The Modern Foreign Language (MFL) Department's goals are to give students the opportunity to:
- develop independence in language learning
- develop transferable language learning skills
- widen their cultural knowledge of the world
- take up a language at KS4 and KS5
We use a variety of tasks to introduce and practise vocabulary in as many different ways as possible to ensure a balance of the four skills - reading writing, listening and speaking.
Languages taught are French and Spanish which are randomly allocated in Year 7. Spanish was introduced in September 2011 and is currently taught in Year 7 and Year 8. Year 9 and KS4 Spanish will become available in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Key stage 3: Years 7 to 9 FRENCH
Year 7
In September 2012, we will be introducing a new French scheme of work for year 7 in order to ensure faster progress through the KS3 topics.
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary: by the end of this unit students will be able to understand and use French in the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | C’est parti (Let’s go) | Greetings, the alphabet, numbers, saying the date and age, colours, simple classroom instructions and main classroom objects. |
| Autumn Term 2 | En famille (Family) | Talking about family members and pets, describing self and others. |
| Spring Term 1 | A l’école (School life) | Talking about school subjects and timetables and life at school giving opinions and reasons for likes and dislikes. |
| Spring Term 2 | Les loisirs (Free time) | Talking about leisure activities including sports, games, musical instruments, going out, etc. |
| Summer Term 1 | Chez moi (At home) | Explaining where you live and describing your home and bedroom. |
| Summer Term 2 | Chez moi (continued) | Explaining what you do at home, describing the weather and what time it is. |
Year 8
In September 2012, we will be introducing a new French scheme of work for Year 8 to ensure faster progress through the KS3 topics. This will be further revised in September 2013 to take account of changes to the Year 7 curriculum during the previous year.
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary: by the end of this unit students will be able to understand and use French in the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | Les details personnels/les loisirs (Personal Information and leisure activities) | Describing and giving more complex opinions about self and others, including family members; discussing leisure activities in the present as well as in the past tense. |
| Autumn Term 2 | En ville/ Les invitations (In town, Invitations) | Describing your town/local area and what you can do there; making arrangements to go out and giving excuses when you cannot do something; celebrations around Christmas. |
| Spring Term 1 | Ma routine (Daily routine) | Describing school and home life in the present as well as in the past tense. |
| Spring Term 2 | La mode (Fashion) | Describing and giving opinions about clothes, fashion, and shopping using the present and past tenses. |
| Summer Term 1 | Manger et boire (Eating and drinking) | Giving opinions about foods, nions about foods and drinks and diet habits including ks, eating outt.2 onwards. se note that this will be updated again in Sdrinks and diet habits including eating out, using the present and past tenses. |
| Summer Term 2 | Voyages et vacances (Holidays) | Describing holiday destinations and activities using the present, past and future tenses. |
Year 9
Please note that a new French Year 9 scheme of work will be introduced in September 2013 to take account of changes in Year 7 and Year 8 curriculums from September 2012 onwards.
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary |
| Autumn term 1 | Famille et domicile (Family and place of residence) | Describing self and others and the work occupation of family members; where people live, location and accommodation. |
| Autumn Term 2 | Temps libre (Leisure time) | Discussing leisure activities in the present, past and future tenses; expressing opinions about television programmes. |
| Spring Term 1 | Les sorties (Going out) | Arranging to go out, discussing shopping habits, clothes and fashion using the present, past and future tenses. |
| Spring Term 2 | Manger et boire (Eating and drinking) | By the end of this unit students will be able to understand and use French in the following topics: describing food, nions about foods and drinks and diet habits including ks, eating outt.2 onwards. se note that this will be updated again in Sdrinks and diet habits including eating out, using the present and past tenses. |
| Summer Term 1 | Voyages et vacances (Holidays) | Describing holiday destinations and activities using the present, past and future tenses. |
| Summer Term 2 | Music and Television module (Bridging the gap with the KS4 French curriculum) | Making cultural comparisons, discovering and discussing popular teenage music and TV programmes in the French speaking world; experiencing extended GCSE-type responses and questions on personal descriptions and opinions. |
Key stage 3: Years 7 to 8 SPANISH
Year 7
From September 2012, the Year 7 curriculum will be condensed in order to ensure faster progress through the KS3 topics.
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary: by the end of this unit students will be able to understand and use Spanish in the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | Hola (Hello) | Greetings, the alphabet, numbers, saying the date and age, colours, simple classroom instructions and main classroom objects |
| Autumn Term 2 | ¿Qué estudias? (School) | Talking about school subjects, teachers, snacks; expressing opinions. |
| Spring Term 1 | ¿Tienes Hermanos? (Family) | Talking about self, family members and pets, describing appearance and character. |
| Spring Term 2 | Vivimos en Europa (At home) | Talking about where they live, describing their home and their own bedroom and discussing what they do at home. |
| Summer Term 1 | Mi tiempo libre (Leisure activities) | Talking about what they do in your free time, telling the time, discussing what you are planning to do using the future tense. |
| Summer Term 2 | ¿Cómo es tu ciudad? (In town) | Describing they town/local area and what they can do there; making and responding to invitations; talking about the weather; learning to use present and future tenses together |
Year 8
In September 2013, we will introduce a new Spanish scheme of work to take account of the changes to Year 7 topics during the previous year.
