Skills for Work: International Language: Education and Employment (Spoken)
International language (spoken): education and employment is a 10 hour Skills for Work unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, offered in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. Learners listen to and talk about school, college, jobs and the workplace, from single words at Entry 1 to short conversations at Level 2. It is one unit learners combine with other 10 or 20 hour units into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low and no criterion asks for digital work. Digital skills appear only in suggested online research, Canva posters, partner school links, quiz tools and recorded dialogues.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Two learning outcomes (understand basic spoken information relating to work or education, give basic information orally about work or education), with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3, including pronouncing words clearly. Entry Level reflects pre-A1 to A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Two learning outcomes (understand spoken information relating to work or education, engage in a conversation relating to work or education), with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2, including asking questions to clarify or find out information. Levels 1 and 2 reflect A2 to B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Researching school and job information online in the target language
Learners could search online for a real school timetable or subject list in the assessed language and use it for pair and group speaking and listening, and Level 2 learners could research a job before a mock interview. This is a suggested activity only, so it is taught, not assessed, though the material can feed the listening and conversation criteria.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a search engine to find a picture of a school timetable from a school in France and circle five subject names they recognise.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for a timetable from a school in the country of the language they learn, using search words in that language, and compare the start and finish times with their own school day.
- Year 9
- Pupils research one job, such as a chef in Spain, from two websites, note three facts in the target language and say which site they trust more and why.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Suggested activities, development activities, page 13; speaking and listening, page 13
“Learners could complete online research to find a school timetable or subject list in the assessed language.”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
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Building vocabulary with online dictionaries and quiz tools
Learners could use a hard copy or online dictionary to add their own adjectives and opinion phrases, and practise job and subject vocabulary with online tools such as Blooket, Quizlet or Kahoot, where Quizlet flashcards can be made by learners. These are suggested activities and resources only, so they are taught, not assessed.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Creating digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils play a Kahoot quiz matching job titles in the target language to pictures.
- Year 8
- Pupils look up five adjectives to describe jobs in an online dictionary, check the gender or form shown, and add them to a class Quizlet set.
- Year 9
- Pupils build their own Quizlet set of twenty work and school phrases, choosing the right meaning from several online dictionary results, and test a partner with it.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Suggested activities, speaking and listening, page 12; development activities, page 13; Resources available to support delivery, pages 16 and 17
“Learners could also use a hard copy or online dictionary to add their own words and extend their vocabulary.”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
I can use a range of software to select, produce and edit a range of multimedia components for a purpose, such as:
- text and images, e.g. format text (bold, underline, italics, highlight); insert and edit text boxes; columns; use refine tools (spellchecker, find and replace); word wrap; crop; alter size and shape; alter images; add effects; trim and split sound and video clips; transitions; onion skin
- presentation, e.g. page orientation; animations; transitions; remove and alter images; use background; use action buttons to create hyperlink; embed objects.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
Good to know
- Unit codes are not printed in the pack, which says "Please refer to the Skills for Life and Work qualifications specification" (Unit overview, page 3). The specification lists each language version separately with the code "TBC" (Specification section 3.1, pages 15 and 16).
- The unit runs in six languages: "This unit is available in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish." The title on the certificate shows the language achieved (Unit overview, page 3).
- The criteria "assume that learners have no previous experience of the language being learnt", and learners already taking GCSE French, German or Spanish "may not benefit from taking an international language unit in the same language" (Planning courses, page 7).
- No digital resource is required. The unit uses "standard classroom environments", though "it would be beneficial to have access to computers, tablets, or mobile devices for digital activities and research" (Resources required for delivery, page 15). Assessors "should have subject-specific expertise in language teaching and assessment" (page 17).
- Spoken evidence can be digital: possible sources include an "audio recording of candidate" and dialogues or job interviews "on Teams" (Sources of evidence, page 15), and a portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Specification section 4.1, page 18).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory"; teachers may use, adapt or replace them as long as learners can meet all the criteria (Specification section 4.1, page 18).
- AI misuse is malpractice. Misuse includes "Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the learner's own work", and learners "cannot be credited for any work they produce for assessment which is not their own" (Specification section 4.6, page 21).
- Appendix A maps the unit to Literacy only, not Digital Competence or Numeracy, and to the cross-cutting themes of local, national and international contexts and human rights education (Specification, pages 27 and 29). Only one level counts: "only the highest level of the unit achieved will count towards the GLH" (Specification section 2.2, page 10).
Links with other qualifications
The pack pairs this unit with the other WJEC international language units, Education and employment (written) and the spoken and written units in Communicating personal information and Social activities, and suggests it can complement VCSE Travel and Tourism and GCSE Business. It covers school and jobs topics also found in GCSE French, GCSE German and GCSE Spanish, but at a lower level, and the pack suggests GCSE learners try a different language. The digital work here is light: online research, Canva posters, quiz tools and recorded dialogues. The Level 2 mock interviews link with the Interview and Confidence Techniques unit.
Source: WJEC International language (spoken): education and employment unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).