EuraStudy
RevisionRevision / N11UK · A-Levels
Polish
A-Level Polish in England is an AQA qualification, specification 7687, first taught from September 2018 and first examined in 2020, Ofqual qualification accreditation number 603/2497/1. Its shape belongs to none of the families that English A-Level language folklore assumes, and the qualification announces the difference in its own title: it is called A-level Polish (Listening, Reading, Writing), and there is no speaking assessment anywhere in it. There are three written papers. Paper 1, Reading and writing, runs for two hours thirty minutes, carries 85 raw marks and is worth 42.5 per cent of the A-level: reading and responding to four stimulus texts for 35 marks, a translation from Polish into English of a passage of at least 100 words for 10 marks, and a 40-mark essay on the individual research project, written in response to an unseen question about an unseen Polish source. Paper 2, Writing, runs for two hours, carries 80 marks and is worth 20 per cent: two essays of approximately 300 words each on the two works studied, either one text and one film or two texts, with a choice of two questions on each work. Paper 3, Listening, reading and writing, runs for two hours thirty minutes, carries 75 marks and is worth 37.5 per cent: listening and responding for 35 marks with individual control of a studio recording, a translation from English into Polish of a passage of at least 100 words for 10 marks, supported by a Polish text supplying some of the vocabulary and structures needed, and a 30-mark multi-skill task of about 200 words that draws on a heard source and a written source together. The raw marks are scaled - Paper 1 doubled to 170, Paper 2 unchanged at 80, Paper 3 doubled to 150 - for a total scaled mark of 400. The subject content is four themes in two pairs. Aspects of Polish-speaking society: past and current trends covers The Polish family and The evolution of the digital world in Poland; Aspects of Polish-speaking society: past and current issues covers Social diversity and mobility in Poland and Impact of emigration on Polish society; Artistic culture in the Polish-speaking world past and present covers Festivals and traditions and Polish cultural life; and Aspects of political life in Poland past and present covers Poland and the European Union and Polish politics and young people. Each of those eight sub-themes carries exactly three bullet aspects and all of them are examinable. Alongside the themes sit a prescribed grammar list, the prescribed works, and an individual research project chosen from four published research topics, all of whose bullets the student must cover. Assessment objectives are weighted 20 per cent AO1, 30 per cent AO2, 30 per cent AO3 and 20 per cent AO4; across AO1 and AO2 together no more than 10 per cent of the qualification's marks may be earned by responses in English, including the translation into English. The qualification is linear, is graded A* to E, and permits no dictionary in any paper.
0/65 Texts13 Chapters~563 min total
AQA 7687 section 3.1.1.1 - sub-theme The Polish family, bullet: changing roles within the familyAQA 7687 section 4.4.1 - Paper 1 reading and responding, four stimulus texts based on the specification's themes and sub-themesAQA 7687 section 3.1.1.1 - sub-theme The Polish family, bullet: the generation gapAQA 7687 section 4.4.3 - Paper 1 translation from Polish into English, a passage of at least 100 words, 10 marksAQA 7687 section 3.1.1.1 - sub-theme The Polish family, bullet: traditional and modern valuesAQA 7687 section 4.4.2 - Paper 1 assessment: no content mark where the response includes irrelevant material or copies inappropriately from the stimulus+121 moreStandardAdvancedFoundation
Table of contents · 13 ChaptersT·13
- Zmieniające się role w rodzinie: changing roles within the familyText L·01 · Recommended start9 min
- Przepaść pokoleniowa: the generation gap without caricatureText L·0210 min
- Wartości tradycyjne i nowoczesne: values held together, not opposedText L·039 min
- Internet w życiu codziennym i cyfryzacja: daily life, and a state that went digitalText L·0410 min
- Media społecznościowe i streszczenie: benefits, dangers, and the Paper 1 reading summaryText L·0510 min
- Wykształcenie i wybór zawodu: education and career choicesText L·069 min
