Modern Languages
Welcome to the MFL Department
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela
Head of Department:
Mrs Kabaria
e-mail: lpatel25.310@parkhighstanmore.org.uk
French/German/Spanish
Modern Foreign Language learners develop the skills and confidence to consider themselves ‘World Citizens’ knowing their place in a multicultural society that aligns seamlessly with the overarching school vision ‘to inspire young people to be confident and successful learners who contribute positively to society as responsible citizens.’ Our curriculum is designed to empower students with the ability and desire to communicate confidently in the target language with accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation fulfilling the ambitious demands of the National Curriculum. We recognise that these fundamental skills will prepare them to compete globally and when they leave us, achieve ‘bright futures.’ By embedding the school’s core values integrity, resilience, communication, curiosity and teamwork into every lesson, we enable learners to strive to improve their knowledge, to reflect on their learning and to enjoy the challenges they face when learning a new language.
The spiral curriculum allows students to revisit previous knowledge whilst developing more sophisticated vocabulary and sentence structures. Pupils develop a competency that is both broad and deep in the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing based on a sound foundation of core grammar, vocabulary and phonics. Our curriculum builds on the foundations of language learning laid in Key Stage 2; therefore, we maintain strong links with our feeder primary schools to ensure students have a smooth transition into Key Stage 3.
Key Stage 3
In Key Stage 3, we embed the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to learn another language. Students broaden their horizon and are encouraged to step beyond familiar cultural boundaries and develop new ways of seeing the world. We provide a fun, stimulating and interactive experience of learning a language. Initially, students focus on the skill of speaking and gradually develop other linguistic skills. Topics are selected to engage our students and allow them to take part in meaningful conversations about themselves and the world around them for practical purposes. For example, in year 7, students learn how to talk about school life and describe a timetable and give opinions on subjects. In year 8 students build on this and describe facilities and are introduced to basic key verbs in the past tense to describe their primary school and compare with school now. In year 9 students look at higher level opinion phrases to describe their school and explore the simple future tense to describe plans for after studying. Students are taught a variety of tenses, grammar structures, and wide-ranging vocabulary which can then be transferable to different topics.
Year 7
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
|
Introducing myself Family/friends/pets and traditions in TL countries |
Where I live My life at school |
Holidays Free time activities End of year exam |
| Assessment | ||
|
Key milestone tasks covering autumn 1 topics Key milestone tasks covering autumn 2 topics |
Mid-year cumulative assessment covering autumn 1, autumn 2 and spring 1 topics Key milestone task covering spring 2 topics |
Key milestone task covering summer 1 topics Cumulative end of year exam covering topics from the whole year |
Home learning is allocated on a weekly basis by each department. It may be an isolated piece of work, a project, research, or an alternative task which challenges the students to solidify their knowledge and / or extend it. Teachers will notify students of home learning on the TEAMS platform.
In the Spring Term and Summer Term, each student will sit a formal, internal exam which will consist of all elements taught throughout the course. Appropriate preparation in the form of revision should be taken seriously with sufficient planning and organisation to ensure each student fulfils their potential. Students will also sit formal half termly assessments after the content of each topic has been taught. Teachers will provide feedback to students, address misconceptions and reteach content if necessary.
Knowledge Organisers:
French
German
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Spanish
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Year 8
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
|
Body parts and illnesses and present tense of regular and irregular verbs Mealtimes and eating out |
Hometown and area I live School, jobs and future plans |
Holidays with past tense Film and Literature in TL country |
| Assessment | ||
|
Key milestone tasks covering autumn 1 topics Key milestone tasks covering autumn 2 topics |
Cumulative assessment covering autumn 1, 2 and spring 1 topics Key milestone task covering spring 2 topics |
Key milestone task covering summer 1 topics Cumulative end of year exam covering topics from the whole year |
Home learning is allocated on a weekly basis by each department. It may be an isolated piece of work, a project, research, or an alternative task which challenges the students to solidify their knowledge and / or extend it. Teachers will notify students of home learning on the TEAMS platform.
