to answer
the sorts of question that will be asked on
this topic in sufficient depth at A2. Please
refer to the bullet points provided in the
specification, the past papers and
specimen questions on our website.
Q: Would it be appropriate to include
both La Havana (capital) and La
Havana (province) in the study of this
area of Cuba?
A: There would be more than sufficient
scope studying both, whilst studying La
Havana (capital) might be a little too
limited.
Q: Is Gibraltar acceptable as a region?
A: Yes
Q: Is the Falklands acceptable as a
region?
A: No.
Q: Is Paraguay okay to study for the
region topic?
A: As Paraguay is somewhat larger than
Uruguay, in terms on its geographical
area, it has a much smaller population so
it acceptable.
Q: My students would like to study a
region and have chosen Tenerife. Is
this too restricted and specialised or
should they extend it to include
Canarias in general?
A: This depends on the size and
homogeneity of a country/region. The
material studied should allow the student
to provide a focused answer in Unit 3
and sufficient material to discuss in the
conversation in the A2 speaking test.
Therefore, we would be happy for a
student to study eg, Uruguay (which is
quite small and self-contained) rather
than insisting that only a region of
Uruguay could be studied. On the other
hand, it would not be appropriate to study
14
the whole of Spain as this would provide
too wide an area of study and make it
very difficult for the student to focus their
answer and thus have access to the
highest marks.
Q: Please could you confirm whether a
student can talk about Andorra in
their A2 speaking test under the topic
of a target language speaking
country? Their main language is
Catalan but Castilian is also spoken.
A: Catalan is the official language of
Andorra and is not Spanish. Therefore, it
is not possible to study Andorra despite
there being a number of Spanish
speakers.
Q: Is Cataluña allowed?
A: Yes, Cataluña would be allowed as
Spanish is one of the official languages
of this region along with Catalan. The
problem with Andorra is that the official
language is only Catalan.
Q: Is it acceptable to study the
Autonomous City of Ceuta for the
region cultural topic?
A: This is acceptable although any source
materials you study relating to this area
must be in Spanish.
A Period of 20th Century History
General
Q: Will it be possible to do 21st century
topics, or is that too recent?
A: The Cultural Topic is 'a period of 20th
century history' so topics from the 21st
century would not be acceptable.
Q: Can a historical figure be chosen as a
historical topic?
A: The Cultural Topic is 'a period of history'
rather than just the study of one or two
individuals. Whilst one person might form
an important part of the study
of a particular period it could not be
guaranteed that students would be able
to answer any of the questions if they
had only studied that one person. Please
see the bullet points in the specification,
past papers and exemplar student
marked work on our website for more
information.
Q: What about if some of the suitable
historical figures come from outside
the country in question?
A: This is not a problem. It is inevitable that
some of the major influences will be from
outside the country. However, when
referring to such individuals, it is
important that the focus must be
maintained on their influences on the
target language country.
Q: Can we study a movement, rather than
a period of history, eg the history of
the Communist movement in a
particular country?
A: No, it must cover a defined period,
expressed in years.
Q: How long does the period of history
have to be?
A: We do not define the length of a period of
20th century history, although defining a
period as just a month, for example,
would be a concern. The most important
factor is whether the period would enable
a study in sufficient depth at A2 to allow
the students to cover all the bullet points
listed in the specification.
Q: I am studying a period of history with
my class and am seeking clarification
of the ‘main events’ criterion. Can the
students choose what they consider
(within certain parameters, of course)
the main events? What do you mean
by an ‘event’?
A: It is entirely a matter for centres to decide
what they consider the main events of a
period to be. The important thing will be
that students study the topic in sufficient
depth to be able to answer likely
examination questions at A2 level and
can justify their choice of the key events
in an examination.
15
We do not give a specific definition of an
event, but it must clearly be something
which happened at a particular time.
Thus the signing of the armistice would
clearly be an event, as would the
invasion of France, but the resistance
movement is not an event. Equally, the
Vichy government in itself is not an
event, but the formation of the
government would be.
Q: Should an essay on the period of
history be written in one specific
tense?
A: Students will need a range for tenses for
the rest of the A2 assessments, so there
is no need to restrict them in this part of
the test. It is important to note, too, that a
traditional, stylistic essay is not required
for this unit. The essay must focus on the
specific question. It should contain
analysis, explanation, justification,
personal opinions, examples,
speculation, discussion, etc. Facts alone
will not score highly according to the
assessment criteria in the specification.
French
Q: Is the Algerian War an acceptable
period in French history?
A: Yes.
Q: For a period of 20th century history
we are thinking of the Occupation of
France in WW2. Is this OK?
A: Yes
Q: Would the Resistance Movement in
France be an acceptable historical
topic? Would we have to
contextualise this as a strand of the
Occupation of France?
A: As far as the period of history is
concerned a defined period of history
must be studied, and not simply a
movement. Therefore the Resistance
Movement would have to be part of the
Occupation of France - which is a
defined period - and not just studied in
isolation.
Q: Would it be possible to study l’Affaire
Dreyfus for the French topic of a
Period of 20th Century History? The
event started in the very late 19th
century and concluded in the early
20th. Is this crossover period allowed?
A: We would advise against this as a topic
for two reasons. Firstly, only that period
of the affaire which occurred in the 20th
century is strictly speaking relevant to the
topic and secondly the affaire does not in
itself constitute a period of history; it is an
event (or series of events) within a
period.
Q: Is May 1968 acceptable as a period of
20th century French history?
A: We do not define the length of a period of
20th century history, although defining a
period as just a month is a concern.
However, the most important factor is
whether the period would enable a study
in sufficient depth at A2 to allow the
students to cover all the bullet points
listed in the specification. May 68 was
clearly a pivotal time but the question of
the causes of the main events would
probably require a study of a period prior
to the month itself and the importance /
influences of the events would certainly
require reference to the period after May
68. Centres are advised to look very
carefully at the bullet points regarding the
ideas, actions and influences of at least
two individuals who made a significant
impact during the period as listed in the
specification. If centres are confident that
students will be able to deal with this in
sufficient depth, then the topic would be
suitable.
Q: Is studying the genocide in Rwanda
acceptable under the topic of ‘A
period of 20th Century history’?
A: French is an official language in Rwanda
but is not spoken by the majority of the
population. In the case of the study of a
region, it is only the French speaking
community which is relevant (in referring
to Vietnam, for example.) Students can
16
only use source material in the target
language and refer to this target
language source material in their
answers. Please refer to the Unit 3
reports on the exam on our website.
Q: One of my pupils would like to study
la Quatrième république as one of her
cultural topics. Would this be
acceptable?
A: This is acceptable. We would advise
schools/colleges to look carefully at the
bullet points in the specification and at
past papers as a guide to the areas of
study within the chosen period.
Q: Can we study la belle époque?
A: As regards la belle époque, as the topic
is a period of 20th century history, only
that part of the period which falls in the
20th century is strictly acceptable. It will
be permissible to make some references
to events just before the start of the
century if discussing for example the
causes of events which occurred in the
20th century, but if the student is
discussing the actions of an individual or
principle events of the period, these must
be focused on the 20th century.
Q: Can we study La Rafle du Vel d’Hiv?
A: La Rafle du Vel d’Hiv is not really a
period of history but more of an event so
would not be acceptable as a topic – it is
not long enough and would not allow
students to study in sufficient depth and
detail to answer potential questions.
Q: One student wants to look at the role
De Gaulle has played in shaping
France, will there definitely be a
question for her on key individuals, or
does she need to look at a topic that
covers events more than individuals?
A: The specification states that a period of
history must be studied. Although the
length of a period is not defined, it is
intended that the study should
encompass the principal events,
influences, individuals etc. Centres
should certainly not assume that there
will be one question on events and
another on individuals, and although it
would be permissible to choose a period
of history which corresponds to De
Gaulle’s career, it is unwise to focus on
just one individual.
Q: I have a student who would like to do
the part France played in the ‘Guerre
D’Indochine’. Could you please
confirm that this topic is suitable?
A: It is a suitable topic provided that the
student concentrates and refers ONLY to
France’s role in the war. Any material
which is not French-specific cannot be
credited. You need to be sure that your
student will have sufficient resource
material to answer a question in Unit 3 in
the required depth for A2.
Q: Is the study of the 2nd World War in
France / life of French Jewish people
under German occupation in France a
suitable topic?
A: A period of history is the prescribed topic.
The 2nd World War is perfectly
acceptable in this category, but the
centre is advised to look carefully at the
bullet points in the specification and at
the sample questions to ensure that they
cover the period in sufficient depth and
breadth to answer likely questions.
Confining the study to just the life of
French Jewish people may well not
provide students with sufficient
knowledge to answer likely questions.
Q: We were thinking of covering the
period from invasion to liberation,
encompassing collaboration,
resistance and De Gaulle / Petain /
Moulin. Is this too wide?
A: As the topic is ‘a period of history’ rather
than a movement, then strictly speaking
it would have to be the period of
occupation rather than the resistance
movement, though clearly the latter
would be a significant part of it. There is
certainly a huge amount to study in the
period from occupation to liberation and
some selection would of necessity have
17
to be made. Students cannot be
expected to have a detailed knowledge
of absolutely everything that happened in
that period and the important aspect
would be to ensure students have a
sufficient depth of knowledge to answer
likely questions and would be able to
justify their selection of the most
important events or people of the period.
Q: Can we study ‘Sac de Billes’ for the
period of history topic?
A: This novel would provide good
background for the topic, but in itself
would not give students sufficient facts /
analytical information for the type of
question which will be set. It would
however be an appropriate novel to read
for the Author topic.
Q: Is it possible to study la Suisse
pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale
for the history topic?
A: Unfortunately this topic is not suitable.
The specified topic is a period of 20th
century French history and it would only
be the French-speaking part of
Switzerland that could conform to this
requirement. In practice it would be
difficult to isolate this area.
Q: One of my students who is a native
French speaker would like to use the
passé simple in her Cultural Topics
essay. Is this acceptable?
A: If the topic is a region or a period of
history then the passé simple might be
an appropriate tense and if so it is
acceptable to use it.
German
Q: Is the ‘Wiedervereinigung’
(reunification) an acceptable period of
history?
A: Yes.
Q: We intend to study GDR 1960-1990 but
some of the individuals who had a
major influence were from outside the
country / GDR (eg, Willy Brandt and
Michael Gorbachev). Is that a
problem?
A: This is not a problem. It is inevitable that
some of the major influences will be from
outside the country.
Q: With regards to the history I have a
query regarding the historical figure –
if our focus is ‘Die Wende’ do the
‘Montagsdemonstranten’ count
collectively as an individual? Please
could you advise?
A: To cover the bullet point in the
specification about an individual, the
Montagsdemonstranten would not count
and specific individuals should be
identified. Possibilities would include
Honecker and Gorbachev, who, though
not German, could be cited as he shaped
events in Germany.
Q: I would like to study post-war Berlin
and was wondering what a suitable
period of time would be. I don't want
to overburden the students with too
much material. Would, for example,
1945-1961 or 1961-1989 be suitable?
A: Either of the proposed periods would be
acceptable. The key consideration is that
the source material for whatever period
you choose will allow students to study at
A2 level, to cover the bullet points in the
specification and to answer the exam
question (see specimen papers on our
website for examples) in such a way as
to achieve the highest mark bands (see
criteria for assessment).
Q: I am very interested in post-war Berlin
but am not sure what would be a
suitable length for the period of
history. For example, Berlin 1945-1961
is a fairly contained and succinct
period and I would be happy with this.
However, finding a suitable historical
figure for this period is less obvious.
It seems to me that the obvious figure
would be Willy Brandt but it seems
illogical to pick him and then finish
the period of history in 1961 whereas
1971/2 would be a much more logical
18
finish point. It strikes me that 1945-71
might be too long a period to deal with
in the time available.
