Modern Foreign Languages

Spanish and French

Faculty of MFL

Staff

Miss S Cheung – Head of Faculty
Mr N Fish – Head of French
Miss R Mazire (On Maternity Leave) – Teacher of French and Spanish
Ms C Thenot - Teacher of French and Spanish

Ethos

Learning foreign languages is increasingly important in a global economy and also has great value in terms of cultural and linguistic richness in our society, personal fulfilment and global citizenship and understanding. Through the study of a foreign language pupils understand and appreciate different countries, cultures, peoples and communities - and as they do, begin to think of themselves as citizens of the World as well as citizens of the United Kingdom.

Aims

The department aims to provide engaging and challenging experiences with high expectations of achievement that will:

foster an enjoyment of language learning
develop the ability to understand and use the foreign language effectively in study, work and leisure
promote understanding and appreciation of other cultures and lifestyles in other countries
encourage pride in linguistic achievement

KS3 Curriculum 2021-2022

Year 7

The year group is split into two bands. One band will study French and the other band will study Spanish. All pupils follow the KS3 National Curriculum.

In year 7 teaching focusses on pupils' competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar and vocabulary enabling them to understand and communicate personal and factual information.

Year 8 and Year 9

In year 8 and 9 pupils continue to study the Language they studied in Year 7, developing further their competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing which will enable them to understand and communicate personal and factual information beyond their immediate needs and interests.

KS4 Curriculum 2021-2022

Year 10 and 11

In Year 10 pupils opt to take a modern foreign language, choosing from French or Spanish. Pupils are also encouraged to sit examinations in their first language whenever possible. Over the last few years examination results have also been achieved at the highest levels in Urdu, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Dutch, Polish and German.

All pupils follow the GCSE AQA Course.

Questions across all four language skills are set in common contexts, addressing a range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes. They are organised into three themes, each broken down into topics and sub-topics.

The three themes are:

Identity and Culture
Local, National, International and Global areas of interest
Current and Future Studies and Employment

Assessment

The GCSE (9-1) in Modern Foreign Languages consists of four externally examined papers based on the following skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students will complete their speaking assessment in May and all other assessments in May/June at the end of Year 11. GCSE Modern Foreign Languages has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series.

	Percentage of total GCSE	Assessment Type	Foundation Tier	Higher Tier
Paper 1: Listening and understanding	25%	Written exam	35 minutes including 5 minutes’ reading time	45 minutes including 5 minutes’ reading time
Paper 2: Speaking	25%	Internally conducted and externally assessed	7–9 minutes plus 12 minutes’ preparation time	10–12 minutes plus 12 minutes’ preparation time
Paper 3: Reading and understanding	25%	Written exam	45 minutes	1 hour
Paper 4: Writing	25%	Written exam	1 hour	1 hour 15 minutes