Modern Foreign Languages
The MFL Department's goals are to give students the opportunity to:
- become confident speakers who can use the target MFL language spontaneously to converse inside and outside the classroom
- develop good pronunciation and intonation by applying the phonics system to correct and predict the pronunciation of new words
- develop their ability to understand the spoken and written target language across a range of authentic materials (including literary texts), topics and registers
- develop their awareness about grammar and language patterns so they can speak, write and translate appropriately, creatively and with increasing accuracy.
- acquire transferable language learning and literacy skills
- widen their cultural knowledge of the world in which the language is spoken
- take up a language at KS4 and KS5
Languages taught are French and Spanish which are randomly allocated in Year 7. Spanish was introduced in Year 7 in September 2011 and is now available throughout KS3 and KS4. French is available through to KS5.
Throughout KS3 and KS4, we use a variety of tasks to introduce, practise and memorise vocabulary, grammatical rules and verb conjugation endings, in as many ways as possible to ensure coverage of the programmes of study and a balance of the four skills - reading writing/translating, listening and speaking. We make full use of online resources and interactive vocabulary learning websites.
KEY STAGE 3
Click here for the Department of Education programmes of studyNational for Languages programmes at KS3 and KS4.
Key stage 3: FRENCH TOPICS
| YEAR 7 - FRENCH - New from September 2018 | 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 | Introductions | Phonics & Pronunciation practice; Introduction to France and French speaking countries and culture; Classroom talk; Sentence building; basic connectives; Using cognates to decode meaning ; Alphabet; Greetings and introducing yourself;; Numbers to 31, Months, Days, Dates, French ; Memorising vocabulary and Independent Learning. |
| Autumn Term 2 | My world | Expressing likes and dislikes and basic opinions; Describing self, family and others; Describing a photo: a typical classroom; Leisure activities; Christmas celebrations. |
| Spring Term 1 | Life at school | Learning the time; school subjects; school uniform, describing the school day; schools in France; my ideal school. |
| Spring Term 2 | Free time | French speaking countries; the weather; leisure activities; sports; use of technology. |
| Summer Term 1 | Family life | European countries; Pets; Colours; Numbers to 100; Describing family members. |
| Summer Term 2 | Family life | Describing where you live; Adjectives; Having breakfast; Bastille day celebrations. |
Year 8
| 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 | Famille et domicile (Family and home life) | Describing yourself and your family (physical and character description) including pets. Describing where you live, your house/home. |
| Autumn Term 2 | Ma région | Describing your local area, describing your town and what you can do there, your region and tourist attractions and your country. Also shopping in town and at the French café. |
| Spring Term 1 | On va à Paris | Using the near future tense to plan a trip and to say what you are going to do in Paris, Looking at the famous monuments and landmarks in Paris. |
| Spring Term 2 | Les vacances désastreuses | Using the past tense (passé compose to talk about what you did on holiday. Describing a disastrous holiday as well as an extraordinary trip. |
| Summer Term 1 | Les fêtes et les festivals | Talking and researching different holidays, celebrations and festivals in France and across the French-Speaking world. Learning about food and specialities. |
| Summer Term 2 | Mes passe-temps | Talking about hobbies and pastimes, the digital world and the cinema. |
YEAR 9 - FRENCH
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term 1 | Ça t’intéresse? (Does it interest you?) (1) | Talking about what you watch on TV, going to the cinema, different types of films, what you like reading and what you did last weekend. |
| Autumn Term 2 | Ça t’intéresse? (Does it interest you?) (2) | Understanding and using the past tense appropriately. Discussing French actors, TV programmes and films. |
| Spring Term 1 | L’avenir (the future) | Discussing what you and your friends are going to do the next day and next week. Describing your future plans and understanding others discussing their future plans. Talking about career choices and why foreign languages are important in today’s world. |
| Spring Term 2 | Le sport en direct et être en bonne santé | Learning about sports and sports events. Talking about illnesses, describing symptoms and what’s wrong. Discussing food, health and fitness and healthy and unhealthy lifestyles. |
| Summer Term 1 | Les problèmes sociaux | Social issues and charities. The needs of young people. |
| Summer Term 2 | La mode | Learning about clothes, clothes shopping, problems concerning the fashion industry and health. Designing clothes and researching French fashion designers. |
Key stage 3: SPANISH TOPICS