A: We do not prescribe time spans for
study. All the periods you mentioned
would be suitable. A further possibility
which could include the focus on Willy
Brandt would be 1961-71. The key factor
is that the period you choose is covered
in relation to the bullet points listed in the
specification. Other possibilities for
consideration under important historical
figures would be Ulbricht or Adenauer.
Depending on the period you decide on,
Gorbachev could be included; it is not
essential that the influential figures are
necessarily German.
Q: I would like to confirm that you are
happy with the Fall of the Berlin Wall
and German Reunification (1989/1990)
as my choice for a historical period
topic at A2 Level.
A: The Fall of the Wall and Reunification is
acceptable as a period of history but
please be aware that you need to study
the events leading up to the Fall of the
Wall.
Q: Please could you tell me if the
following choice of topic would be
available – post war Berlin, the Berlin
Wall and what led to the Fall of the
Wall?
A: Your proposed topic is acceptable,
however the entire history of the Berlin
Wall might be too extensive and it might
be better to focus on either the building
or the Fall of the Wall.
Q: Would the study of the BaaderMeinhof group within the period 19681977 be acceptable, if we looked at the
whole epoch in a wider context? Or
should we look at a period of history
more generally, eg Germany 19331939 or Deutschland von 1961 bis
1990 in Bezug auf die Mauer?
A: If you studied the period 1968-1977 then
you could include the study of the Baader
Meinhof group within the context of the
defined period. However, some exam
questions (eg the specimen question
about whether you would like to have
lived during the period studied and why)
would require an understanding of wider
aspects of life in the target language
speaking country during the defined
period. It would not be sufficient to rely
solely on the study of the Baader
Meinhof group. Even if you decide on the
period 1968-1977 you need to look at it
in a general way.
It is certainly the case that 1933-1939 or
1961-1990 would be the more
straightforward option in that it would
avoid the pitfalls referred to above.
However, we do not approve periods of
time for study; we simply alert teachers
to the requirement to ensure the period
they choose allows the study of sufficient
source material at A2 level, covers the
bullet points in the specification and
enables students to answer the
examination questions in such a way as
to access high mark bands. The decision
about whether a specific period is
suitable is for teachers to make, having
considered these factors.
Q: Can we confirm that it was ok for a
student to study the historical period
in Germany between 1965 and 1975?
Their particular interest is the student
movement and RAF.
A: The period is acceptable in principle
since we do not prescribe periods to be
studied. However, the student should be
made aware that it is not acceptable to
study a movement; what must be studied
is a period of time and the associated
events, individuals etc. Therefore, it is
important to make sure the period
chosen offers sufficient scope to cover
the bullet points listed in the spec without
simply studying a movement; it would not
be acceptable to base an answer solely
on the Rote Armee Fraktion.
19
Q: We are studying the period 1961-1990.
Can we focus solely on the DDR? Or
must we cover West Germany too?
A: Questions set on the period of history are
not restricted to any one part of
Germany. The specification states that
questions will be set on the events and
related aspects of the events of the
‘chosen period’, significant
individuals/personalities of and their
impact on the ‘chosen period’ and a
personal perspective of the ‘chosen
period’. Credit is given for knowledge,
understanding and evaluation of the
issues raised in the set task. Evidence
and support for points made will be
acknowledged and if that evidence and
support relates to the DDR it will be
taken into account. However, schools
and colleges should be aware that
questions set on this topic will not refer to
specific areas of the country.
Q: Is it acceptable to study the ‘Nazizeit’
between 30 January 1933 and 2
August 1934? Is this time period too
short or too limited an area to
examine? If it were to be any longer,
the amount of documentation to read
would be too great.
A: We advise against a too narrow period
and would refer you to the Teaching and
learning resources on our website. The
bullet points in the specification require
the study of the main events of the period
and their importance. Please be sure that
the period you propose does allow this to
be covered. Please also check the
specimen paper and past papers
available on our website to ensure that
the type of questions set can be
answered effectively with reference to
such a short period of time. The sheer
volume of available documentation
should not limit the length of period to be
studied as material can be selected as
appropriate, not necessarily using
everything available. Source material
studied should normally be in the target
language as this is likely to be most
helpful in preparing students for the
exam.
Q: Would the ‘Berliner Mauer', on its
own, be a suitable cultural topic for
study?
A: The choice of period for the ‘period of
history’ topic should be expressed as a
period of time and the main events of the
period should be studied. This could be
1961-1989 and the main focus of the
student’s study could be the political
events and circumstances leading to the
building of the wall and to its fall. Please
make sure this is listed on your A2 STMS
as a period of time.
Q: We have chosen to study the period of
history Berlin 1945 up to the
reunification. How many people
should be studied? Is it possible that
there could be an essay question
where they have to compare their two
people?
A: The specification states ‘at least two
individuals’, it cannot be assumed that to
study only one will always be sufficient to
answer an exam question on this aspect
of the topic. A minimum of two people
should be studied. For Germany 19451989, an individual such as Gorbachev
could be studied since, though he was
not German he influenced events in
Germany.
Q: Is it possible to study ‘Der Fall der
Berliner Mauer’?
The historical and social context will
cover:
• The division of Germany post WW2
• The creation of two Germanys
• Differences between the DDR and
the GDR
• The building of the Berlin Wall and
consequences
1. Is this topic and content too broad?
We will concentrate on events in the
1980s ending with the Fall of the
Berlin Wall and then look more briefly
at Unification (to tie up the
significance and importance of the fall
20
of the wall). Students will also be
encouraged to consider the impact of
the Berlin Wall today...shortly after the
20 anniversary of its fall.
2. Do the two individuals who made an
impact in this time period have to be
German? Would Mikhail Gorbachev be
an appropriate person?
A: The topic area is ideal and not too broad.
The planning seems logical and very
thorough and should allow students to
answer questions set. With regard to the
influential people of the time, it would be
fine to study Gorbachev and any of the
others listed in the plan.
Q: Would Martin Luther, the German
reformist, be a suitable topic?
A: If studied under the period of history
topic, the period chosen must be a period
of years, eg 1945-61 or 1961-89 and the
study of one or two individuals is only
one of the bullet points listed in the
specification. The role/influence of one or
two individuals in the events of the period
should be studied but to study individuals
alone rather than the events of the period
in general, would not necessarily equip
students to answer the questions set on
this topic.
Q: Is it acceptable to study the BaaderMeinhof group within the period 19681977? Or should a period of history be
more general, eg Germany 1933-1939
or Deutschland von 1961 bis 1990 in
Bezug auf die Mauer?
A: The period 1968-1977 could include the
study of the Baader Meinhof group within
the context of the defined period.
However, some exam questions (eg the
specimen question about whether you
would like to have lived during the period
studied and why) would require an
understanding of wider aspects life in the
target language speaking country during
the defined period. It would not be
sufficient to rely solely on the study of the
Baader Meinhof group. When studying
the period 1968-1977 we advise to refer
to it in a general way.
It is the case that 1933-1939 or 19611990 would be more straightforward in
that it would avoid the pitfalls referred to
above. However, we do not approve
periods of time for study; we refer
teachers to the requirement to ensure the
period they choose allows the study of
sufficient source material at A2 level,
covers the bullet points in the
specification and enables students to
answer the questions in such a way as to
access high mark bands.
To study Germany 1961-1990 you may
find it helpful to know that the individuals
chosen (see bullet points in the
specification) need not be German,
provided that they have shaped events in
Germany; Gorbachev is one such
example.
Q: Is it acceptable to focus on the RAF
(Rote Armee Fraktion (BaaderMeinhof) between 1968-1977, (First
Generation) for the period of twentieth
century history topic?
A: The study of a period of history requires
the study of a period of time and the
events that took place within it, rather
than the study of a movement. The Rote
Armee Fraktion would not therefore be
suitable. The Resistance is not
acceptable for French, for example, nor
is the Communist movement. The period
studied needs to allow students to cover
all the bullet points listed in the
specification and to answer the questions
in the Unit 3 past papers on our website.
Spanish
Q: Will it be possible to do 21st century
topics such as Evo Morales in Bolivia
or Zapatero in Spain? Or is that too
recent?
A: The Cultural Topic is 'a period of 20th
century history' so topics from the 21st
century would not be acceptable.
21
Q: Can a historical figure such as Che
Guevara, be chosen as a historical
topic?
A: The Cultural Topic is 'a period of history'
rather than just the study of one or two
individuals. Whilst one person might form
an important part of the study of a
particular period it could not be
guaranteed that students would be able
to answer any of the questions if they
had only studied one person. Please see
the bullet points in the specification and
the specimen and past questions in the
Teaching and learning resources page of
our website for more information.
Q: Would "las izquierdas en la América
latina actual" be acceptable as a
period of history? This would include
several countries under one topic:
Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia and
Venezuela. Or is it a too broad topic?
A: This is not a suitable topic. We are
expecting the study of one region /
country / community or one period of
history.
Q: We are studying the historical period
of the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939.
The specification requires we teach
the effects and influences of the
events. Does this mean that we will
have to study the effects and
influences after the war as well? Or
must the issues studied stay within
the specified period only? It's the
same issue with causes of the war, as
we have to look at what happened
beforehand so we are also stepping
out of the specified period. Is this is a
problem?
A: You are advised not to try to cover too
much on a topic like this, which could
take you all year if you are not careful.
However, the Civil War cannot simply be
confined to the period from 1936 to 1939.
The causes leading up to the war need to
be outlined followed by the main events.
There is no need to look at the post-war
period. There is a danger of overteaching the topic and most students
cannot cope with an overload of
information so a concise approach is
probably best.
Q: I’m going to teach the Spanish Civil
War and I’d like to concentrate on
Guernica. How do you suggest I
should focus my approach? Quick
intro about the Civil War and then
Guernica and what happened there?
Or the other way around? Or just
Guernica? I’d like to give some time to
the Guernica of Picasso, but would it
be too much?
A: You need to be clear as to whether the
topic you are studying is the Civil War or
Guernica. Clearly students will need to
have some background, but it should be
pared down so that they have a clear
idea of what they will be expected to
know by the end of their studies.
Otherwise there is a danger that they
have so much information that they have
no idea what is important and what is
irrelevant by the time it comes to the
examination. A study of Picasso could
become a distraction so we would not
recommend its inclusion. Focus on the
events surrounding the bombing of
Guernica and the aftermath. By covering
the bullet points in the specification on
the history topic, students will be able to
answer the questions set.
Q: Could Margaret Thatcher be one of the
important people of the period of 20th
century history if the analysis given
considers the effect that her actions
had in Argentina?
A: You are advised to focus on individuals
within the country or region itself. There
is no shortage of such individuals in a
topic like La Guerra de las Malvinas.
There is a danger of looking at the topic
from the wrong perspective. Reference to
Thatcher, Reagan, General Haig et al
might be relevant, but the focus should
be on the Argentinians who played a lead
role eg, Anaya, Galtieri, Lami Dozo etc.
22
Q: In the specification, one of the topics
is a period of 20th century history of a
Spanish-speaking country. However
in some of the exemplar material,
under the example essay questions it
implies that it is ‘Spanish’ History. If it
is Spanish-speaking, would it be
acceptable to study the topic of
Peronism under this heading?
A: We can confirm that the title of this topic
is ‘a period of 20th century history from a
Spanish speaking country / community’
and that the title on live examination
papers will be ‘Una época de la historia
del siglo veinte de un país
hispanohablante’ (please see Additional
Sample Questions on our website). It will,
therefore, be acceptable to study the
governments of Juan Perón for this topic.
Q: Is the Falklands war suitable for the
20th century history topic?