- Na marginesie społeczeństwa: people on the margins, described preciselyText L·0710 min
- Tolerancja i szacunek: an argument you can make, not a sloganText L·0810 min
- Przyczyny emigracji, zalety i wady: why Poles left, and what it did to PolandText L·0910 min
- Postawy wobec migracji: attitudes within Poland, and the Paper 3 multi-skill taskText L·1011 min
- Korzenie i pochodzenie: where Polish festivals come fromText L·119 min
- Rok obrzędowy: the festive year as working vocabularyText L·129 min
- Wpływ społeczny i gospodarczy: what a festival does to a society and a townText L·139 min
- Dziedzictwo regionalne i lokalne: regional and local heritageText L·149 min
- Exam technique: drabina AO4, from description to a justified claimText L·1510 min
- Kino: Polish cinema as a subject you can write aboutText L·169 min
- Sztuka: art, and the language of lookingText L·179 min
- Muzyka: from Chopin to disco poloText L·188 min
- Pisać o kulturze: the register, syntax and evaluative vocabulary of cultural writingText L·198 min
- Exam technique: earning the AO3 range mark with the specification's own grammar listText L·209 min
- Rola Polski w Europie: Poland's role, and the institutions that carry itText L·218 min
- Korzyści z członkostwa: the benefits, argued rather than listedText L·228 min
- Wyzwania członkostwa: the challenges, including the contested onesText L·239 min
- Chronologia: the timeline a good answer can lean onText L·248 min
- Równowaga i atrybucja: exam technique for balance, attribution and the vocabulary of argumentText L·259 min
- Młodzi a polityka: young people and their engagement with politicsText L·269 min
- Formy zaangażowania: from the ballot box to the school councilText L·278 min
- Priorytety polityki młodzieżowej: choosing one, and arguing it into first placeText L·289 min
- Wartości i ideały: values, ideals and the danger of the platitudeText L·2910 min
- Exam technique: evidence rather than assertion, and the personal reaction that still arguesText L·3010 min
- Siedem przypadków: what the specification says and what Polish actually hasText L·317 min
- Odmiana i zgoda: declension, agreement and the paradigm that carries themText L·327 min
- Aspekt: the choice English never makes you makeText L·337 min
- Liczebniki, składnia i szyk: numerals, syntax and word orderText L·348 min
- Dwa tłumaczenia: two passages, two directions, two routinesText L·3513 min
- Co zawiera Paper 3: what the paper contains, and what individual control changesText L·369 min
- Od pisma do dźwięku: the sound system, and why heard Polish is not written PolishText L·379 min
- Mowa potoczna: register, fillers and the markers that carry the argumentText L·389 min
- Notatki i streszczenie: note-taking, and the listening summary questionText L·399 min
- Trzy przejścia, trzy zadania: exam technique, and the multi-skill task's listening halfText L·409 min
- Cztery teksty: what Paper 1's reading section actually setsText L·419 min
- Czytać po polsku: reading strategy for authentic Polish proseText L·429 min
- Typy pytań: question types and what each one wantsText L·439 min
- Przepisywanie a streszczanie: the lifting rule, and answering in your own PolishText L·4410 min
- Exam technique: triage, timing and the 2 h 30 budgetText L·4510 min
- Bez egzaminu ustnego: what this qualification actually assessesText L·468 min
- Wymowa w służbie słuchania: producing the sounds you need to recogniseText L·478 min
- Czytanie na głos i próba ustna: from the mouth to the pageText L·488 min
- Dyskusja jako budowanie argumentu: talking a theme into an essayText L·498 min
- Polski poza egzaminem: register, address, and the spoken habits that cost written marksText L·508 min
- Co mówi specyfikacja: the works requirement and the mechanics of Paper 2Text L·518 min
- Dwie siatki oceniania: the two grids read as instructionsText L·528 min
- Dowód bez cytatu: evidence as the described episodeText L·538 min
- Forma i technika: what the specification means, and the Polish to write it inText L·547 min
- Plan i czas: writing 300 words of argued Polish in an hourText L·557 min
- Film jako utwór: the route, the two films, and what studying a film meansText L·567 min
- Język filmu: the Polish vocabulary of technique, and what each term licensesText L·577 min