YEAR 7 - SPANISH from September 2018
| Term – new from September 2018 | 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 | Introductions | Phonics & Pronunciation practice; Introduction to Spain and Spanish speaking countries and culture; Classroom talk; Sentence building; basic connectives; Using cognates to decode meaning ; Alphabet; Greetings and introducing yourself;; Numbers to 31, Months, Days, Dates, Memorising vocabulary and Independent Learning. |
| Autumn Term 2 | My preferences | Colours and basic opinions; Extending sentences using connectives and conjunctions; Classroom equipment; Describing a photo; The Spanish-speaking world; Christmas celebrations. |
| Spring Term 1 | My world | Counting to 100; Pets; describing family members; physical and personality descriptions; Adjectives. |
| Spring Term 2 | My free time | Talking about hobbies; sports; music; the weather; famous Spanish-speaking musicians and sports stars; infinitive verbs; using the present tense. |
| Summer Term 1 | Where I live | Describing the area where you live; using ser and estar; type of accommodation; my bedroom; using prepositions of place. |
| Summer Term 2 | Where I live | Describing your ideal home; House chores; project work on the Canary Islands. |
YEAR 8 - SPANISH
| 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 | Donde Vivo yo | Describing the area where you live, your house, rooms in the house, your dream house (using the conditional tense) Explaining what you do to help out at home/household chores. |
| Autumn Term 2 | ¿Adónde vas? | Talking about places in town and what you usually do there. Talking about what you are going to do in the near future. Making and reacting to invitations using excuses. Giving directions. |
| Spring Term 1 | El fin de semana | Discussing what you are going to do at the weekend using the near future tense. Discussing rural and urban environments and discussing how things may have changed in the towns (using the imperfect tense). |
| Spring Term 2 | Al colegio (1) | Talking about school, school subjects, detailed opinions about subjects, telling the time and describing the school routine and timetable. |
| Summer Term 1 | Al colegio (2) | Describing the school environment. Talking about extra-curricular activities. |
| Summer Term 2 | La comida | Giving opinions on food and drink, ordering food in a restaurant. Special occasions and festival foods. |
YEAR 9 - SPANISH - From September 2018, Year 9 students will start studying the GCSE topics
|
Term New from September 2018 |
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 | La comida | Giving opinions on food and drink, ordering food in a restaurant. Special occasions and festival foods. Being able to describe dishes in detail. |
| Autumn Term 2 | Mi dieta sana | What makes a healthy diet. Improving your diet and fitness. Illness and parts of the body and being able to tell the doctor what is wrong with you. Discussing health problems and concerns. |
| Spring Term 1 | Las vacaciones (1) | Talking about transport and holiday travel, activities that you do on holiday, cultural information on Peru and Puerto Rico. Describing holidays and opinions describing a past holiday using the preterit tense. Studying the Amazon. |
| Spring Term 2 | Las vacaciones (2) | Talking about future holidays, learning about Guatemala. |
|
Summer Term 1 |
Generación digital | Learning about the internet and social media. Looking at television in the Hispanic world. Studying films at the cinema and at home. |
| Summer Term 2 |
La música |
Describing musical tastes and genres. |
KEY STAGE FOUR
Our current Year 10 and Year 11 MFL cohorts are entered:
- for the WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) examination in French, Click here for the Eduqas GCSE (9-1) French specifications
- and the AQA GCSE (9-1) examination in Spanish. Click here for the AQA GCSE (9-1) Spanish specifications:
All the four MFL GCSE (9-1) examinations take place at the end of Year 11 and must ALL be at the SAME tier of entry either Foundation or Higher:
- Speaking examination, 25% of the qualification - 60 marks
- Listening examination, 25% of the qualification - 45 marks
- Reading examination, 25% of the qualification - 60 marks
- Writing examination, 25% of the qualification - 60 marks
Year 10 – FRENCH TOPICS
| 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 |
Identity and Culture Youth Culture Grammatical skills Exam skills |
Self and Relationship. Adjectives and intensifiers, the near future tense, the future and conditional tenses Speaking and writing exam practice. |
| Autumn Term 2 |
Identity and culture Youth Culture Grammatical skills Exam skills |
Technology and Social Media. Listening and reading practice. |
| Spring Term 1 |
Local, National, International and Global areas of interest Home and Locality Grammatical skills Exam skills |
Local Areas of Interest Transport Revision of Present, Imperfect, Perfect and Near future tenses Speaking and Writing exam practice |
| Spring Term 2 |
Current and future study and employment Current Study Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
School/College Life.