A: We would exercise caution over the
approach to the study of the Falklands
War – this must be from an Argentinean
point of view (eg, motivation, pre-existing
political situation, Hispanic nature of the
conflict resulting in attitudes to
‘occupation’ etc), ie, a study of La Guerra
de las Malvinas or La historia de las
Malvinas en el siglo XX or students run
the risk of straying into English history,
which will affect their access to the
highest marks.
Q: I have chosen to study ‘Spain after
Franco’ to include the transition to
democracy and the changes that
occurred in Spain in the years after
the dictatorship ended.
A: This is a popular choice. This is a vast
topic however and there is a danger of
over-teaching it if not careful. Please
refer to the past papers on our website.
This will give you an idea of the depth
you need to cover; it is of course one
essay of at least 250 words to be written
in a recommended time of an hour, so
too much information can actually leave
your students knowing less rather than
more. The bullet points in the
specification are the other starting point.
Q: Is Mexico acceptable as a Spanish
speaking region? Although it’s a
country is it too big and should we
choose a particular area such as
issues relating to the border with the
USA?
A: It is not advisable to study Mexico as it is
too large an area. If you have a particular
angle to pursue, identifying a region that
the issue fits into eg, Ciudad Juarez or
Monterrey. However, please be aware of
the dangers of covering a single issue
and refer to the bullet points in the
specification and to past papers to
ensure that students have covered
enough of the subject so that they are
able to answer the questions in sufficient
depth.
Q: Are the following periods of time
suitable for the topic of twentieth
century history - the transition years
in Spain (1975-1981), the Allende
years in Chile (1970-1973) and the
Perón years in Argentina (1946-1955)?
A: Yes, these are all suitable.
Q: We would like to cover the life of
Ingrid Betancourt as a more
contemporary topic. However, this is
linked to the social and political
problems in Colombia. Is it a suitable
topic?
A: It would not be acceptable to study Ingrid
Betancourt. The topic of 20th century
history is 'a period of history' rather than
just the study of one or two individuals.
Whilst one person might form an
important part of the study of a particular
period it could not be guaranteed that
students would be able to answer the
questions, in depth, if they had only
studied one person. In addition, the
majority of Ingrid Betancourt's significant
political activity appears to have
happened in the 21st century, which is
outside the period set for this cultural
topic.
23
Q: Is the Salvador-Honduras war (1969),
aka the football war, a suitable topic
for a 20th century historic event in a
Spanish speaking country.
A: With regards to the ‘football war’ we do
not consider that this is a ‘period of
history’, but rather a single event. This
could risk students not having sufficient
scope to access the highest marks. You
are advised to look at the bullet points in
the specification and past papers for this
topic so that judgement can be made to
ensure students have studied sufficient,
in depth, material required at this level.
A Target Language Author
General
Q: For the work of an author, do we have
a completely free choice; do we need
to clear with you that you have a
marker familiar with the author's
œuvre?
A: Schools/colleges have a free choice.
Q: Would a student be allowed to do
something on the relationship
between two different authors?
A: This would not be permitted as the
Cultural Topic requires the study of one
single writer.
Q: For the author topic, can we study a
book and also study a film of the
same book for the director topic?
A: No, there would be too much overlap of
material.
Q: The implication seems to be that
students need to know the wider
picture about the author eg, his life
and influences and get an overall feel
for his preoccupations and thoughts.
Am I correct?
A: No. All questions on an author may be
answered with reference to the detailed
study of one book and we will not set any
questions which require more than one
book to be studied.
Teachers are advised to look at the past
papers on our website.
Q: What do you mean precisely by the
context of the author's work?
A: We will not set questions specifically on
the context of the work of an author. It
may, however, in some cases, be
appropriate for your students to study
some background information in order to
analyse the themes of the writer. It is for
this reason that the bullet point is
included in the specification.
Q: What it meant by techniques? What
sort of wording will be used to
formulate questions?
A: ‘Techniques’ means simply the way in
which the author tells the story, presents
his themes or characters, and may
include aspects such as the use of
physical description, scene setting,
comparisons, contrast, vocabulary etc
depending on the author and the work.
The terms used to formulate questions
could be “Analyse” or Evaluate” but we
would not use simply “Describe”; in other
words we are expecting a student not
simply to relate the plot or paraphrase
events, but to draw some deductions
from and give justified opinions about
what they have read. You are advised to
look at the past papers on our website for
further guidance.
which are likely to be asked in Unit 3 (eg,
on characterisation) could not really be
answered with reference to a biography
or collections of essays, so students
would be disadvantaged. Reference to
the specimen questions will clarify this
decision.
It is acceptable, however, for biographies
or collections of essays to be studied for
discussion in the A2 speaking test.
Q: Can a short story writer be studied as
an alternative to a novelist?
A: Yes. The topic ‘an author’ encompasses
short story writers or novelists.
Q: If we study a short story writer, do we
have to study more than one story?
A: Any collection of short stories would be
acceptable. As a guide, reference should
be made to at least three stories by an
author, but there will certainly be no need
to refer to all the stories in a collection. If
a short story writer is chosen, a range of
stories should be studied and then the
students will be able to select the ones
most appropriate for any given question.
If a question asks about just one
character, then it is acceptable to refer to
just one short story.
Q: Are we allowed to study more than
one piece of work by an author?
A: Students are required to refer to a
minimum of one of his works when
answering the essay question in Unit 3,
but may refer to more than one if they
wish.
Q: Could our least able students study
the simplified version of the book?
A: The choice of edition is a matter for the
centre; it is clearly against the spirit of the
specification just to study extracts and
the centre must ensure that the work
chosen is studied in sufficient depth to
enable students to answer likely
questions.
Q: Is a study of a biography or
collections of essays allowed?
A: Students are advised against studying a
biography or collections of essays.
Although it does not specifically say so in
the specification, the clear implication is
that the author is a writer of fiction,
consequently many of the questions
Q: Can you please explain the
differences in ‘theme’, ‘idea’ and
‘message’ as mentioned in the bullet
points in the specification?
A: The reason we refer to
themes/ideas/messages rather than
using just one of these terms is because
of the very wide range of texts which
24
students could choose to study. If a
student has studied poems, for example,
the word ‘ideas’ might be more
appropriate than ‘themes’; in some cases
the writer may be saying something
about eg racism and discrimination or
war, in which case the word ‘messages’
might fit.
Essentially these terms are
interchangeable and appear among the
bullets in the specification as a guide to
the aspects of the topic which students
should cover.
French
Q: You state that the study of a
biography is not appropriate.
However, can I confirm that the study
of ‘La Gloire de mon Père’ by Marcel
Pagnol is appropriate?
A: Yes, it is acceptable to study ‘La Gloire
de mon Père’ for the Author topic.
Q: I would like to study Pagnol and I
thought we might concentrate on Jean
de Florette. However, the essay in the
exemplar material refers to the
difficulties of life during the war
whereas the problems Jean faces are
very specific to his situation. Are you
going to be able to set general enough
questions which can be answered if
we have studied any book?
A: Any discussion of the problems of his
particular life would be an acceptable
response. The questions set will be of a
very general nature to permit students to
answer irrespective of what they have
studied. However, a choice of two
questions will be set on each of the
Cultural Topics and inevitably, certain
questions will be more appropriate than
others for some choices of study.
Q: I was wondering whether I could do
‘Manon des Sources’ or ‘Jean de
Florette’ by M. Pagnol as one of the
two topics. Is the study of one of
25
these two novels acceptable or do we
need to study both books?
A: Only one work of an author need be
studied, so although ‘Jean de Florette’
and ‘Manon des Sources’ are clearly
linked, it is acceptable to study just one
of them.
Q: Is it acceptable to study Gaston
Leroux and his Fantôme de l'opéra for
a cultural topic?
A: This topic is acceptable as the work of an
author, but students must be careful to
restrict themselves to the study of the
novel in essays for Unit 3; although it
would no doubt be interesting to see the
musical or film versions, these would not
be considered relevant in essays on the
work of an author.
Q: We have all already studied La gloire
de mon père by Marcel Pagnol. A
student wishes to study Simone de
Beauvoir and in particular The Second
Sex. Would it be acceptable for this
student to study Simone de Beauvoir
and Marcel Pagnol or would they
come under the same topic?
A: It is not permissible to study Simone de
Beauvoir as well as Pagnol as she could
only come under the same category as
Pagnol (author) and the Second Sex
does not fit into any of the prescribed
topics.
Q: Would ‘Au revoir les enfants’ have to
be studied as ‘the work of a director’
or could the text be studied as ‘the
work of an author’ or ‘the work of a
dramatist’ please?
A: As this was written as a film it would
have to be studied as the work of a
director. It could not be considered the
work of an author or dramatist.
Q: Can you please let me know if the
novel ‘Le Silence de la Mer’ could
count as one of the Cultural Topics for
A2? It is often part of a series of
novels by Vercors but the novel itself
offers a range of topics to discuss.
Can we study this short novel on its
own?
A: ‘Le Silence de la Mer’ is quite a short
text, so you must be confident that you
have studied it in sufficient depth to
enable students to answer examination
questions. You are strongly advised to
look at the questions on our website to
consider this issue. Provided that you
have assured yourself of this then it is
suitable.
Q: I am planning to teach Maupassant
the author as one of the Cultural Topic
options for my Yr 13 students next
year. Would 3 short stories be
sufficient to count as a collection?
A: Some of Maupassant's stories are very
short indeed and centres must be
confident that the stories they have
studied will enable the students to cover
the bullet points in the specification and
answer in sufficient depth and detail as
per the past papers on our website. Our
advice would be that, for example, if
‘Boule de Suif’ is chosen, all the stories
in that particular collection ought to be
studied.
Q: Is ‘Sac de Billes’ a suitable book for
study even though it is really an
autobiographical work?
A It is entirely appropriate for the author
topic as students will be able to discuss
characterisation, themes, techniques,
etc.
Q: Could you please confirm that it is
acceptable for examination purposes
to study ‘Journal’ by Hélène Berr?
A: We confirm that a biography is not a
subject for study under the Author
Cultural Topic. ‘Journal’ could be used as
background / one of the source materials
for the war as the period of history topic
but only as one of the source materials /
background because Period of History
questions will require facts as one would
expect in the case of history.
26
Q: I am studying Françoise Sagan’s
novel “Bonjour Tristesse” for Unit 3
Writing. I want to double check that
this is a suitable novel and will
ensure access to the best marks for
students.
A: This text is not a particularly good choice
as it is limited in themes and techniques.
However, if you do wish to study it, we
suggest that one approach to counter
this would be for students to take a
double page of an exercise book for each
chapter, divide it into 4 columns, and
make notes under the headings of plot,
characterisation, themes and techniques.
This will provide a basis for essay work
and revision (the plot column is just so
you can be sure they have understood
what is going on as there will not be a
question which just requires a summary
of the plot). This approach can be
adopted to any novel.
Q: I have a student who would like to
study René Goscinny under the
Author topic. She would like to focus
in particular on his book ‘Le petit
Nicolas’. Can you confirm this is an
acceptable author for study? In
comparing and contrasting his work,
in addition to his books, would it be
acceptable to look at some of his
comic creations such as Astérix?
A: It is permissible to study Goscinny with
relation to Le petit Nicolas and/or Astérix
but please be advised to think very
carefully as to whether these texts
contain sufficient material to enable
students to answer likely essay questions
in the sort of depth required at A-Level in
terms of analysis of themes,
characterisation and narrative technique.
The student should look carefully at the
bullet points in the specification and past
papers on our website.
Q: Would it be acceptable to study Hergé
(Tintin et le secret de la Licorne or
Tintin et le trésor de Rackham le
rouge) or Goscinny and Uderzo
(Astérix le Gaulois or Astérix le
Légionnaire)?