- Od opowiadania do analizy: escaping the plot summaryText L·588 min
- Kontekst kulturowy i społeczny: context as evidence, handled honestlyText L·597 min
- Plan eseju filmowego: the hour, the grids and the second essayText L·607 min
- Czym jest projekt badawczy: the task, the marks and the rules of conductText L·618 min
- Cztery tematy i metoda: the topics, their bullets, and honest researchText L·628 min
- PRL: życie codzienne i Kościół - the first two bullets of topic 3.5.1Text L·638 min
- Solidarność i pamięć - the third bullet, and writing about contested historyText L·648 min
- Nieznane źródło i esej: reading the source and building the 300 wordsText L·658 min
- Rodzina i cyfrowy świat: the Polish family and the digital world
- Różnorodność, awans społeczny i emigracja: Poland's past and current social issues
- Święta i tradycje: festivals and traditions in Polish life
- Polskie życie kulturalne: cinema, art and music
- Polska i Unia Europejska: Poland in Europe, the benefits and the challenges
- Młodzi a polityka: engagement, priorities and ideals in Poland
- Gramatyka i tłumaczenie: the system, and the two translations built on it
- Słuchanie: Paper 3, and the sound of real Polish
- Czytanie ze zrozumieniem: the four stimulus texts of Paper 1, and the lifting rule
- Mówienie bez egzaminu ustnego: spoken Polish in a written qualification
- Utwór literacki: the set text, and the method that earns both grids
- Film jako utwór: the set film, and the language of technique
- Projekt badawczy: the biggest single task in the qualification
- Paper 1 - Reading and writing (7687/1)
- Written exam of 2 hours 30 minutes, 85 raw marks scaled by two to 170, 42.5 per cent of the A-level and therefore the largest single component. Three parts, all compulsory. Reading and responding, 35 marks: four stimulus texts adapted from authentic sources including online sources, which may be contemporary or historical, non-fiction or literary fiction, and whose content is drawn from the specification's themes and sub-themes - except for literary texts, whose content may legitimately fall outside them. Questions target main points, gist and detail, require inference, and include abstract material such as opinions, views, emotional reactions and personal experiences; they are set in Polish and are answered either non-verbally or in Polish. One of them is a summary question, for which the student must write in full sentences and use their own words as far as possible, and for which the content mark (AO2) and the language mark (AO3, out of 5) are awarded independently. Translation into English, 10 marks: an unseen passage of at least 100 words whose content is based on the themes and sub-themes. Individual research project, 40 marks: the student reads an unseen Polish source on one of the four published research topics and answers an unseen question on it in Polish, in approximately 300 words, using information from the source together with the knowledge gained from their own research; the mark is composed of AO2 out of 10, AO3 out of 10 and AO4 out of 20. No dictionary, no notes and no research materials in the exam room.
- Paper 2 - Writing (7687/2)
- Written exam of 2 hours, 80 marks with no scaling, 20 per cent of the A-level. The student writes one essay in Polish on each of the two works studied - either one book and one film, or two books, taken from the lists printed in the specification - with a choice of two questions on each work. Answering on two films is not an available route, because the specification permits only one text and one film or two texts. Approximately 300 words per essay is advised; everything written is marked, there is no word limit, and a student who writes about the recommended length has access to the full range of marks. Each essay is marked out of 40 by two independent grids: AO3 for quality of language out of 20, and AO4 for the critical and analytical response out of 20. Every question requires a critical appreciation of the concepts and issues covered in the work and a critical and analytical response to features such as form and technique of presentation - the specification's own examples are the effect of narrative voice in a prose text and camera work in a film. No access to the books or films during the exam, and no dictionary.