Speaking and Exam practice. Reading and Listening Assessments. |
| Summer Term 1 |
Identity and culture Lifestyle Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
Health and Fitness. Entertainment and Leisure.
Speaking and Exam practice. |
| Summer Term 2 |
Identity and culture Entertainment and Leisure Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
Cinema, music, reading, television and going out. Writing and speaking practice. |
Year 10 – SPANISH TOPICS
| 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 |
Local, National, International and Global areas of interests Holidays and tourism |
Local and Regional Features and Characteristics Holidays and Tourism Holiday preferences; the weather; activities; adjectives; infinitive verbs; the present tense; Talking about past holidays, the past tense. |
| Autumn Term 2 |
Current and future study and employment |
Applying for jobs, earning money; work experience; plans for the future. |
| Spring Term 1 |
Identity and culture – Family life & leisure activities |
Talking about family life and socialising; Describing people; Talking about family life and socialising; Describing people. Describing relationships; using ser and estar. |
| Spring Term 2 | Identity and culture |
TV; film; sports; leisure activities; role-model; using the present continuous. |
| Summer Term 1 |
Local, National, International and Global areas of interest |
Healthy life style. |
| Summer Term 2 | Identity and culture |
Revision for the end of year examinations. |
Year 11 - FRENCH TOPICS
| 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 | Holidays and Tourism |
Booking rooms in a hotel/accommodation Problems at a hotel/resort using imperfect Ideal holiday using conditional Speaking and writing exam practice |
| Autumn Term 2 |
Food and Drink Festival and Celebrations |
Regional food Restaurants and menus Expressions of quantities Music/Food/cultural celebrations Comparatives and superlatives Preparation for PPE exams |
| Spring Term 1 |
Work experience and part time jobs
Career plans, skills and personal qualities |
Advantages and disadvantages Past tenses revision Opinions/Adjectives
Post-16 study, CVs, projects, studying abroad.
Career plans /advantages/disadvantages Demonstrative pronouns – matching employers to employees/recruiting.
Exam practice. |
| Spring Term 2 |
The environment
Social Issues |
Problems and Solutions Recycling Nuclear energy, renewable energies
World problems The homeless Immigration Refugees Speaking and writing practice |
| Summer Term |
Revision and exam practice.
|
YEAR 11 – SPANISH TOPICS
| 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
|
Current and future study and employment |
Applying for jobs, earning money; work experience; plans for the future.
|
| Autumn Term 2 |
Identity and Culture Family life, Relationships & leisure activities |
Learning vocabulary and conjugation.
TV; film; sports; leisure activities; role-model. Revision for PPE exams. |
| Spring Term 1 |
Local, National, International and Global areas of interest |
Preparing for the speaking exam.
The environment; Health; Global issues and local actions. |
| Spring Term 2 |
Local, National, International and Global areas of interest |
Preparing for the speaking exam.
Town, city, region, shopping.
Daily routine, typical meals, food, music, festivals. |
| Summer Term 1 | Revision | Intensive listening, reading, writing practice and vocab revision. |