Modern Foreign Languages
Welcome to the Modern Foreign Language Department
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.
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 for Languages programmes at KS3 and KS4.
Key stage 3 French topics:
Year 7 French
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 | 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 French
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 | Les loisirs et le cinéma | Talking about what you watch on TV, going to the cinema, different types of films, describing your favourite film and your favourite actors. Talking about film Festivals. using the present and near future tenses. |
Autumn Term 2 | Les loisirs et le shopping | Talking about music, Francophone musicians and songs. Building listening and speaking skills through song. Understanding and using the past tense appropriately. Talking about what you did last weekend in town. Preparing for a special occasion with your shopping. |
Spring Term 1 | 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. Talking about how to improve your health Talking about ailments and injuries. Visits to the doctors and role plays. |
Spring Term 2 | A quoi sert la technologie? | The role of technology and social media today. Advantages and disadvantages of technology. Looking at bloggers and vloggers. Deciding if young people could live without their mobile phones and the impact of cyber bullying. |
Summer Term 1 | L’argent du poche | Young people and work (part-time) earning money. Future plans and what they are going to do after school. Talking about your ideal job. (near future tense and conditional tense). |
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
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 | 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
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 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 (91) examination in French, Click here for the Eduqas GCSE (91) French specifications
- for the WJEC Eduqas GCSE (91) examination in Spanish, Click here for the Eduqas GCSE (91) 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 and 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: |
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Autumn Term 1 |
Identity and Culture Youth Culture Grammatical skills Exam skills |
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Autumn Term 2 |
Identity and culture Youth Culture Grammatical skills Exam skills |
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Spring Term 1 |
Local, National, International and Global areas of interest Home and Locality Grammatical skills Exam skills |
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Spring Term 2 |
Current and future study and employment Current Study Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
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Summer Term 1 |
Identity and culture Lifestyle Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
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Summer Term 2 |
Identity and culture Entertainment and Leisure Grammar consolidation Exam skills |
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Year 11 French and 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 |
FRANCE AND FRENCH SPEAKING COUNTRIES/SPAIN AND SPANISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
Local, National, International and Global areas of interests
Holidays and tourism |
|
Autumn Term 2 |
CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
Food and Drink Festival and Celebrations |
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Spring Term 1 |
WORLD OF WORK Work experience and part time jobs Skills and personal qualities JOBS AND FUTURE PLANS Career plans, skills and personal qualities |
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Spring Term 2 |
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY The environment Social Issues |
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Summer Term 1 |
Revision and exam practice |