A: Tintin or Astérix are too insubstantial and
would not really provide students with
enough material to write a detailed essay
on themes or techniques, for example.
It is unlikely that Astérix will provide
sufficient material to answer questions
such as the relationship between
characters or the artistic techniques in
enough detail.
Q: I am reading ‘Persepolis’. The author,
Marjane Satrapi is Iranian, though, as
the book recounts, was educated at a
French school and ended up living in
France. Is this a permissible text to
study and write about/discuss in both
Units 3 and 4?
A: We can confirm that the text you suggest
is acceptable as it is in French and
intended for a French-speaking
audience.
Q: Do we study Hergé as an author or
artist?
A: He is acceptable for either topic
depending on the source material
studied, as he is both a writer and an
artist.
Q: Please let me know whether I can
study Marguerite Duras if the focus is
on ‘Hiroshima mon amour’.
A: Hiroshima mon amour was written only
as a screenplay and not as a novel. The
screenplay itself was subsequently
published, but a screenplay cannot in
itself be studied as the work of an author.
Q: Can we study Le Petit Prince? Also,
the students can talk about the
relevance and importance of the
characters, all the themes, the
different social aspects, how
characters interact, the importance of
animals and what the animals might
represent, the role of religion, adult vs
child, etc. Is this what you would
expect to be ‘sufficient depth’?
27
A: Le Petit Prince is acceptable for the
author topic. However, caution must be
exercised. Any school/college choosing
to do this book must be confident that
their students will be able to answer likely
questions in sufficient depth required at
A2 with reference to Le Petit Prince.
The reason for caution over this
particular text is that a lot of essays tend
to be very superficial and descriptive in
their approach and it may be that the
episodic structure of the work makes
students more likely to summarise plot
rather than analyse. The aspects
identified are certainly appropriate, but
the concept of ‘sufficient depth’ is not so
much which aspects are chosen as how
much detail students give in their
answers. For example, ‘sufficient depth’
would mean that a student does not just
say that an animal represents X, but
shows how the representation is
presented and what effect it has on the
overall message of the novel.
Q: Is it acceptable to study ‘Les Contes’
de Charles Perrault for our cultural
topic? Should we be studying all of
them?
A: Any collection of short stories would be
acceptable. As a guide, reference should
be made to at least three stories by an
author, but there will be no need to refer
to all the stories in a collection. If a short
story writer is chosen, a range of stories
should be studied and students will
select the ones most appropriate for any
given question. If a question asks about
just one character, then it is acceptable
to refer to just one short story.
Q: We are trying to decide on a novel to
study for French next year. We have
found one called 'Elle s'appelait
Sarah' by the French author Tatiana
de Rosnay which we would like to
use, however it was originally written
in English. Would it be possible to
study this book?
A: In those rare cases where an author has
written in both French and English, it is
permissible to study the author, but only
with reference to those works which were
originally written in French. Tatiana de
Rosnay may therefore be studied, but
‘Elle s'appelait Sarah’ was written
originally in English then translated into
French by Agnes Michaux and therefore
may not be studied.
Q: Can we study Albert Camus for the
author topic?
A: Albert Camus for the ‘author’ topic is fine.
However, in the general conversation of
the A2 speaking test, students cannot
use the same information when
discussing the two cultural topics and
would have to cover different aspects.
Any potential for overlap arising from the
fact that L’étranger (if they choose to
study that work) is set in North Africa
needs to be avoided. For example, we
would expect the student to talk about
characterisation, style etc of the book
when discussing L’étranger and for the
‘region’ topic we would expect them to
discuss their own opinions in the context
of the bullets listed in the specification
(geography, history, population etc).
Q: Can my students prepare both Prévert
and Camus for their two cultural topic
conversations for the French A-level
speaking test ie, one from the author
and one from the poet?
A: The author is a separate cultural topic to
the poet so this is acceptable.
Q: As part of the cultural topics a student
wants to study Tintin from Hergé. Is
this suitable?
A: Hergé may be studied either as an
author or an artist, but very different
approaches would be needed. You are
advised to look at the bullet points in the
specification and at the questions set in
the past papers as a guide to the areas
to be studied and the student must be
sure that there is sufficient material to
provide answers that would go into the
kind of depth required at A Level. For
28
example, if Hergé is studied as an author
then characterisation, themes, narrative
technique etc must be studied at some
depth and if as an artist then specifically
artistic techniques as well as themes and
influences should be studied. Ultimately it
is for you to decide but it is doubtful that
there is sufficient substance in the books
for the student to produce an adequate A
Level essay.
Q: A student would like to study 'Au
bonheur des dames' written by Emile
Zola and 'La boum' by Claude
Pinoteau for her two cultural topics.
Would this particular choice of novel
and film be suitable for A2 French?
A: Both choices conform to the
requirements of the specification and so
are perfectly acceptable. You are
advised to look at the bullet points in the
specification and at the questions set in
the past papers as a guide to the areas
to be studied within the novel and film.
Q: We would like to study ‘le scaphandre
et le papillon’, by Jean-Dominique
Bauby, for the cultural topic. Will this
be acceptable, even though it is an
autobiography rather than fiction?
A: We recommend that autobiographies are
not used as the basis for study under the
author topic. The questions for this topic
are set with novels and short stories in
mind and would not necessarily be well
answered with reference to factual or
autobiographical works.
Q: We are thinking of studying ‘Monsieur
Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran’ by Eric
Emmanuel-Schmitt. It has been
described as a novella but does this
qualify as 'a novel' by a French
speaking author and would it be
enough to study just that in order to
qualify for 'at least one novel' as
stated in the specification.
A: This is acceptable. It is often described
as ‘un roman’ and was published as a
single work rather than as part of a
collection of stories. It is perfectly
acceptable to study this on its own as the
work of an author.
Q: I plan on studying ‘Exercices de style’
by Raymond Queneau and wondered
whether this would be sufficient on its
own for one of the cultural topics?
A: This work does meet the requirements of
the specification in that it is a work of
fiction by a French author. However, you
are advised to look carefully at the bullet
points in the specification and at the past
papers to judge whether it will enable
students to answer likely essay questions
(eg, on themes, characters etc.) This is a
matter for the teacher's judgement.
Q: We would like to ask whether Philippe
Pozzo di Borgo's ‘Le Second Souffle’
would be suitable for study in the
context of an author from a targetlanguage speaking country.
A: The book is essentially an autobiography
and normally we advise against such
works, as by an author we mean a
writing of fiction. However, this book
does appear to be in the form of a
narration and so it would be permissible
to study this work under the topic of a
French author. Please refer to the bullet
points in the specification and past
papers on characters and techniques to
confirm that a study of this work would
enable students to answer likely
questions.
Q: Is Candide considered to be a short
story?
A: Candide is considered as a novel – it is
perfectly acceptable to answer the author
question with reference just to Candide.
German
Q: Can we study ‘Ich fühle mich so fiftyfifty’ for the period of history topic?
A: This novel would provide good
background for the topic, but in itself
would not give students sufficient facts /
analytical information for the type of
question which will be set. It would,
29
however, be an excellent novel to read
for the Author.
Q: I would like to do Kafka’s ‘Die
Verwandlung’ as one of our 2 Cultural
Topics. Will this be enough on its own
or should the students also do
another short story?
A: We can confirm that, although the normal
requirement is for a collection of short
stories to be studied, Die Verwandlung is
a substantial text and will be sufficient on
its own.
Q: Is ‘Der Vorleser’ by Bernhard Schlink
a suitable novel to study for Unit 3?
Could the students make reference to
the film and make comparisons?
A: Yes, it is a suitable novel. If the students
are studying Der Vorleser as a novel they
should concentrate on the text and not
compare with the film which exists of the
novel.
Q: Could you confirm that the novel
‘Small World’ by Martin Suter is
acceptable?
A: We can confirm that, as the novel was
first published in German, it is suitable for
study under the author topic.
Q: I am studying Theodor Storm's
novella Immensee. Is this sufficient as
a stand-alone text for discussion in
the A level exam? It is a novella, not a
novel but, as such, is a seminal work.
A: This is rather a short work - it is called an
‘Erinnerungsnovelle’. It could be
considered a sufficient stand-alone work,
but please refer to the bullets in the
specification and past papers as to the
areas of works by a chosen author which
will form the basis of questions.
Q: Can we use Ingo Schulze's 'Simple
Storys' as a text for the cultural topic?
We are concerned that the essay
questions tend to offer one of the two
questions on analysing one of the
main characters. This collection does
have characters that appear in several
different stories and who could be
chosen to answer the question, but
there is no marked build-up of the
characters profile, instead the
characters are almost faceless. There
is much to be said about how certain
characters represent the despair of
the East German provinces around
the Wende, and an interesting answer
could be given about the role that
these characters play in portraying
the confusion felt in these times.
A: Ingo Schultze's Simple Storys would be
suitable for study. Questions do not only
relate to characters but to other aspects
of the nominated author's work (as
described in the Specification) and often
extend to evaluation and/or personal
reaction. Students will not be
disadvantaged by the questions set.
Q: A student is keen to study the stories
of the Grimm Brothers and how they
reflected society in Germany at the
time. Looking through the suggested
questions, it seems to me as though
they could be applied to the Grimm
brothers?
A: Whilst we do not normally allow students
to answer a question with reference to
more than one author, the Brothers
Grimm are a special case and we are
happy to treat them as one author. To
ensure that the stories would be suitable
and allow students access to high marks,
please refer to the assessment criteria,
the specimen papers and additional
sample questions in Teaching and
learning resources on our website.
Spanish
Q: Is it acceptable to study the story
writer Manuel Rivas and his book
‘¿Qué me quieres, amor?’ as one of
the cultural topics. My only concern is
that Manuel Rivas, even though he is
Spanish, originally wrote the book in
Galician. Would that be acceptable?
A: This would be acceptable.
Q: I wish to study the picaresque novel
‘La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes, y de
30
sus fortunas y sus adversidades’. It is
a classic but the identity of the author
has never been established and the
book is therefore described as
anonymous. Can we study it?
A: We confirm that Lazarillo will be suitable
for study as an Author topic as you will
be studying the novel. The past papers
on our website show the sorts of
questions which will be set in the exam.
Q: Is it possible to study ‘El Coronel no
tiene quién le escriba’ under this
topic?
A: Yes.
Q: Is El Tunel (Sabato) considered to be
a short story?
A: It is acceptable to study El Tunel as a
Spanish novel.
Q: In previous years, I have taught La
casa de Bernarda Alba - however my
pupil is a devout Muslim girl and
would feel uncomfortable with the
sexuality in Lorca. Is there any
literature that you are able to suggest
which would be more suitable for
such a student?
A: ‘El otro árbol’ by Luis de Castresana
(about evacuation during the Spanish
Civil War) would be an appropriate book
to study with the sort of student you have
mentioned. If you ‘google’ it, you will find
plenty of resources for it, and it is very
popular with young people.
Q: I would like to teach a set of Julio
Cortázar's short stories. Is it
acceptable to choose the selection
published as 'Siete Cuentos' by
Manchester University Press (ed.
Peter Beardsell)?
A: It is permissible to study a short story
writer as an alternative to a novelist. Any
collection of short stories is acceptable
and as a guide, we say that reference
should be made to at least three stories
by the writer and that there is no need to
refer to all the stories in a collection. A
range should be studied so that the
students will be able to select the ones
most appropriate for any given question.
Please refer to the past papers and also
the exemplars on our website, to help
you gauge for your students what is
appropriate. If one of the questions asks
about just one character, then it is
acceptable to refer to just one short story
for such a question.
Q: Is it acceptable for students to study
‘La lengua de las mariposas’ by
Manuel Rivas for the study of a work
of a Hispanic author for one of the
cultural topics?