- Paper 3 - Listening, reading and writing (7687/3)
- Written exam of 2 hours 30 minutes, 75 raw marks scaled by two to 150, 37.5 per cent of the A-level. Three parts. Listening and responding, 35 marks: studio-recorded spoken passages from a range of contexts and sources covering different registers and types, with content based on the specification's themes and sub-themes, at least one passage involving more than one speaker. Recordings are provided to schools and colleges and each student has individual control of the recording, which turns the section from a test of instant comprehension into a test of method. Questions target main points, gist and detail, require inference and include abstract material; they are set in Polish and answered non-verbally or in Polish, and in the questions that are not the summary the student should give only the information the question asks for. One question is a summary in Polish, written in full sentences and in the student's own words as far as possible, with the content mark (AO1) and the language mark (AO3, out of 5) awarded independently. Translation into Polish, 10 marks: an unseen passage of at least 100 words from English into Polish, with content based on the themes and sub-themes - and, distinctively, the student is provided with a supporting text in Polish supplying some of the vocabulary and structures the translation will need. Multi-skill task, 30 marks: a listening passage and a written source are set on the themes, and the student listens, reads and then answers an unseen essay question in approximately 200 words, referring to the information in both sources; the response requires analysis, personal reaction and the drawing of a conclusion, and is marked by AO1 out of 10, AO2 out of 10 and AO3 out of 10.
- Themes, works, the research project, assessment objectives and the rules that catch people out
- Four themes, each with two sub-themes, each sub-theme with three bullet aspects, all studied in relation to Poland and all using a range of sources including material from online media. Aspects of Polish-speaking society: past and current trends contains The Polish family (changing roles within the family; the generation gap; traditional and modern values) and The evolution of the digital world in Poland (the internet in daily life; social media, benefits and dangers; the digitalisation of Polish society). Aspects of Polish-speaking society: past and current issues contains Social diversity and mobility in Poland (education and career choices; people on the margins of society; tolerance and respect) and Impact of emigration on Polish society (reasons for emigration; advantages and disadvantages for Polish society; attitudes within Poland to migration). Artistic culture in the Polish-speaking world past and present contains Festivals and traditions (roots and origins; social and economic impact; regional and local heritage) and Polish cultural life (cinema; art; music). Aspects of political life in Poland past and present contains Poland and the European Union (the role of Poland in Europe; the benefits of membership; the challenges of membership) and Polish politics and young people (young people and their engagement with politics; priorities for youth politics in Poland; values and ideals). The works list prints three text entries - Sławomir Mrożek's Tango, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz's Panny z Wilka and Brzezina taken together, and Andrzejewski's Popiół i diament - and two films, Andrzej Wajda's Katyń of 2007 and Krzysztof Kieślowski's Przypadek of 1981. Prescribed lists are set by the board and can be revised between issues of a specification, so every candidate must confirm the list current for their own exam series. The research project is chosen from four published topics - Poland during the communist era, Racism in Poland, Tourism in Poland, and The resistance movement in Poland during World War II - and the student must cover all three bullet points of the topic chosen. Research must be the student's own even where classmates have chosen the same topic; sources may be visual, audio or written but must include online sources. Teachers may suggest sources, advise on research technique and set deadlines, but must not design material specifically for the project, download or hand over specific sources or extracts, or give oral or written feedback on the student's notes or preparatory work. Assessment objectives: AO1, understand and respond in writing to spoken language, 20 per cent; AO2, understand and respond in writing to written language, 30 per cent; AO3, manipulate the language accurately in written form using a range of lexis and structure, 30 per cent; AO4, show knowledge and understanding of, and respond critically and analytically to, aspects of the culture and society of Polish-speaking countries and communities, 20 per cent. Across AO1 and AO2 together, no more than 10 per cent of the qualification's marks may be used for responses in English, including translation into English. The qualification is linear, all exams are taken in one series at the end of the course, materials are available in English only, grading runs A* to E, and no dictionary is permitted anywhere.