Welcome to the Modern Foreign Language Department
Department Staff
| Ms S Diez | Subject Leader: MFL |
| Miss A Alemany Sanchez | Teacher of Spanish |
| Miss N Escribano | Teacher in Charge of Spanish |
| Mrs L Hucbourg | Teacher of French |
| Mrs C Leslie | Teacher in Charge of French |
| Ms S Patel | Teacher of French |
Curriculum Intent
- To inspire our students with a knowledge-rich engaging and challenging curriculum for all students that aims to develop listening, reading, writing, translating and speaking skills.
- To develop students’ ability to communicate clearly and confidently in another language whether speaking in person or in writing.
- To encourage a curiosity in how different people live and work beyond the English-speaking world.
- To build an understanding of the importance of languages beyond the classroom in everyday life.
- To appreciate that learning a language is an essential life skill that will broaden horizons and provide opportunities for the future in the world of travel and work.
- To contribute to the development of our students as global citizens who understand and accept cultural differences and appreciate the richness of the world around them.
Key Stage 3
At KS3 students either study French or Spanish and are taught in mixed ability groups. Students develop all four language learning skills: listening, reading; writing; and speaking. All lessons focus on developing comprehension and communication skills as well as a secure understanding of grammar.
Students follow the Viva Segunda Edición course in Spanish and the Dynamo course in French. All students have access to Activelearn as well as the digital textbooks to support their learning beyond the classroom.
Students study a range of topics including:
Spanish
Y7 – Talking about yourself, family and pets, numbers, alphabet, opinions, birthdays, weather, sport and hobbies, school, where you live, places in a town, telling the time, ordering in a café.
Y8 – Holidays, opinions, TV programmes, music and mobile phones, food and drink, ordering in a restaurant, shopping, going out, clothes, daily routine, describing a holiday home, directions, summer camps, travelling.
Y9 – Opinions, films, birthdays, describing days out, describing your job, talking about future plans, diet and lifestyle, daily routine, fitness, talking about ailments, children’s rights, fair trade, recycling, talking about how a town has changed, making plans, buying souvenirs.
French
Y7 – Talking about yourself and your family, telling the time, numbers, weather and seasons, sport, animals, Bastille Day, places in a town, going out, ordering food and drink.
Y8 – Holidays, talking about festivals and special celebrations, buying food, TV programmes, digital technology, cinema, leisure activities, the French-speaking world, weather, daily routine, sports, directions, injuries and illnesses.
Y9 – Opinions, extra-curricular activities, friendship, birthday celebrations, clothes, earning money, future plans, music, food and eating habits, the environment, the Francophone world, organising a trip.
In Year 9, students are able to develop their speaking skills with timetabled sessions with the language assistant each week.
Key Stage 4
Students are actively encouraged to continue with either French or Spanish to GCSE. Students follow the Viva GCSE course book in Spanish and the Studio GCSE course book in French. Students have access to Activelearn as well as the digital textbooks to extend their language learning beyond the classroom.
The AQA GCSE course aims to prepare students to:
- communicate effectively in writing and in speech for a variety of purposes across a range of contexts
- make accurate use of a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures to describe and narrate with reference to past, present and future events
- manipulate the language with increasing accuracy and fluency
- translate sentences and short texts to convey key messages accurately
- deduce meaning from a variety of short and longer spoken and written texts
- make creative and more complex use of the language to express and justify their own thoughts and points of view.
Students are assessed in all four skills at the end of the two-year course.
Unit 1: Listening 25%
Unit 2: Speaking 25%
Unit 3: Reading 25%
Unit 4: Writing 25%
Students study a range of topics including:
Spanish
Y10 (New specification) – Talking about life online, sports, free time activities, arranging to go out, saying what you did at the weekend, days that went wrong, describing travel plans, festivals in the Spanish-speaking world, describing holidays, describing people, talking about who you admire, discussing friendships and relationships, talking about your identity and what matters to you, problems and giving advice, typical foods in Spanish-speaking countries, healthy daily routines, mealtimes and food trends, comparing old and new habits, talking about illnesses and injuries, future plans for health and wellbeing.
Y11 – Talking about places in a town, describing the features of a region, planning what to do, shopping for clothes and presents, problems in a town, describing a visit in the past, mealtimes, illnesses and injuries, typical foods, customs and festivals, ordering in a restaurant, music festivals, jobs, work experience, the importance of learning languages, gap years, future plans, the environment, healthy eating, global issues, local actions, healthy lifestyles, international sporting events, natural disasters.
French
Y10 (New specification) – talking about what you do online, saying what you do to stay active, talking about what you watch, making plans to go out, saying what you did last weekend, talking about identity, weekend routines, discussing friends and friendships, describing your favourite celebrity, talking about positive role models, talking about celebrations and traditions, school life in francophone countries, schools subjects and school life, school rules, talking about what school used to be like when your were younger, talking about learning languages, talking about meals and mealtimes, talking about good mental health, describing unhealthy lifestyle choices, saying what you will do to improve your life, talking about lifestyle changes.