A: Provided that the novel you want to study
is in the target language and has
sufficient content to study to enable
students to produce an effective
response to the exam questions at this
level then it is suitable. La Lengua de las
Mariposas fits these requirements and it
is not a requirement of the specification
that students must refer to other works
by Rivas.
Q: I would like to teach a novel written by
a Colombian author (for A2 Spanish
cultural topics).
A: Provided the work of the author has been
produced in the target language for an
audience in Spain then this is
acceptable.
There is no problem about the book
written by a Colombian author provided
that it is written in Spanish for a Spanishspeaking audience. The fact that the
audience might be from a Spanishspeaking country/community other than
Spain itself is not a problem.
Q: Is it okay to study the Motorcycle
Diaries under the Spanish author
topic?
A: We would advise against the study of this
work. Although it does not specifically
say in the specification, the clear
implication is that the author is a writer of
fiction, whereas this is a travelogue.
31
Many questions which are likely to be
asked in Unit 3 could not really be
answered with reference to a work of
non-fiction, so students would be
disadvantaged. Please refer to the past
papers and specimen questions on our
website for clarification.
It is however, acceptable for this work to
be studied (in the original Spanish) for
general discussion in the A2 speaking
test.
A Target Language Dramatist/Poet
General
Q: How many plays/poems must
students study?
A: Students must answer the question with
reference to one play / a collection of
poems. If they wish, teachers may cover
more.
Q: Will questions be asked on the
context of a dramatist/poet?
A: No. There will be two questions on each
topic and both will be able to be
answered with reference to one play / a
collection of poems.
Q: If we study a poet, how many poems
do we need to study?
A: This will depend on the length of the
poems, but as a general rule between 6
and 10 poems would be required to
ensure sufficient material to enable
students to respond. If advice is needed
on a particular poet, please email
[email protected]
Q: Is it acceptable to study a short play?
A: We do not specify the length a work has
to be. The key consideration will be if the
centre is confident the play has sufficient
material for the depth of study that will be
required at A-level and students would
be able to write at sufficient length on the
areas suggested by the bullet points in
the specification. Students will not be
penalised purely on the grounds of the
length of the work.
Q: What do you mean precisely by the
context of the dramatist / poet’s work?
A: We will not set questions specifically on
the context of the work of a dramatist /
poet. It may, however, in some cases, be
appropriate for your students to study
some background information in order to
analyse the themes of or influences on
the artist. It is for this reason that the
bullet point is included in the
specification.
Q: The implication seems to be that
students need to know the wider
picture about the dramatist / poet eg
his life and influences and get an
overall feel for his preoccupations and
thoughts. Am I correct?
A: No. All questions on a dramatist / poet
may be answered with reference to one
play / a collection of poems and we will
not set any questions which require more
than one play / a collection of poems to
be studied.
Q: Could we study a song-writer as a
poet? (Eg Reinhard Mey)
A: No, a song-writer is classified as a
musician, and must be studied under the
musician topic. The only exceptions to
this are Jacques Brel and Georges
Brassens who are published as poets in
France.
French
Q: Would ‘Au revoir les enfants’ have to
be studied as ‘the work of a director’
or could the text be studied as ‘the
work of an author’ or ‘the work of a
dramatist’?
A: As this was written as a film it would
have to be studied as the work of a
director. It could not be considered the
work of an author or dramatist.
Q: One of my students is studying ‘Les
trois contes’ by Flaubert and I would
like to check if she could concentrate
32
only on ‘un Cœur simple’ when
writing cultural topic essays?
A: No. The specification states that if short
stories are studied then we would expect
reference to three stories unless the
essay question asks about just one
character.
Q: Would it be acceptable to do one of
Samuel Beckett's plays as a cultural
topic? He is an Irish writer and
dramatist but many of his works were
originally written in French.
Suggesting ‘En attendant Godot’ and
possibly 'Fin de partie'.
A: Fin de partie, like En attendant Godot, is
acceptable as both sources are in
French.
Q: Would Molière, with a direct reference
to ‘Le malade imaginaire’ be an
acceptable topic under the literature
heading?
A: There is no ‘literature’ topic. Molière, with
reference to ‘Le malade imaginaire’ may
be studied under the topic poet or
playwright but may not be studied
under the category of an author - this
distinction is vital when it comes to
answering the essay question in Unit 3.
Q: We have studied ‘Les Justes’ by
Albert Camus under the heading of
‘l’œuvre d’un auteur français.’
However, it says you must not answer
on ‘un auteur francophone’ if you
have studied a play. Les Justes is in
essence a play, therefore do my
students have to answer on ‘un
dramaturge français?’ (We have done
all their practice essays under the
‘auteur français’ questions). I have
just sent off their A2 orals today and
marked their section on ‘Les Justes’
under the heading of ‘l’œuvre d’un
auteur français.’ Is this ok?
A: It is correct that if you have studied a
play, students must answer the question
on the dramatist/poet topic in Unit 3.
There is an instruction to this effect on
the question paper and this must be
followed. Students who answer a
question on the author topic with
reference to a dramatist will incur a rubric
infringement. It is essential that your
students are aware of this so they are not
penalised.
For the A2 speaking test, this is not an
issue for the test itself, but the correct
topic for what you have studied is the
dramatist/poet topic.
Q: My student is reading La Fontaine.
Should he answer the ‘auteur’ or
‘poète’ question?
A: As La Fontaine wrote his fables in verse,
he should be considered as a poet. The
author category really refers to a writer of
fiction and therefore questions on
aspects such as characterisation etc
could be set and it would be difficult to
answer those with reference to the
fables.
Fernán Gómez or ‘La casa de
Bernarda Alba’ by Lorca under ‘The
work of a dramatist or poet from a
target language-country’?
A: Yes, this is acceptable.
Q: I am studying some poetry by Pablo
Neruda but was wondering if I have to
do a collection eg, ‘Madrid en el
corazon’ or some Odes or Love
poems or can they be different poems
from different collections eg, some
poems from one collection, some
Odes and some Love poems?
A: It is not a requirement that study is
limited to one collection; it is acceptable
to study poems either from one collection
or from a number of collections. If
reference is ever made to a ‘collection’ in
an examination question then it is
acceptable for students to refer to the
poems they have studied, irrespective of
whether they are from the same or
different collections.
German
A Director/Architect/Musician/Painter
Q: Is it acceptable to study Andorra by
Max Frisch?
A: Yes
General
Q: Is ‘Die Dreigroschenoper’ by Brecht a
suitable work to consider for a
student doing the dramatist topic?
The only doubt lies in that it is a
musical rather than a play, although it
is essentially a work of epic theatre.
A: This work is not appropriate as it is a
collaborative work, the music having
been written by Kurt Weil. The cultural
topics do not allow for collaborations; the
work studied should be the work of one
single dramatist, poet, author, film
director, musician etc. To study the
libretto alone would be to study only one
aspect of the work. For this reason it is
unsuitable.
Spanish
Q: Is it acceptable to study either ‘Las
bicicletas son para el verano’ by
33
Q: How many paintings / films etc must
students study for the topic on the
director / architect / musician /
painter?
A: Students must answer the question with
reference to at least one work. If they
wish, teachers may cover more than one
work. In the case of a painter, teachers
would need to be satisfied that the
painting chosen provides sufficient scope
for study; for example Picasso’s
‘Guernica’. If this is not the case, it might
be advisable to select two or more
related paintings such as Goya’s ‘Majas’.
Q: For the Director topic, can I study the
film of a book and also study the
same book for the Author topic?
A: No, there would be too much overlap of
material.
Q: The implication seems to be that
students need to know the wider
picture about the artist, eg his life and
influences and get an overall feel for
his preoccupations and thoughts. Is
this correct?
A: All questions on the artist may be
answered with reference to the detailed
study of one work and we would not set
any questions which required more than
one work to be studied.
Q: Will questions be asked on the
context of a director / architect /
musician / painter?
A: No. There will be two questions on each
topic and both will be able to be
answered with reference to one work.
Q: What do you mean precisely by the
context of the artist's work?
A: Questions are not set specifically on the
context of the work of an artist. It may,
however, in some cases, be appropriate
for your students to study some
background information in order to
analyse the themes of or influences on
the artist. It is for this reason that the
bullet point is included in the
specification.
Q: Might questions be asked about the
influences on an artist?
A: Yes. By influences we mean any element
which has a direct impact on the director
/ architect / musician / painter and which
can be seen in the work(s) studied.
Examples could include some episodes
in or aspects of the life of the artist,
people the artist had contact with, other
artists who have influenced the themes
or techniques of the works studied, or
contemporary events. It would be for the
centre or students to decide which of
these is relevant to the director / architect
/ musician / painter they have studied.
Q: Could there be a question on
techniques?
A: As one of the bullet points listed in the
specification concerns techniques, there
may be a question set on this aspect.
34
Q: Can a group of musicians be studied
as an alternative to a musician?
A: Yes, but you need to make sure that
there is sufficient resource material
available in the target language for your
students to allow them to answer a
question in the examination in depth.
Q: Is a composer acceptable as a
musician?
A: Yes.
Q: For a composer such as Bach is the
study of one symphony sufficient for
‘a detailed study of at least one work’?
A: Yes, one symphony would be
appropriate.
Q: When you say an artist, do you
consider a fashion stylist to be an
artist? (eg Coco Chanel)
A: No. A fashion designer would not be
acceptable to study under this Cultural
Topic.
Q: Could a photographer be studied
under this Cultural Topic?
A: No.
Q: Could a sculptor (eg Rodin) be
studied under this Cultural Topic?
A: No.
Q: Could a town planner be studied
under this Cultural Topic?
A: No.
Q: Does it matter if the film chosen is the
only work of note by the chosen
director?
A: The fact that the director of the chosen
film did not make other films worthy of
consideration is not a problem. The exam
questions can be answered with
reference to one film and we envisage
that most students who study the topic
will study just one film.
Q: Can students choose a singer or a
band?
A: If a singer (or a band) is to be studied as
a musician, then they must compose
their songs in the target language. It is
only the work written by the musician(s)
which can be used as source material.
Teachers must also be satisfied that
there is sufficient source material to allow
the kind of depth of study required to
enable students to answer likely essay
questions. Please refer to the bullet
points in the specification for which
aspects should be included eg themes,
techniques, influences, a detailed study
of at least one work and justified
personal reaction to the musician.
Q: When referring to the work of a
contemporary singer, should the
students refer to one of his songs or
to one of his albums?
A: A single song would probably be too
limited to allow the student to go into the
sort of depth required at A-level, so for
someone such as Gainsbourg for
example, we would advise an album or
6-10 songs, which may or may not be
from the same album. However, if a
student were to answer with reference to
a single song, we would treat any such
answer on its merits.
Q: Is it acceptable to study the songs the
musician wrote only the lyrics for?
A: If a student is writing an essay on a
musician, then we would expect
reference to be made to specifically
musical aspects of the work, whether it
be harmony, orchestration or whatever.
The danger in writing merely on the lyrics
is that the essay will be purely based on
the themes and would therefore not
contain the necessary breadth of study.
The advice is therefore that it should be
songs in which the musician wrote both
the lyrics and music which should be
studied.
Q: Can a film be studied which is the
work of two directors instead of one
(eg ‘la Cité des enfants perdus’ codirected by both Jeunet and Caro)
35
A: No, this is not permissible.
Q: Can several films by different
directors be used instead of only one,
since this would provide a better
overview of the target language
country / community?
A: You could study more than one film by
more than one director as part of your
course of study, but in the exams your
students would have to refer to one
director only.
Q: A couple of students have expressed
an interest in the study of an actor /
actress. Is this acceptable?
A: An actor would not be acceptable – we
would insist on a director as stated in the
specification.
Q: Do AQA allow the study of films which
have an 18 certificate?
