‘At a glance’oral arrangements information for lesser-taught languages or for those not taught at your school

Language / GCSE / International GCSE & Edexcel Certificate / GCE / Language
Arabic / Arabic, Greek, Japanese and RussianGCSEs feature a compulsory oral unit which must be conducted at the centre. It is Edexcel marked. No oral test material is sent out.
If you have no teacher in place to conduct the oral, your student can enter at another centre as a private candidate or you could seek a host centre for the orals – the following Centres for external students link may be useful. (We cannot provide further information about other centres.)Centres may apply a levy for external candidates.
An alternative short course (Written language) GCSE is available which tests reading and writing skills
Please also refer to the relevant GCSE administrative support guide, oral unit FAQs and thevoiced over presentation for GCSE lesser taught languages / GCEs in Arabic, Greek and Japanese do not haveoral units. / Arabic
Greek / Greek
Japanese / Japanese
Russian / GCEs in Russian, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Urdu and Italian all have compulsory oral units.Stimulus cards are sent out for the AS units but no oral test material is produced for A2 orals.
Oral exams are usually conducted with the teacher but a GCE London orals service is available for Russian, German, Spanish, Italian and Urdu– Apply before 14th February. More details are given about this and our Visiting Examiner service (French/Spanish/German) option in the GCE administrative support guide.
If necessary, students can enter as private candidates at another centre or you could seek a host centre for the oral exam – please see theCentres for external studentslink. (We cannot provide further information about other centres.) Centres may apply a levy for external candidates.
NB: The GCE in Chinese only features an AS oral unit and, unlike other languages, a Chinese speaker is NOT required to conduct the oral. It can accommodate MandarinorCantonese speakers.
Please also refer to the oral unit FAQs. / Russian
Chinese / GCSE Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Urdu oral units feature teacher-marked controlled assessments. The teacher marks are sample-moderated. Please refer to the GCSE administrative support guidefor GCSE Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Urdu as well as ouroral unit FAQs.No oral test material is sent outalthough some ‘open interaction’ tasks can be downloaded from our website.
If necessary, studentscan enter asprivate candidatesat another centre or you could seek a host centre for the oral assessments – the following Centres for external students link may be useful. (We cannot provide further information about other centres.) Centres may apply a levy for external candidates.Teachers should also refer to theMFL Speaking Controlled Assessments - Teacher Support Book.
An alternative GCSE short course (Written language) is available which tests reading and writing skills (no listening and speaking). This is a ‘half GCSE’ and does not feature in KS4 headline measures reporting
The GCSE in Chinese accommodates Mandarin or Cantonese speakers. / International GCSEsand Edexcel Certificatesare available in Chinese, French, GermanSpanish and feature a compulsory oral unit. This must be teacher conducted in centre but is not centre marked. The Edexcel Certificates feature in KS4 headline measures reporting but International GCSE qualifications do not.
No oral test material is sent out and the instructions for the conduct of the orals appear as an appendix in the language-specific specification.
If necessary, students can enter as external candidates at another centre or you couldseek a host centre for the oral exam – please see theCentres for external studentslink. (We cannot provide furtherinformation about other centres.) Centres may apply an additional levy of their own to accommodate external candidates.
Please also refer to ouroral unit FAQs. / Chinese
French / French
German / German
Spanish / Spanish
Urdu / Urdu
Italian / Italian