Y11 – Your school, comparing schools in the UK and French-speaking countries, school rules, healthy living, discussing vices, jobs and work preferences, career choices, plans, hopes and wishes for the future, applying for jobs, problems facing the world, protecting the environment, ethical shopping, volunteering, national events.
Students in Years 10 and 11 have weekly speaking sessions with the language assistants to develop their speaking skills.
Key Stage 5
A-Level Spanish and French aims to encourage students to become competent linguists with a secure knowledge and understanding of the language and an ability to communicate fluently, accurately and confidently in the language. We aim to prepare students for the next stages in their lives, including further education, work and travel opportunities.
Students follow the AQA Spanish Years 1 and 2 course and the AQA French A-Level Years 1 and 2 course and have access to Kerboodle to support their learning at home. Students also have support from the Language Assistant both in lessons as well as during timetabled lunchtime sessions.
The AQA A-Level course will develop students’ language knowledge, understanding and skills through:
- using language spontaneously to initiate communication; present viewpoints; develop arguments; persuade; and analyse and evaluate in speech and writing
- applying knowledge of pronunciation, morphology and syntax, vocabulary and idiom to communicate accurately and coherently
- listening and responding to spoken passages including some extended passages from a range of different contexts and sources
- reading and responding to a variety of texts including some extended texts written for different purposes and audiences drawn from a range of authentic sources
- summarising information from spoken and written sources, reporting key points and subject matter in speech and writing
- translating an unseen passage from Spanish into English and English into Spanish
- developing research skills in Spanish, demonstrating the ability to initiate and conduct individual research on a subject of personal interest, relating to the country or countries where Spanish is spoken
- analysing and summarising research findings, elaborating on key points of interest, as appropriate, through oral presentation and discussion.
Students are assessed at the end of the course in the following areas:
Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing (50%)
Paper 2: Writing (20%)
Paper 3: Speaking (30%)
Students study a range of topics including:
Spanish
Y12 – Changes in the family, attitudes towards marriage and divorce, influence of the Catholic Church, influence of the Internet, positive and negative effects of smart phones, benefits and dangers of social networks, women in the world of work, machismo and feminism, LGBT rights, gay marriage in Spain and the Hispanic World, the influence of fashion models, positive and negative influences of singers, musicians, TV and cinema stars, Spanish customs and traditions, Spanish gastronomy, languages spoken in Spain, civilisations that contributed to the cultural heritage in Spain, Pre-Columbian heritage of Latin America, art and architecture, music and dance, introduction to the Literary text: La Casa de Bernarda Alba, introduction to the film: El Laberinto del Fauno (Social and historical context – The Spanish Civil War).
Y13 – Literary text: La casa de Bernarda Alba, Film: El Laberinto del Fauno, positive and negative aspects of immigration, immigration in the Spanish-speaking World, racist and xenophobic attitudes, measures to combat racism and their effectiveness, legislation against racism, the ways that cultures integrate in Hispanic society, integration in education, the coexistence of various religions in the Hispanic World, the importance of politics in young people’s lives, youth unemployment, ‘an ideal society’, Franco’s dictatorship, the evolution of the monarchy in Spain, Latin American dictators, the effectiveness of protests and strikes, the power of trade unions, 15-M movements in Spain, Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina.
French
Y12 – Trends in marriage and other forms of partnership, the merits and problems of different family structures, relationships between the generations and problems that can arise, how technology has transformed everyday life, the dangers of digital technology, the different users of digital technology and possible future developments, the voluntary sector in France, heritage preservation on a regional and national scale, how heritage impacts upon and is guided by culture in society, popularity of contemporary francophone music and its diversity of genre and style, the threats to contemporary francophone music and how it might be safeguarded, French cinema, the major developments in the evolution of French cinema from its beginnings until the present day, the continuing popularity of French cinema and film festivals.
Y13 – Literary text study: Kiffe Kiffe demain, Film study: La Haine, the benefits of living in an ethnically diverse society, the need for tolerance and respect of diversity, how we can promote diversity to create a richer world, arguments relating to the vote and the French political system and its evolution, different groups that are socially marginalised, measures to help those who are marginalised, contrasting attitudes to people who are marginalised, immigration from the standpoint of immigrants, racism, engagement levels of young people and their influence on politics, the future of politics and political engagement, the important role of unions, different attitudes towards strikes, protests and other political tensions, different attitudes to crime, prison and its merits and problems, alternative forms of punishment
Students in Years 12 and 13 have weekly speaking sessions with the language assistants to develop their speaking skills.