A: We do not apply restrictions about moral
suitability of material or age certificates
etc; it is at the centre’s discretion as to
whether you feel the material is
appropriate to be taught to your students.
Q: Must the film studied be entirely in the
target language?
A: A film studied must have been made
primarily in the target language; a small
amount of English (or other) dialogue
would be permitted but not a film made in
English and then dubbed.
Q: Can we study a documentary film?
A: A documentary film is acceptable to be
studied under the director topic.
Q: How likely is it that there will be a
question regarding the techniques a
film director uses? If so, is the answer
required needing technical detail?
A: You are advised to look carefully at the
bullet points in the specification. As
technique is one of those bullet points,
there may be a question set in this
aspect. If a film is studied, it is inevitable
that a certain amount of technical
vocabulary will be necessary to analyse
the director’s camera work, use of space,
lighting, focus etc.
Q: If a film question mentions the themes
of the film, is it sufficient to treat one
or two themes in detail or do students
need to mention a wide variety?
A: It obviously depends on the question but
on the whole we would advise students
to deal with two or three themes in depth
in order to access the top bands of the
assessment criteria (see descriptors in
specification). Superficial coverage of
lots of points is not likely to meet the
descriptors for the highest marks.
Q: How would you expect students to
reference parts of the film? Would
they need to know which ‘chapter’
from the DVD, for example?
A: Students would be expected to show that
they know the film well and to refer to
particular scenes, just as they would be
expected to make close textual reference
if they were answering on a book. But
students would not be expected to quote
what in film terms would be no more than
the equivalent of a page number.
French - Director
Q: My students would like to study the
French film director Matthieu
Kassovitz, focusing on two of his
films in French – ‘La Haine’, and ‘Les
rivières pourpres’ (‘The Crimson
Rivers’), both readily available in
England. Will this be acceptable?
A: Both of these films are suitable; however
it is only necessary to carry out an indepth study of one film.
Q: Would ‘Au revoir les enfants’ have to
be studied as ‘the work of a director’
or could the text be studied as ‘the
work of an author’ or ‘the work of a
dramatist’ please?
A: As this was written as a film it would
have to be studied as the work of a
director. It could not be considered the
work of an author or dramatist.
36
Q: Is it acceptable to focus on a director /
author from one of the francophone
ex-colonial countries?
A: Provided the film being studied is made
in the French language, this would be
acceptable.
Q: Do we study Hergé as an author or
artist?
A: He is acceptable for either topic
depending on the source material
studied, as he is both a writer and an
artist.
Q: I was thinking of studying a French
director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, but as he
directed a lot of American films, might
he not be suitable?
A: Jean-Pierre Jeunet would be appropriate
for the director topic, but any films
referred to in the examination must be in
French. It would not be appropriate to
refer to American films.
Q: I would like to study the film ‘Les
intouchables’. However, it was
directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier
Nakache. Is that a problem since they
have directed several films together? I
would like to concentrate on ‘Les
intouchables’ but will also compare
what techniques they have used in
other films they directed as they
always work together.
A: The actual topic is the work of a single
French film director. As 'Les
intouchables' was directed by two
different people it is, unfortunately, not
acceptable to study this film.
Q: We would like to use the film ‘Paris je
t'aime’ as a source material for the
work of a director, but obviously this
film contains clips by a variety of
directors. Is this permissible?
A: This is not permissible.
Q: A student wants to study the film ‘Le
Gamin au vélo’ by Luc Dardenne
which was produced by two brothers does this rule it out?
A: The specification states that the topic is
the work of a film director, therefore it is
not permissible to study a film directed by
two people as it then becomes
impossible to indicate which one is
responsible for which elements in the
film.
Q: Can we study the film ‘Les Choristes’?
A: Provided that the film is in the French
language and directed by a French
director (as this one is) then it is
acceptable. The deciding factor is that
there must be sufficient material to study
to enable students to produce an
effective response to an examination
question for Unit 3. If you study the bullet
points in the specification and look
across the specimen questions set for
this topic which are in Teaching and
learning resources on the website, this
will help you prepare your students.
Q: Is J-P Jeunet’s ‘Un long dimanche de
fiancailles’ an acceptable film to study
under the director topic?
A: With reference to the film ‘Un long
dimanche de fiancailles’, J-P Jeunet is
acceptable for the director topic.
Q: Is it possible to study La Cage aux
Folles in the theatre section (as a
musical) rather than as a film?
A: As there was a play written before the
musical then this may be studied under
the dramatist topic. However, it would
have to be the play that is studied and
not the screenplay for the film and
students must be prepared to answer
questions in Unit 3 on the aspects
mentioned in the bullet points in the
specification.
Q: Is the film La Vie en Rose suitable for
the Director topic?
A: Questions in Unit 3 may be answered
with reference to just one film. Therefore,
it is possible to study the work of the
37
director Olivier Dahan with reference to
La vie en rose.
Q: Is the film Le syndrome du Titanic
suitable for the Director topic? This
seems to not credit a director,
although it is written and put together
by a French journalist and
environmental campaigner, Nicholas
Hulot.
A: In theory Nicholas Hulot could be studied
as a director with reference to ‘Le
syndrome du Titanic’, but you must be
sure that the film will enable the bullet
points as listed in the specification to be
covered (eg, cinematographic techniques
such as camera angles etc).
Q: My French student has just started
studying the film 'Subway' directed by
Luc Besson. Is this an appropriate
director to study and is it allowed?
A: Any film studied must have been made in
French for a French-speaking audience,
so any Luc Besson films made in English
and then dubbed would not be
appropriate. However, he would be
acceptable if the focus of study was a
film made in French.
Q: Is Claude Berri as the film director of
‘Jean de Florette’ a suitable topic?
A: This is fine.
Q: I would like to teach a film made in
French by a Senegalese producer. Is
this acceptable?
A: Provided the work of a Director has been
produced in the target language for an
audience in France then this is
acceptable.
There is no problem about the film being
in French providing it is aimed at a
French-speaking audience. The fact that
the audience might be from a Frenchspeaking country or community other
than France is not a problem.
Q: We have watched the film Persepolis
and I would like to know if this would
be suitable for study as a cultural
topic?
A: The film Persepolis would be appropriate
in principle as it was made in French,
originally, for a French-speaking
audience. However, you should look at
the past papers to make sure that
students are in a position to answer the
sorts of questions which are set.
French - Musician
Q: Can I study Edith Piaf as a musician?
A: It has been confirmed that Piaf did
indeed write some of her own songs.
Therefore, she is acceptable provided
that reference is made to the songs that
she herself wrote. However, you are
advised to look at the sample questions
on our website to ensure that the source
material you intend to use will enable
your students to answer likely questions
in adequate depth. To access a list of the
songs written by Edith Piaf, please go to
http://www.frmusique.ru/texts/p/piaf_edith
/piaf.htm.
Q: Please advise whether Jean Jacques
Goldman is a suitable choice of
musician to study as one of the
cultural topics at French A2.
A: Goldman does meet the criteria for
musician as he composes his own songs
in the target language. However, you
must be satisfied that there is sufficient
source material to allow the kind of depth
of study required at A2 to enable your
student to answer likely essay questions.
Please refer to the bullet points in the
specification and also the past papers on
our website.
Q: A student has chosen to study the
works of Django Reinhardt as the
musician topic. Is this acceptable?
A: The key point is that the topic is an
architect/painter/musician/film director.
We state that any question set may be
answered with reference to one work, but
students do not have to limit themselves
to one work. It would be quite acceptable
38
for a number of different songs to be
studied, irrespective of whether they
come from a single or several albums;
the only exception would be if the student
wished to show that a particular album
developed a particular theme or
illustrated a particular technique. The
important thing is to study the different
bullet points in the specification so that
questions on areas such as themes,
techniques, influences and a personal
reaction to the musician's work can be
answered in sufficient depth. As with a
poet or short story writer, evidence
should be given to support the points
which the student is making and this
would therefore require specific
reference to a number of songs, so
clearly the titles of the songs being
analysed need to be given.
Q: Are these singers acceptable for
study: Christophe Maé, Florent Pagny,
François Cabrel and Grégoire?
A: It is important that schools understand
our definition of a musician is someone
who writes music and not just a singer.
Research suggests that Grégoire and
Francis Cabrel do fit this category but for
the other two singers, only songs which
they themselves wrote would be relevant
to the study. It would also be advisable to
remember that in writing essays on a
musician some aspects of musicality
should be considered (eg, melodies, use
of instruments, orchestration) and not
just a study of the themes of the songs.
French – Architect
Q: Can we teach the life and work of the
Parisian town planner, Baron
Haussmann as one of our subjects for
the Cultural Topic? It would seem that
he would probably come under
‘Architect’.
A: Baron Haussmann was a town planner
and not an architect and is, therefore, not
acceptable for the Architect topic.
Q: Can we study the Swiss born architect
Le Corbusier?
A: This architect is suitable.
he is known primarily for his
sculpture?
A: Rodin is not acceptable.
Q: Please could you confirm that
Gustave Eiffel is an acceptable choice
of architect?
A: M. Eiffel is acceptable for study as an
architect.
German – Director
French – Painter
Q: Is Marc Chagall an acceptable artist to
study?
A: Unfortunately Chagall is not acceptable
as he was not born in France and only
naturalised in later life.
Q: Is there any requirement that the
painter/musician etc, is from the
classical artists or can it be a modern
artist. One of my students would like
to study Françoise Nielly? Is this
acceptable?
A: There is no requirement that the artist
should be a classical artist, only that it
should be a painter of French nationality.
Therefore, Françoise Nielly is
acceptable. As regards sculptors and
fashion designers, the broader the topic
the more difficult it becomes to devise
questions which are appropriate for all
the artists studied.
Q: Is it acceptable to study Victor
Vasarely, who is half Hungarian and
half French, for the artist topic?
A: Vasarely is not acceptable for the painter
topic as he was not born in France.
Q: Is Matisse acceptable for a 20th
century artist, even though he was
born outside of the 20th century, but
his work was mostly during the 20th?
A: Matisse is acceptable. There is no
requirement for the painter to be from the
20th century. The specification refers to a
period of 20th century history.
Q: One of our students is very keen to
study Rodin for the cultural topic.
Would this be acceptable, given that
39
Q: I really would like to choose the movie
by Marc Rothemund ‘Sophie Scholl –
Die letzten Tage’. Is it acceptable to
study just this one film?
A: Yes. All questions on the Director topic
can be answered by reference to one film
only.
Q: I would like to study a film of a recent
German director. The three I am
deciding between are ‘Wolfgang
Becker’ (‘Goodbye Lenin’), ‘Hans
Weingartner’ (‘Die fetten Jahre sind
vorbei’) and ‘Soenke Wortmann’ (‘Das
Wunder von Bern’). What do you
think?
A: Any of the films mentioned would be
suitable.
Q: I would like to study a director but
having done coursework for the past
few years have no idea how to teach
film and how much knowledge
students would need. Can you help
please?
A: One film is the minimum requirement.
‘Goodbye Lenin’ and ‘Das Leben der
Anderen’ are both popular choices
among centres but obviously not the only
possibilities.
For further guidance, please see the
marked exemplar essays on our website.
Q: Can we study the film ‘Das Leben der
Anderen’ by Florian Henckel von
Donnersmarck?
A: Yes.
Q: Is it acceptable to study the film
director Oliver Hirschbiegel, and
focusing mainly on the film ‘Das
Experiment’. It would appeal to Year
13s as some have covered the
Stanford Experiment in Psychology. Is
this acceptable or does the lack of
connection to Germany mean that it
might not be ideal?
A: It is acceptable to study Oliver
Hirschbiegel’s film ‘Das Experiment’
under the director topic. Provided that a
film is made in German for a Germanspeaking audience, it is acceptable under
this topic.
