Share your passion for language and culture to build international understanding
Year of entry: 2025 (September)
Join us online or in person to find out more about postgraduate study at York.
Upcoming eventsThis course qualifies you to teach modern languages at 11-16 (with post-16 enhancement).
For many children, school is the first opportunity to learn a foreign language. As a language teacher you will not only help them to communicate, but deepen their understanding of other cultures and promote international tolerance and understanding.
We want to make sure that you have all the options you need to become the teacher you want to be. That's why we give you a range of opportunities to make your course your own.
We offer French, German and Spanish as a first or second language. We strongly encourage you to study two languages as schools expect you to be able to teach your first language to GCSE/A-level and your second language to at least KS3, ideally to GCSE. You'll attend sessions to develop your own language skills, in particular your second language.
This course is delivered through a University-based core route and through our partnership with the Nicholas Postgate Academy Trust (NPCAT). This course is delivered through university-centred and lead partner routes.
Please reference our course codes when applying. The course codes for PGCE Modern Languages (Spanish with French or German) are
PGCE Modern Languages (Spanish with French)
PGCE Modern Languages (Spanish with German)
On successfully completing this course you will be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which is awarded by the Department for Education (DfE).
The training I receive at University is so different from my undergraduate degree in its challenges and its outcomes, and I leave every session feeling like I’ve acquired or improved my life skills. Being around other trainee teachers is also a brilliant feeling, as you form a community of people who can encourage and provide tips for one another to develop daily.Beth, PGCE studentRead more about Beth's experience.
In its most recent evaluation, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) awarded our PGCE programme a Grade 2: Good.
Your study at the University and your practical experience in schools will work together to help you develop the theoretical knowledge and practical skills you need to be a successful teacher.
Throughout the course, you’ll develop and consolidate your understanding of what constitutes effective teaching.
You’ll spend two thirds of your learning time in school settings, with the rest of your time spent at the University receiving training. While on placement, you'll receive ongoing, regular support from your tutors when they visit you in school to observe you teach and help you reflect on your developing practice.
This course will build on your experiences in schools and provide opportunities to explore a variety of approaches to teaching Modern Foreign Languages. You will learn specific strategies including how to teach grammar and phonics, plan lessons, reflect on your own and observed teaching, and use ICT to enhance your practice. These will help you to develop into an effective and innovative MFL teacher.
This course is worth 60 Masters-level credits, which you can put towards a Masters degree through Accreditation of Prior Credited Learning (APCL).
Over the course of your two secondary teaching placements you’ll have the opportunity to work with different age groups (including gaining some post-16 experience), with different abilities and with students of varying dispositions. You’ll experience a variety of schools and subject departments.
You’ll experience the pastoral side of each school through active involvement with a tutor group. You will be able to engage with the wider life of each school by participating in school trips, parents’ evenings, open evenings, events such as school concerts and lunchtime/after school clubs.
You'll start your second placement teaching about 50% of an average teacher's timetable. You may be able to increase this to around 75% as your placement goes on.
Before starting a placement that forms part of your course, you are likely to be asked by the placement provider to sign a confidentiality agreement. This is to ensure that you do not disclose any information that is confidential to the placement provider.
Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.
I did not anticipate how accepting my placement school would be. Trainees are treated no differently to qualified teachers, being given the same amount of respect and responsibility. It is unbelievably rewarding to be accepted into a school where everyone works together to make a positive impact on the progress of pupils.Jessa, PGCE studentRead more about Jessa's experience.
| Study mode | UK (home) | International and EU |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time (1 year) | £9,250 | £25,900 |
Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.
UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.
Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.
You will be expected to arrange your own transport to and from placements. The cost of this will vary depending on the location of your placements and your personal situation. We'll make every effort to place you in a school that you are able to travel to easily.
Successful applicants must undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) enhanced check. The fee for this is £44.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.
You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.
Participation in the PGCE course is an active process. Although there are lectures and presentations, much of your learning will come from workshops, seminars and school and classroom activities.
Trainees come to the course with a range of qualifications, employment backgrounds and interests. Throughout the course you will be encouraged to work collaboratively, sharing your experience, knowledge and technical expertise. Activities emphasise teamwork and require you to share the responsibility for your learning.
Throughout the course, you will be guided by mentors in your placement schools and supported by your university tutors.
The PGCE course follows the format of a school academic year, starting in September and finishing in June. The exact dates will depend on the term dates of placement schools, which we will confirm when making offers.
Our Modern Foreign Languages Resources Room contains subject specific materials, language learning magazines and journals, textbooks and examples of teaching and assessment files.
The Department of Education is located in Derwent College, on the west part of our campus. Most of your teaching will take place nearby on Campus West.
School placements take place across the region. We take many factors into consideration when allocating placements and will work with you to ensure you can get to your placement safely and easily.
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.
You'll complete three academic assignments:
The primary aim of the course is to enable you to meet, and ideally exceed, the Teachers' Standards and be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). You will also be awarded a PGCE from the University of York at Masters level.
Most of our graduates become teachers, but the skills you learn will open other career paths too.
| Typical offer | |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate degree | 2:2 or equivalent in Spanish. We also accept combined honours degrees where Spanish makes up at least 50% of the award. If you would like to specialise in two languages but have only previously studied Spanish, you may still be considered on the condition that you complete a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course. If your undergraduate degree is not in Spanish or a related subject, we may still may be able to offer you a place if you also have a postgraduate degree in Spanish or Grade B in A level Spanish. If your undergraduate degree is not at least 50% Spanish, we may require you to undertake a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course prior to starting your PGCE. If you are a native speaker of Spanish, you may be considered for the course even if your degree is not in a related subject. |
| Other international qualifications | Equivalent qualifications from your country |
Further information about government requirements for teacher training.
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
| Minimum requirement | |
|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic and Indicator) | 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component |
| Cambridge CEFR | B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component |
| Oxford ELLT | 7, minimum of 6 in each component |
| Duolingo | 120, minimum 105 in all other components |
| LanguageCert Academic | 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 459-494, with 426-458 in all other components |
| Skills for English | B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component |
| PTE Academic | 61, minimum 55 in each component |
| TOEFL | 87, minimum 21 in each component |
| Trinity ISE III | Merit in all requirements |
For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.
You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.
The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.
After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.
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