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary: by the end of this unit students will be able to understand and use Spanish in the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | Vivimos en Europa (At home) | Talking about where they live, describing their home and their own bedroom and discussing what they do at home. |
| Autumn Term 2 | Mi tiempo libre (Leisure activities) | Talking about what you do in your free time, telling the time, discussing what you are planning to do using the future tense. |
| Spring Term 1 | ¿Cómo es tu ciudad? (In town) | Describing your town/local area and what you can do there; making and responding to invitations, talking about the weather, learning to use present and future tenses together |
| Spring Term 2 | Mis vacaciones (Holidays0 | Describing holiday destinations and activities using the present, past and future tenses. |
| Summer Term 1 | La comida (Meals) | Discussing meals, giving opinions about food and drinks, eating out and shopping for food. They will be consolidating their use of the past and future tenses. |
Key Stage Four
Students who elect to do French at GCSE are entered for the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) linear examinations. The WJEC French GCSE specifications can be found at http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/16184.pdf
In addition to final examinations in listening and reading, each year, students are prepared for 4 controlled assessments (CAs), carried out under exam conditions, two in speaking and another two in writing.
The overall GCSE grade is made up as follows:
§ Listening examination (Foundation or Higher paper) in May of Year 11 - 20%
§ Reading examination (Foundation or Higher paper) in May of Year 11 - 20%
§ Controlled Assessment Writing (two best overall tasks in Year 10 or Year 11) - 30%
§ Controlled Assessment Speaking (two best overall tasks in Year 10 or 11) – 30%
Year 10
| Term | Unit(s) of Work | Summary - By the end of this unit students will have developed their knowledge and understanding of the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | The wider world | Travel and holidays; self, family and friends. Preparing for their first writing CA examination scheduled in November. |
| Autumn Term 2 | The wider world (continued) | Travel and holidays continued; life in the countries and communities where the language is spoken. First CA writing examination in November Preparing for first speaking CA examination usually scheduled in December or early January. |
| Spring Term 1 | Personal and social life | Self, family, friends, home life, shopping, meals, healthy living, illness and accident,) Preparing for second writing CA examination scheduled in March |
| Spring Term 2 | Personal and social life (continued) | Free time, fashion, relationships, future plans Second writing CA examination in March Preparing for second speaking CA usually scheduled in May |
| Summer Term 1 | The life of young people today | Social issues: homelessness, crime, drugs, healthy living, religion, politics, the media Second speaking CA |
| Summer Term 2 | The life of young people today (continued) | Consolidation and revision of all Year 10 topics |
Year 11
| Term | Unit(s) of Work | Summary - By the end of this unit students will have developed their knowledge and understanding of the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | The world of Work | Work experience, part-time jobs, future careers, Preparing for third writing CA usually scheduled in November |
| Autumn Term 2 | The world of work (continued) | School life and education, technology (sending messages, accessing information)- Listening and Reading examination Practice Third writing CA in November Preparing for third speaking CA usually scheduled in December or early January Mock examination in December |
| Spring Term 1 | The local community | Home town, local environment, pollution, recycling, local facilities, comparisons with other towns and regions, weather and seasons. Preparing for fourth writing and speaking CA usually scheduled in March/April |
| Spring Term 2 | Revision for listening and reading examinations | Fourth writing CA Fourth speaking CA Vocabulary, listening and reading examinations preparation |
| Summer Term 1 | Revision for listening and reading examinations | Vocabulary, listening and reading examinations preparation |
Key Stage 5
Our AS and A2 students are entered for the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) GCE examinations. The WJEC French GCE specifications can be found at http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/4183.pdf
There are two examinations each year, a speaking examination in March/April and a single listening/reading/writing paper examination in May.
In Year 13, our A2 students are also expected to retake their AS examinations on a case by case basis to ensure they can use their enhanced language skills and more comprehensive vocabulary acquisition at the end of two years of study to boost their AS as well as their overall A Level grade.
Year 12
| Term | Unit(s) of Work | Summary - By the end of this unit students will have developed their knowledge and understanding of the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | Leisure and lifestyles | Introducing yourself; the French speaking world; Television and its influence on young people; Advertising and its effects; The French press; The new media: Importance of music, downloads, popularity of blogs and wikis, Mobile phone use, the role of the internet French cinema; Theatre and festivals; Different types of music |
| Autumn Term 2 | The individual and society | The value of youth cultures, peer pressure, attitudes to image, the cult of celebrity; Rationale and health benefits of sports; famous sports stars, Fair play in professional sports |
| Spring Term 1 | Healthy living | Smoking and drinking, health risks of taking drugs; Healthy eating and eating disorders; Healthy lifestyles |
| Spring Term 2 | Tourism | Holiday experiences; The impact of the tourism industry; Transport |
| Summer Term 1 | The individual and society | Family relationships; conflict between generations, Friendships ; Marriage; Changes in family structures; Gender issues |
| Summer Term 2 | Education | Comparing the French and British educational systems; The challenges facing first time job seekers; Preparing young people for the world of work; |
Year 13
| Term | Unit(s) of Work | Summary - By the end of this unit students will have developed their knowledge and understanding of the following topics: |
| Autumn term 1 | Environmental Issues Guided Study: a region of France Speaking Examination: Film studies | Technology, pollution, global warming, transport, energy, nuclear energy, renewable energies, conservation, recycling, sustainability. Cultural, economical and Social issues in Brittany Film studies: les choristes |
| Autumn Term 2 | Environmental Issues Guided Study and Film studies (continuation) | Environmental pressure groups; Global responsibilities |
| Spring Term 1 | Social and Political issues Guided study and Film studies (continuation) | Racism; Integration ; immigration ; Social exclusion; Terrorism |
| Spring Term 2 | Social and Political issues Guided study and Film studies (continuation) | The world of work; Employment; Globalization |
| Summer Term 1 | | Consolidation and Revision |