Q: We have been working on Edgar Reitz’
lengthy TV film/saga ‘Heimat’, all three
series. How much of the filmed
material will the students be expected
to use in their answers? The three
series in total run to more than 20
episodes with a running time of over
50 hours. We have only studied
parts/certain episodes from the three
series, but what would be the
minimum requirement/expectation as
examiners as regards an answer?
A: Students need to have studied sufficient
of the material in sufficient depth to be
able to access the questions and to
access the highest marking bands.
Please refer to the assessment criteria in
the specification and for past papers and
questions please refer to our website.
Whilst ‘Heimat’ is acceptable for study
under this topic, it can be problematic
because of precisely the issues you have
encountered.
Q: Can our students study the film ‘Die
Fremde’, directed by Feo Aladag, even
though a proportion of the film is in
Turkish?
Having considered various points (the
fact that it is listed as a German film in
the International Film List, the fact that
the themes clearly relate to German
society, the fact that students are using
their German language skills with the
German sub-titles), we have decided that
‘Die Fremde’ should be accepted for
study under the director topic even
though some scenes are spoken in
Turkish.
40
Q: Would the film ‘Der rote Baron’ be
acceptable as one cultural topic?
A: Yes, in the section on the work(s) of a
German film director, architect, musician
or painter and the students would then
have to study a major work/works by
Nikolai Müllerschön, which include ‘Der
rote Baron’. The work must be studied in
the original German version.
Q: Can I study the film ‘Yoko’?
A: We agree that the Director is German
with a film history, albeit with largely
children's films. The film ‘Yoko’, is a film
for children based on a book for children
and whilst this does not preclude the
work, you must be aware of the nature of
questions set in the writing section and
decide if such a film could adequately
answer them.
You can consider this film but we would
not advise it or offer it to learners for this
unit.
Q: Is it acceptable to study the film
director F W Murnau? We would be
looking at Murnau generally, but the
film that we would be looking at is Der
Letzte Mann.
A: We can confirm that Murnau’s ‘Der
Letzte Mann’ is eligible for study as it
was made in German for a German
audience.
Q: Would Martin Luther and Fatih Akins's
film 'Gegen die Wand' be suitable
topics for German A2 cultural topic?
A: Any film made originally in German for a
German-speaking audience is suitable.
German - Musician
Q: Would it be possible to study
Schubert as a musician, concentrating
only on his Lieder? In particular how
he puts the work of Goethe to music
or would this be seen as
concentrating on Goethe as opposed
to Schubert? Also, how many of these
Lieder would I need to study?
A: Yes, it would be acceptable to focus the
study of Schubert’s work on Lieder which
are based on poems by Goethe.
However, as this is coming under the
musician topic, the focus should not be
on the poems from a literary perspective
in the way it would be if the poems
themselves were being studied as the
work of a dramatist / poet. The focus
must be on Schubert’s work, not
Goethe’s.
Where songs are being studied under the
musician topic, we recommend 6-10
songs are covered.
Q: Can we study the German group 'die
Prinzen' for the Kultur Dossier
section?
A: Yes. Die Prinzen are eligible for study
under the musician topic. Teachers are
advised to ensure there is sufficient
material to allow the kind of depth of
study required at A2 to enable students
to answer likely exam questions.
Students would need to study, in depth,
6-10 songs.
Q: My student would like to study the
lead singer of the pop group ‘Wir Sind
Helden’ - Judith Holofernes. Is this
acceptable?
A: Pop singers are allowed provided they
write their own songs. Students would
need to study, in depth, 6-10 songs.
German – Painter
Q: Can we study the German painter and
sculptor Anselm Kiefer for the A2
German cultural topics?
A: The topic requires the study of a painter,
not a sculptor. Anselm Kiefer would be
suitable provided your students focused
on his painting. His sculptures would not
be a suitable focus for study.
Q: Is it possible for a student to study
work by Gustav Klimt?
41
A: As Klimt was born in a German-speaking
country then it is perfectly acceptable for
him to be studied for this Cultural Topic.
Spanish - Director
Q: We are looking to do Iñárritu for one
of the Cultural Topics and are
considering studying ‘Amores Perros’
and ‘Babel’. ‘Babel’ is in English for
the most part – will this present a
problem if studying this director? If so
we will do Almodóvar.
A: As the film ‘Babel’ is mainly in English it
would not be suitable, films must
principally be in the target language; if
you do want to study this film director,
however, it would be sufficient for you to
study ‘Amores Perros’ on its own,
provided that you studied it in sufficient
depth. Almodóvar would, of course, be
suitable too.
Q: Is it possible to do the films of the
Dardenne brothers (ie two people?)
A: The topic is the work of a film director,
therefore, it is not permissible to study a
film directed by two people as it becomes
impossible to indicate which one is
responsible for which elements in the
film.
Q: My class have studied the work of
Guillermo del Toro but as he did not
actually direct some of the films to
which he is connected can students
still write about such films in their
essay?
A: Students can only write about the films
that Guillermo del Toro has actually
directed himself.
Q: For the work of a director I have
chosen a film by Emilio Martínez
Lázaro. Is this acceptable?
A: Yes as long as the film studied for Emilio
Martínez Lázaro is in Spanish.
Q: Please could you confirm whether the
Spanish-Chilean film director
Alejandro Amenabar, with a focus on
his film 'Mar Adentro', would be
suitable for the cultural topic?
A: Yes, it is suitable to study this film. All
references must be to his Spanish films
only.
Spanish - Musician
Q: Can Enrique Iglesias be considered as
the Musician?
A: Our definition of ‘musician’ is someone
who has written their own songs, so
provided that reference to the songs that
he himself wrote is used this will be
acceptable. However, you are also
advised to look at the past papers and
sample questions on the website, to
ensure that the source material you
intend to use will enable your students to
answer likely questions in adequate
depth.
Q: Could we choose Sharika as an artist
and analyse some songs, her
background and charitable work, etc?
A: If a singer is to be studied as a musician,
this must be someone who composes
their own songs in the target language.
Teachers must also be satisfied that
there is sufficient source material to allow
the kind of depth of study required at A2
to enable students to answer likely essay
questions. The focus for study must be
the musician’s artistic output rather than
their background and charitable work.
Past papers show the types of questions
that are set for this topic and the
assessment criteria demonstrate the sort
of evidence that is required.
Q: A student has decided to study a
Spanish singer, Manu Chao and
although he does sing in Spanish (and
French, and English) and his parents
are Spanish, he is a French national.
Is it acceptable to study this artist?
A: Where the work being studied involves
the target language, it is the language of
the work rather than the country of origin
of the person who produced it which
determines whether it is appropriate as a
subject of study. Therefore, provided that
42
students study the music of Manu Chao
which was written in Spanish, rather than
his other works, to the depth required for
study at A2, this is acceptable. Please
look at the past papers on our website for
examples of the types of questions set
on this topic.
Q: My students would like to study ‘Maria
llena de gracia’. However, the director
is American born so is this
acceptable?
A: The film is suitable because it is in
Spanish and aimed at a Spanishspeaking audience. Any film(s) that are
referred to in the exam must be in
Spanish for a Spanish-speaking
audience.
Q: Is Carlos Iglesias's film ‘Un Franco, 14
pesetas’ about Spanish migration to
Switzerland in the 1960s acceptable?
How much do you have to focus on
the director, as this was his first film
as director?
A: Provided that it is in Spanish and
intended for a Spanish-speaking
audience then in principle the film is fine.
The teacher should judge whether there
is sufficient scope in this film in order that
students can respond in sufficient depth.
All questions on the Director topic can be
answered by reference to one film only.
Overlapping of Two Cultural Topics
General
Q: Is it acceptable if two topics overlap
with common themes, eg repression
and authoritarianism / the same
period of history, etc?
A: Such an approach is acceptable, but in
the conversation section of the A2
Speaking Test, students cannot use the
same information when discussing the
two Cultural Topics and would have to
cover different aspects, If the two chosen
topics were the Author topic, for example
and a period of History, we would expect
students to talk about characterisation,
style etc of the book in the first topic, and
in the second to talk about their own
opinions and the opinions others gleaned
from several sources about the events
studied.
French
Q: Could I teach ‘La France sous la
Résistance’ as the topic la France au
20ème siècle and study the book ‘Un
sac de Billes’ by Joffo for the topic
l’oeuvre d’un auteur français? These
two Cultural Topic areas tackle the
same theme, which is La France
during WW2.
A: Such an approach is acceptable but in
the conversation section of the A2
Speaking Test, students cannot use the
same information when discussing their
two Cultural Topics and would have to
cover different aspects. When discussing
a novel, we would expect them to talk
about, for example, characterisation and
the style of the book and when
discussing the period of history we would
be looking for their own opinions and the
opinions of others gleaned from other
sources about the events studied. Un
Sac de billes would not be sufficient
preparation on its own for students to
answer questions on a period of history
as it has virtually no information about
the main events; people, etc.
Q: We are planning to study Troyat and
in particular ‘Toute ma vie’ as our
Author module. Is it OK to do the
History module alongside
concentrating on WW2 and the
German occupation? Likely important
people would be Petain, De Gaulle and
/ or Jean Moulin.
A: It is acceptable for your students to study
these two Cultural Topics; please note,
however, that when the student talks
about these two topics in his / her
speaking test he / she must not use the
same information and must cover
different aspects or the mark for
interaction would be affected.
43
Q: I was wondering whether the following
combination is advisable: The film ‘La
Haine’ with the novel ‘Kiffe Kiffe
Demain’. Is there too much overlap
with regard to the theme of
immigration?
A: The combination is perfectly acceptable
but if the centre is conducting its own
speaking tests then different sorts of
questions should be asked, not
concentrating on immigration in both
cases (eg, for some students they could
concentrate on the characters of the
novel and the themes of friendship or
violence for the film and for others
themes of the novel and cinematographic
techniques for the film).
Q: I am concerned there may be too
much overlap between Joseph Joffo:
Un sac de billes and Louis Malle: Au
revoir les enfants. Although the story
line is very different, and one would
comment on a director rather than a
writer, they both cover themes of
Jews and occupation in France. Is this
combination acceptable?
A: This combination is absolutely fine. One
would be studied as a novelist and the
other as a film director so the questions
in the speaking test could also be very
different.
German
Q: I was hoping to do the following as
preparation for the Cultural Topic:
• Study the division and reunification of Germany as a period
of history
• Use the film ‘Goodbye Lenin’ as
part of the preparation for this
• Read ‘Ich fühle mich so fifty-fifty’,
again as part of our preparation
Would it be appropriate in the
speaking test to discuss the film and
the book as the two parts to the
conversation? I know they are on the
same topic, but they are different
works and come from different areas
of the specification. Also, can you
please confirm that students can use
the same information in the
conversation as the writing paper?
A: The book and the film that you plan to
use for preparation for the period of
history Cultural Topic are acceptable;
however whilst the film will provide good
background information for the end of the
division of Germany, and the text details
life around the same time and feelings
after the re-unification, on their own they
will not be sufficient preparation for the
period of history topic. Examiners will
expect an analysis of events / people /
influences etc for this and you would
need to be confident that your students
had studied sufficient breadth of material
to have the facts and background that
they will need. Please consider the
specimen questions on our website and
the bullet points in the specifications on
this point.
A detailed study of the text you mention
would be more appropriate for the Author
topic and would work very well for that
topic. Also a detailed study of the film
you mention would work well for the Film
Director topic.
We can confirm that students can refer to
the same Cultural Topics in the Speaking
and Writing exams although of course
the questions that the examiner asks in
the Speaking exam may not have the
same focus as those in the Writing exam.
