Modern Foreign Languages Introduction
Learning a language is incredibly rewarding, challenging and fun.
Learning a language can help to improve social skills, communication and confidence and makes you more open-minded to other people and cultures.
Language learning promotes tolerance and understanding. The ability to understand and communicate in other languages is a fundamental skill for all citizens.
Languages may also support future studies as well as improving your employment potential.
Intent
All students in year 7 and 8 study French and Spanish. At Churchmead we believe that languages are accessible for all, as they are key to communication within the global community. During lessons, exercises are differentiated to meet the needs of every pupil so that they have the opportunity to get involved, have fun and make progress.
Throughout the MFL curriculum, our students will develop their ability to communicate in the target languages and to understand the different cultures and identities associated with modern foreign languages.
Throughout their languages journey, we will develop our students’ listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. They will be encouraged to develop their ability to communicate confidently and coherently with a native speaker.
Our vision in the MFL department is to enable all our students to be confident, culturally savvy, resilient and articulate language learners. Modern foreign languages inspire our students to be curious, ambitious and independent individuals who can apply languages in all aspects of life, from travel to work.
Implementation
We implement our vision through our schemes of work and chosen resources. Focusing on the development of four language learning skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing. From the outset we teach grammar, phonics and vocabulary; using the correct terminology and making explicit links to English and other foreign languages’ grammatical structures, pronunciation and cognates.
In year 7 and 8, pupils are in mixed ability groups with regular assessments and feedback to make sure that progression is made each term. Students develop their language across the four assessed skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing. variety of tasks and assessments are used to develop and assess our student’s progress. In year 9, 10 and 11, students are taught in subject option groups.
KS3 Curriculum
The textbooks we are using to support students learning are:
- French: Dynamo 1, Dynamo 2, Dynamo 3, AQA GCSE French
- Spanish: Viva 1, Viva 2, Viva 3, AQA GCSE Spanish
Dynamo and Viva online textbooks are available on Pearson Activelearn.
The New GCSE
Year 11 GCSE textbooks are available online via Kerboodle.
In addition to our textbooks, we use several websites to enrich learning: Kerboodle, Sentence builders, Pearson Activelearn, BBC Bitesize.
Implementation
Year 7 and 8
Students develop their language across the four assessed skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Across MFL we use electronic textbooks:
- French: Dynamo 1 and Dynamo 2 with differentiated tasks. Students can access both books online on Pearson Activelearn.
- Spanish: Viva 1 and Viva 2 with differentiated tasks. Students can access both books online on Pearson Activelearn.
Year 9 and 10
- French: Dynamo 3 and Activehub GCSE French with differentiated tasks. Students can access both books online on Pearson Activelearn and Pearson Activehub.
- Spanish: Viva 3 and Activehub GCSE Spanish with differentiated tasks. Students can access both books online on Pearson Activelearn and Pearson Activehub.
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KS4 French and Spanish
At KS4 we use online textbooks GCSE AQA French/ Spanish Foundation and Higher with differentiated tasks. Students can access both books on line on Kerboodle. Students are taught in option groups.
Pupils follow the AQA syllabus.
Aims and Learning Outcomes
AQA GCSE course should encourage students to develop:
- Understanding of French in a variety of contexts
- Knowledge of French and language learning skills
- The ability to communicate effectively in French
- Awareness and understanding of countries and communities where French is spoken.
AQA Specification Subject Content
The students will sit all their exams at the end of the course.
The specification covers three distinct themes. These themes apply to all four-question papers.
- Theme 1: Identity and Culture
- Family and friends, technology in everyday life, free time activities, customs and festivals
- Theme 2: Local, National, International and Global Areas of Interest
- Region and hometown, social issues, global issues, travel and tourism
- Theme 3: Current and Future Study and Employment
- My studies, education post 16, jobs, career choices and ambitions
Assessments
GCSE French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four-question papers at the same tier. Each paper is worth 25%.
Impact
By learning a modern language, young people have a better understanding of world around them and values such as courage, compassion and commitment. Our MFL curriculum helps our pupils to develop the knowledge and skills required to progress to the next stage of education and employment, preparing them as global citizens and enabling them to enjoy ‘life in all its fulness’.
KS5 Spanish
This year we are offering A Level Spanish following the Edexcel Specification.
The A-level Spanish course builds on topics at GCSE and introduces new, more complex ones. Many of them are topical and link to what you may be studying in other subjects, such as Politics and History.
- Theme 1: La evolución de la sociedad española
- Changes in family structures, the world of work, the impact of tourism in Spain
- Theme 2: La cultura política y artística en el mundo hispanohablante
- Music, the media, festivals and traditions
- Theme 3: La inmigración y la sociedad multicultural española
- The positive impact, challenges and social reaction towards immigration in Spain
- Theme 4: La dictadura franquista y la transición a la democracia
- The role of King Juan Carlos in the transition, Suárez’s government, the 1981 Coup
Literature
The course also includes studying Spanish literature, the social and historical context and exploring these themes in writing.
We study a Spanish text in each year at A Level. In year 12, our chosen text is La Casa de Bernarda Alba by Garcia Lorca and in year 13 we study Como agua para chocolate by Laura Esquivel.
Community Languages
We offer our students the opportunity to take an extra GCSE in community languages: Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic, Urdu, Italian, Panjabi, Japanese.
Events
To promote languages, we organize several events throughout the year:
EU Languages Day is celebrated on 26 September. In 2022 this was celebrated through whole school worship and a European flag competition and in 2024 a treasure information hunt was organized for year 7 students.
For KS3 students throughout the year we celebrate a variety of French and Spanish festivals, through learning about them in lessons to events and activities for students to participate in at lunch times.
Students in year 8 and 9 have the opportunity to have a pen pal from “Le Cèdre collège” in Rouen. In previous years, most recently 2023, the students from the French partner school have been and visited Churchmead for a day.
In 2024 we have established a new link with KIRIKIÑO IKASTOLA a school in Bilbao, Spain and students in year 7,8 and 9 have started our Spanish pen pal project.