During my A levels I qualified as a tennis coach as well as completing a CSLA course, which enables individuals to coach different sports, as I both enjoyed sports but also wanted to get a job which would be useful in my chosen career path as a teacher.

After A Levels, I decided to work full-time and complete a four-year degree in Early Childhood Studies in order to gain valuable experience. I worked for two years as a Nursery Manager and SENCO, and then worked for two years as a Teaching Assistant in a Special School. All of my experiences were really useful with regards to the PGCE, and I would recommend getting as much experience as possible before applying for the course.

I decided to follow the PGCE with MFL as it appealed to me because I had 2 languages at A Level (French and German) as well as speaking conversational Spanish. Although I hadn’t studied any of the languages formally since A Levels, I decided that I would go for the interview as I thought it would really help me to get a job after the course, due to the new primary languages framework.

I feel that I have learnt a lot from taking the Primary Modern Languages option alongside the PGCE, because it has given me a wealth of ideas to use when both teaching primary languages, but other subjects too.

I went to Leipzig, Germany for a four week placement abroad and, although it was hard work, I had a brilliant time, and my language skills improved immensely, so much so that by week two of the placement I was teaching full length lessons using spoken and written German.

Not only did the placement abroad help improve my language skills and intercultural understanding, but my confidence in teaching a class was surprising. Although I had been a confident teacher before, after coming back from the placement, I really felt that I could achieve my full potential on the course.

I also made some good friends in Germany, and have exchanged details with the Headteacher of the school, and am going to set up a school exchange between the school I was at in Germany, and my school that I will complete my NQT year in.

The potential for MFL in helping to get a job is amazing. I went to borough interviews in London, and kept being told that with MFL I would be such an asset to any school.

I was one of the first in the year to get a job (in February), which I got offered by one of the Headteachers from an interview panel in London.  I really do put this down to having MFL…I have also been told that I will be subject leader for MFL and will be able to implement the framework into my school, which is such a big opportunity to have.

I really would recommend taking the MFL option alongside the PGCE, because it really will have an impact on how attractive your job application looks, as nearly all schools ask if you have MFL.

Online Prospectus

Our PGCE Teacher Training Prospectus for September 2012 entry will provide you with further detailed information about all of our course options and programmes of study (online version available shortly).

Please contact us if you wish to request a hard copy version either through email: pgceinfo@uea.ac.uk or telephone: (+44) (0)1603 592855.