With regard to discussing the film and the
book that you have listed – that is fine,
provided that your students are prepared
to talk about them as two separate
Cultural Topics, i.e. one as the work of
an author and one as the work of a film
director. If they have only studied them
as part of their preparation for the Period
of History topic, then again they would
not be sufficient; students must speak
about TWO Cultural Topics in the
Speaking exam.
44
Q: Is it acceptable to study, for example,
‘Ich fühle mich so fifty-fifty’ for the
Author Topic and also study the fall of
the wall / reunification for the Period
of History Topic or would you
consider that there was unacceptable
overlap in this combination?
Q: Ideally we wish to study: a) ‘Das
Brandopfer’ by Albrecht Goes; b)
Germany 1933-1945. We were
wondering if this would still be
allowed as the two topics are
interlinked, as this fictional book is
about the persecution of the Jews in
Germany under Hitler.
Q: We have decided to study ‘Goodbye
Lenin’ and the work of its director
Wolfgang Becker as well as post-1945
Germany (an overview) and in depth a
divided Germany at the end of WW2
and the construction of the Berlin Wall
in 1961 and what this meant for
Germany?
A: It is acceptable for your students to study
these combinations of Cultural Topics;
please note, however, that when the
student talks about these two topics in
his / her speaking test he / she must not
use the same information and must
cover different aspects or the marks for
interaction will be affected.
Q: Would it be possible for me to study
Gudrun Pausewang's ‘Die letzten
Kinder von Schewenborn’ / ‘Die
Wolke’ or do I need to study more
demanding material like ‘Effie Briest’
or Kafka's ‘Trial’?
A It is acceptable to study Der Vorleser and
a film about WWII as long as the student
does not repeat the same material in the
discussion of the two topics in the A2
speaking test eg, by focussing on literary
technique for the novel rather than the
events of the period. However, if you do
feel you'd rather avoid the risk of a
student introducing the same content,
then the Pausewang novels which you
suggest would be fine.
Q: We would like to study the text
‘Damals war es Friedrich’ by Hans
Peter Richter, alongside a historical
and cultural topic of ‘die Zeit des
Nationalsozialismus’. As the book is a
work of fiction featuring the fortunes
of a Jewish family and set during the
early years of WWII, the two topics
clearly compliment each other, but we
wanted to be sure that this was
acceptable.
A: Combining the text ‘Damals war es
Friedrich’ with the period of history ‘die
Zeit des Nationalsozialismus’ is not a
problem for Unit 3 because students only
write about one topic. For the A2
speaking test, the two topics must be
treated discretely, even though it is clear
that they are linked and sufficient
material within each topic must be
covered to enable both topics to be fully
explored without overlap.
Q: I would like to study F Dürrenmatt’s
novel Der Richter und sein Henker as
the work of an author and F.
Dürrenmatt’s Der Besuch der alten
Dame as the work of a dramatist. Am I
allowed to choose the same author as
an author and as a dramatist with
students studying different texts?
A: It is acceptable to study a play and a
novel by the same writer to cover the two
topics ‘The work of an author’ and ‘the
work of a dramatist’. However, students
cannot answer the question on the work
of a dramatist in Unit 3 by referring to Der
Richter and sein Henker or the question
on the work of an author by referring to
Der Besuch der alten Dame; the author
question must be answered with
reference to a novel and the dramatist
question with reference to a play.
Q: One of my students wants to study
Berlin during the period of the Wall
and we are also studying the film Das
Leben der Anderen. Does this
constitute a clash?
45
A: The Berlin Wall is acceptable for a 20th
century history topic, however the entire
history of the Berlin Wall might be too
extensive and it might be better to focus
on either the building of or the Fall of the
Wall. You may be better to focus on
1961-89 as 1945-89 risks being too
broad a period.
It is acceptable to study the film Das
Leben der Anderen and post-war
Germany up to 1989 provided students
avoid overlap in the A2 speaking test by
not repeating the same material under
both topics (eg focus on cinematic
technique, characterisation etc in the film
and reserve discussion of historical
events for the period of history).
Q: We are studying the Berlin Wall (1961reunification in 1990) and BerlinBrandenburg as a region. Is it
appropriate to study Berlin for the
region topic as well or would it be too
close to the historical topic? The
possible alternative I have planned is
to study the Black Forest (BadenWuerttemberg).
A: The proposed (1961-1990) period is
acceptable. The key consideration is that
source material for whatever period you
choose will allow students to study at A2
level, to cover the bullet points in the
specification and to answer the exam
question (see past papers on our
website) in such a way as to achieve the
highest mark bands (see criteria for
assessment in the specification).
The Fall of the Wall and the Reunification
is acceptable as a period of history but
the events leading up to the Fall of the
Wall would need to be studied.
Any region where the target language is
spoken is suitable. It is fine to study
Berlin on its own as a region, as it’s of
sufficient size to constitute a region in
itself. However, history is just one of the
bullets to be studied in the region topic.
There is a danger, particularly in the case
of a city such as Berlin, that some kind of
hybrid emerges which is neither the
study of a period of history (which cannot
be tied to a region) nor the study of a
region (which cannot be tied to a
particular period in history). Of course the
history of Berlin can be included in the
study of Berlin as a region, but other
aspects (population, industry, topography
etc) will need to be studied also if
students are to access examination
questions.
Q: I am studying the Democratic
Revolution and Reunification and
covered several individuals who were
influential but have focussed on
Gorbatschow and Honnecker. Does it
matter that Gorbatschow is not
German?
A: It is not a problem if some of the suitable
historical figures come from outside the
country in question when studying a
period of 20th century history. It is
inevitable that some of the major
influences will be from outside the
country. However, when referring to such
individuals, it is important that the focus
must be maintained on their influences
on the target language country.
Q: Is it acceptable to do the historical
element looking at East & West
Germany 1945-1990 and for the other
topic to be on the German film
director, Wolfgang Becker, and his
film Goodbye Lenin?
A: It is perfectly acceptable to do the film
and period of history that you suggest
providing students cover different
aspects in the A2 speaking test, as they
will not be credited for covering the same
material twice.
Q: We are covering a period of 20th
century history (the pre-war Nazi
period 1933-39) and a German director
(Tom Tykwer). Can the second
personality be Leni Riefenstahl, the
film director, or does this overlap too
much with the second cultural topic
(Tom Tykwer)? As part of the
46
historical topic, we are asked to cover
at least two key personalities of the
time.
A: There is no problem with looking at Leni
Riefenstahl as one of the key individuals
from the period of history and studying
the work of Tom Twyker as a film
director. As long as the student does not
repeat the same material in part two of
the A2 speaking test (in which case
credit would only be given once) there is
no issue. The key individuals are just one
aspect of the period of history and the
work of Leni Riefenstahl is very different
from the work of Tom Twyker, so
repetition of identical material by the
student is unlikely.
Spanish
Q: I am planning to study the following
with my student:
•
•
‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba’, obra
teatral de Federico García Lorca.
La película ‘Cría cuervos’ del
director aragonés Carlos Saura.
The play and the film have many links
in common such as repression /
authoritarianism and will have
relevant connections with Franco’s
Regime and the study of the role of
women in the Spanish society.
A: The works you propose to study with
your student are appropriate. Please do
note, however, that for the Speaking Test
the student is required to discuss both
the Cultural Topics they have studied
and must be prepared to discuss
different aspects of them.
Q: Can we study Cuba under the region
topic and then the Cuban Revolution
under the history topic?
A: It is acceptable for your students to study
these two Cultural Topics; please note,
however, that when the student talks
about these two topics in his / her
speaking test he / she must not use the
same information and must cover
different aspects or the mark for
Interaction would be affected.
Q: My student is studying a period of 20th
century history: ‘La dictadura de
Pinochet en Chile’ and she is also
studying ‘Cronicas de una muerte
anunciada’ by Gabriel Garcia
Marquez. She would like to write
about the ‘dictadura’ and talk about
the novel and the author as her
second topic. Is this acceptable?
A: It is acceptable for your student to study
the dictatorship of Pinochet in Chile for
the topic of a period of 20th century
history and to study Cronica for the
author topic. When your student
discusses the two topics in the speaking
test she must cover them as two, distinct
topics; for example in discussing the
novel we would expect it to focus on
characterisation, the style of the book,
etc and for the period of history we would
expect the student to discuss the events
of the period covered, drawing on the
various source materials she should
have covered for the topic. Repetition of
material will not attract marks.
Q: A student has been on holiday in
Cuba and this has led to a discussion
about the Cuban Missiles Crisis and
the early days of Fidel Castro. Would
this be an acceptable topic to study?
A: The Cuban Missiles Crisis is acceptable
as long as the content covered is not too
narrow. The ‘period of history’ topic
should cover more than just the study of
one or two individuals. Whilst one person
might form an important part of the study
of a particular period it could not be
guaranteed that students would be able
to answer any of the questions if they
had only studied one person. Please
refer to the bullet points in the
specification and past papers on our
website
Q: Is there is too much crossover in
these 2 topics: The Mexican
Revolution and the novel, which deals
with the aftermath of the revolution,
47
from the standpoint of the central
character? Is this too restrictive as
they are 2 separate areas (Historical
and Literature) and would they be
acceptable?
A: Such an approach is acceptable, but in
the general conversation of the A2
speaking test, students could not use the
same information when discussing the
two topics and would have to cover
different aspects. For ‘El Gesticulador’
we would expect students to talk about
characterisation, style of the book etc,
and for the Mexican Revolution we would
expect them to express their own
opinions and the opinions of others
gleaned sources about the events
studied.
Q: We want to study Como Agua para
Chocolate for the study of an author
and Amores Perros for the director.
As they are both related to Mexico, is
this too much overlap?
A: The book and film are set almost 100
years apart, so there should be no
overlap. The focus should not be on the
theme of Mexican identity and culture in
both.
Q: My students want to study Guillermo
del Toro. They are looking in depth at
El Laberinto del Fauno. For the
second topic they want to study a
period of 20th century history,
specifically the Spanish Civil War. Is
there too much overlap between the
two areas and are they appropriate to
study together?
A: It is acceptable to study these two
cultural topics, but students must not
cover the same content during the A2
speaking test. Repetition of material will
not attract marks.
Overlapping of a Cultural Topic with
the General Topics set for A2
Q: I am concerned that the book we are
studying for the Author topic deals
mainly with racism. If in the A2
Speaking test the student were
offered a card on racism, and chose it,
they would, in effect, spend 10
minutes talking about racism. Will the
examiner (teacher or visiting), have
the option of avoiding cards which
overlap with the Cultural Topics
themes?
A: As far as overlap with Cultural Topics is
concerned for the Part 1 cards, it is not
possible to give a blanket ruling on this.
Part of the teacher-examiner’s
preparation is to look at the scope of the
individual cards and make a judgement
as to whether there is the possibility of
overlap of material in terms of what their
students have studied. If so, then the
next suitable combination of cards should
be offered to the student. Please refer to
the Instructions for the Conduct of the
Examinations for further guidance.
Q: We are studying a film and are worried
that as it links so deeply with two
other major A2 topics – immigration
and social issues – it will be difficult
to avoid overlap with the topics set for
the ‘arguing a point of view’ task at
the start of the oral exam. Will this
mean that we should avoid discussing
anything relating to immigration or
social issues when discussing the
film (which would be difficult) or that
we will need to limit our use of cards
for the argument task to avoid
overlap?
A: As far as overlap with Cultural Topics is
concerned for the Part 1 cards, it is not
possible to give a blanket ruling on this.
Part of the teacher-examiner’s
preparation is to look at the scope of the
individual cards and make a judgement
as to whether there is the possibility of
overlap of material in terms of what their
students have studied. If so, then the
next suitable combination of cards should
be offered to the student. Please refer to
the Instructions for the Conduct of the
Examinations for further guidance.
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