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, KS4 and 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 study National for Languages programmes at KS3 and KS3
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 life including jobs people do, the area where you live and its location, describing the weather. |
| Autumn term 2 | Temps libre (Leisure time) | Describing your leisure activities, sports, television, etc. Saying what you and your friends do at the weekend and what you did last weekend. |
| Spring term 1 | Les sorties (going out) | Making and reacting to invitations, making excuses. Describing and giving opinions about clothes, fashion, and shopping using the present and past tenses. |
| Spring term 2 | 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 1 | Voyages et vacances (Holidays) | Describing holiday destinations and activities and a past holiday. |
| Summer term 2 | Les copains (Friends) | Talking about your friends in more detail and describing your plans for the forthcoming holidays and your dreams for the future. |
YEAR 9 - FRENCH
| Term | Unit of Work | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn term 1 | Ça t’intéresse? (Does it interest you?) | 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. Understanding and using the past tense appropriately. Discussing French actors, TV programmes and films. |
| Autumn term 2 | 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 1 | En bonne santé (In good health) | Talking about illnesses, describing symptoms and what’s wrong. Discussing food, health and fitness and healthy and unhealthy lifestyles. |
| Spring term 2 | Les gens comme nous (People like us) | The international world: Life in other countries and communities |
| Summer term 1 | On y va (Let’s go) | The international world: Tourism at home and abroad |
| Summer term 2 | Les droits des jeunes (Young people’s rights) | Discussing school life in other countries, young people and work, money, tackling world events and issues (hunger, poverty, human rights activists) |
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 | La gente (People) | Expressing opinions about leisure activities. Describing friends and celebrities. Using comparisons. Describing your daily routine using reflexive verbs and sequencing words. Discussing people’s nationality. |
| Autumn term 2 | ¿Adónde vas? (Where are you going?) | 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. Saying what you would like to do. |
| Spring term 1 | ¿Adónde fuiste? (Where did you go?) | Saying where you went on holiday and what it was like. Discussing your travel arrangements and what you did there. Expressing opinions about past events in more detail |
| Spring term 2 | La comida (Food/Eating) | Talking about mealtimes. Shopping for food, dealing with quantities and prices. Ordering food at a restaurant. Discussing a past meal and your likes and dislikes about food using the present, past and future tenses appropriately. |
| Summer term 1 | La ropa (Clothes) | Talking about clothes and fashion, including what your school uniform looks like and what you could wear at a fancy ball. |
| Summer term 2 | Barcelona | Discovering Barcelona. What there is to see and do, asking and giving directions, describing a possible holiday in Barcelona using the present, past and future tenses. |
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 | Holidays and tourism | Holiday preferences; the weather; activities; adjectives; infinitive verbs; the present tense; |
| Autumn term 2 | Holidays and tourism | Talking about past holidays, the past tense; Booking accommodation; the future tense; describing past holidays using three tenses; |
| Spring term 1 | GCSE exam skills practice | Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing GCSE examination practice on the topic of holidays and assessments |
| Spring term 2 | School | Opinions about school subjects; Describing the uniform and school day; Describing your school; |
|
Summer term 1 |
School | Describing school rules; successes and pressures; extracurricular activities; school trips |
| Summer term 2 |
GCSE exam skills practice Latin America |
Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing GCSE examination practice on the topic of School; Cultural project on Latin America |
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 Educas 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 |
Introduction to the course Basic Vocabulary revision Grammatical skills Exam skills |
Phonics, Numbers, alphabet, classroom language Infinitive verbs, Present and Past tense, Modal and Reflexive verbs, Negative phrases, How to express opinions Introduction to speaking and writing exam |
| Autumn term 2 |
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 exam practice |
| Spring term 1 |
LOCAL, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL AREAS OF INTERESTS 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 |
CURENT 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 |
LOCAL, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL AREAS OF INTERESTS France and French-speaking Countries Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
Local and Regional Features and Characteristics Holidays and Tourism Speaking and Exam 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 | Holidays and tourism | Holiday preferences; the weather; activities; adjectives; infinitive verbs; the present tense; Talking about past holidays, the past tense; |
| Autumn term 2 | Holidays and tourism | Booking accommodation; the future tense; describing past holidays using three tenses; GCSE exam skills practice on the topic of Holidays |
| Spring term 1 | School | Opinions about school subjects; Describing the uniform and school day; Describing your school; |
| Spring term 2 | School | Describing school rules; successes and pressures; extracurricular activities; school trips; |
| Summer term 1 |
GCSE exam skills IDENTITY AND CULTURE – Family life & leisure activities |
GCSE exam skills practice on the topic of school Talking about family life and socialising; Describing people; |
| 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 |
The environment
Social Issues |
Problems and Solutions Recycling Nuclear energy, renewable energies World problems The homeless Immigration Refugees Speaking and writing practice |
| Spring term 2 |
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 |
| Summer term |
EXAM PRACTICE AND REVISION
|
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 and 2 | IDENTITY AND CULTURE – Family life, Relationships & leisure activities |
Learning vocabulary and conjugation Talking about family life and socialising; Describing people; leisure activities; reading; new technology; using the present continuous; Describing relationships; using ser and estar; TV; film; sports; leisure activities; role-model; Revision for PPE exams |
| Spring term 1 | LOCAL, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL AREAS OF INTEREST
IDENTITY & CULTURE |
PREPARING FOR THE SPEAKING EXAM Town, city, region, shopping Daily routine, typical meals, food, music, festivals |
| Spring term 2 |
CURRENT AND FUTURE STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT LOCAL, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL AREAS OF INTEREST |
PREPARING FOR THE SPEAKING EXAM Applying for jobs, earning money; work experience; plans for the future The environment; Health; Global issues and local actions |
| Summer term 1 | REVISION | Intensive listening, reading, writing practice and vocab revision |