Modern Foreign Languages
Head of Subject: Mrs Claire Gower
MFL curriculum intent
The intent of the MFL curriculum is to:
- develop transferrable language and social skills such as resilience, communication, teamwork and problem solving.
- raise awareness of global issues and to instil a love of learning languages.
- encourage curiosity about other cultures and traditions and to support students to reflect upon their own.
At the end of Key Stage 3, students will know how to talk about themselves and others in a range of contexts. They will have learnt high frequency vocabulary and understand how this can be adapted to use in a range of contexts. They will confidently be able to complete tasks in all four skills on the topics they have studied. In addition, they will recognise, understand and use the present, past and future tenses in the first person.
At the end of Key Stage 4, students will be familiar with the required GCSE vocabulary. They will understand how to effectively answer exam questions in all four skills. They will confidently be able to talk about themselves in at least three tenses and give opinions on social and global issues.
The topics are sequenced so that the complexity of the grammar and vocabulary that students are expected to understand and use increases throughout each key stage with regular interleaving of previously learnt structures.
What does the Key Stage 3 curriculum look like?
When students arrive in Year 7 they are divided into French and Spanish tutor groups. Students are initially taught in mixed ability tutor groups. In the first few weeks, all Year 7 students complete a language aptitude test. Following this, we set students by language ability. The aim of setting by language ability is to ensure that all students are able to maximise their progress in languages through differentiated lessons.
Across Key Stage 3 we use sentence builders to teach students chunks of language, rather than individual words. In Year 7 students learn to introduce themselves and talk about their family, relationships and pets. In Year 8, students build on that knowledge by learning to give opinions about food and drink as well as talking about their free time activities and what they wear, different types of weather, and holiday plans. Finally, Year 9 focuses on combining tenses to talk about holidays, school and free time plans.
What does the Key Stage 4 curriculum look like?
We follow the AQA GCSE French and Spanish course. The three themes taught are:
- Identity and culture (including technology and free time activities)
- Local, national and global areas of interest (including social and environmental issues)
- Current and future study and employment
The course culminates in exams in all four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. Each skill is worth 25% of the total marks. Throughout Key Stage 4, students have regular small group sessions with the foreign language assistant in order to build confidence in speaking and prepare effectively for the speaking exam.
Future pathways
Students can go on to study languages at A level or International Baccalaureate level. In addition, as well as traditional language degrees, many universities also offer a language course alongside another degree course. Our students have progressed into jobs in a range of sectors, including social media, translation, interpreting, financial services, tourism, teaching, catering, technology and creative arts amongst others.
How can you support MFL learning at home?
The best way to learn a foreign language is little and often. Encourage your child to watch short YouTube clips or TV shows on Netflix etc. in the target language. Listening to music in the target language will also help to improve comprehension and confidence. There are also a number of websites which students can access at home, both for homework and independent study in between lessons. Teachers will direct students to use a variety of the following websites and will provide usernames and passwords, where necessary.
Your son/daughter will be issued with a login for this by their teacher. Teachers may set specific homework tasks on Language Gym but it can also be used for independent study.
Your son/daughter can sign up to Quizlet. All the vocabulary we teach in Key Stage 4 is uploaded for students to practise. Teachers may set specific homework tasks on Quizlet but it can also be used for independent study.
Your son/daughter will be issued with a login for this by their teacher. Teachers may set specific homework tasks on the sentence builders website but it can also be used for independent study.
GCSE students can choose to do additional vocabulary practise using Seneca. They should search for the AQA course in French/Spanish and can then choose the topic they wish to practise.
This is a great resource for GCSE students wishing to practise their reading and listening skills. They should search for the AQA course in French/Spanish and can then choose the topic they want to practise.
In addition, GCSE French/Spanish Revision Guides are available to purchase via Parent Pay at a price of £3.99. We would strongly recommend that all GCSE students have a copy.