In the Spring Term and Summer Term, each student will sit a formal, internal exam which will consist of all elements taught throughout the course. Appropriate preparation in the form of revision should be taken seriously with sufficient planning and organisation to ensure each student fulfils their potential. Students will also sit formal half termly assessments after the content of each topic has been taught. Teachers will provide feedback to students, address misconceptions and reteach content if necessary.
Knowledge Organisers:
French
German
Spanish
Year 9
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
|
Use of technology, devices Music and cinema in TL country |
Buying and ordering food. Healthy and unhealthy eating habits and how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Local area and environment |
My life at school Holidays- at the hotel/at the tourist office |
| Assessment | ||
|
Key milestone tasks covering autumn 1 topics Key milestone tasks covering autumn 2 topics |
Cumulative assessment covering autumn 1, 2 and spring 1 topics Key milestone task covering spring 2 topics |
Key milestone task covering summer 1 topics Cumulative end of year exam covering topics from the whole year |
Home learning is allocated on a weekly basis by each department. It may be an isolated piece of work, a project, research, or an alternative task which challenges the students to solidify their knowledge and / or extend it. Teachers will notify students of home learning on the TEAMS platform.
In the Spring Term and Summer Term, each student will sit a formal, internal exam which will consist of all elements taught throughout the course. Appropriate preparation in the form of revision should be taken seriously with sufficient planning and organisation to ensure each student fulfils their potential. Students will also sit formal half termly assessments after the content of each topic has been taught. Teachers will provide feedback to students, address misconceptions and reteach content if necessary.
Knowledge Organisers:
French
Y9 French Knowledge Organisers on SharePoint
German
Y9 German Knowledge Organisers on SharePoint
Spanish
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4, students consolidate, refine, and further develop knowledge in all four skills that are established in Key Stage 3. Students will be challenging themselves to understand language at near native speed and will be developing the ability to hold relevantly fluent conversations on a wide range of topics such as customs and traditions in target language countries, global and social issues and plans for studies in the future.
Year 10
Year 10 (for the first teaching from 2024 and first exam series from 2026 onwards)
GCSE French, German and Spanish will cover the following topics:
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
|
THEME 1: People and lifestyle TOPIC: Education and work THEME 3: Communication and the world around us TOPIC: The environment and where people live |
THEME 2: Popular culture TOPIC: Customs, festivals and celebrations THEME 1: People and lifestyle TOPIC: Identity and relationship with others |
THEME 2: Popular culture TOPIC: Free time activities THEME 3: Communication and the world around us TOPIC: Media & technology |
| Assessment | ||
|
Spaced retrieval practice, regular vocabulary/grammar testing, MCQ’s, exam question practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills (timed), end of unit testing |
Spaced retrieval practice, regular vocabulary/grammar testing, MCQ’s, exam question practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills (timed) end of unit testing |
Spaced retrieval practice, regular vocabulary/grammar testing, MCQ’s, exam question practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills (timed) end of unit testing Mock exam |
All students who follow this course will be given weekly home learning. Wider reading is always useful either from the websites offered, the textbook or as directed by their classroom teacher.
Students will sit formal half termly assessments which will test either of the 4 skills they need to be able to produce for their final GCSE’s. Teachers will be able to deliver personalised feedback after these assessment and address misconceptions, and reteach content where necessary. In the Summer Term, each student will sit a formal, internal exam which will consist of all elements taught throughout the course. Appropriate preparation in the form of revision should be taken seriously with sufficient planning and organisation to ensure each student fulfils their potential.
Year 10 and 11
GCSE French, German and Spanish will cover the following topics:
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
|
Theme 1 Food and customs (Identity and culture) Theme 3 Jobs and future plans (Current and future study employment ) |
Current and future employment (module 7) cont. Theme 2 – social issues and the environment (Local, national and international areas of interest) |
Skills work, Exam-style practice, Revision and Assessment |
| Assessment | ||
|
Spaced retrieval practice, regular vocabulary/grammar testing, MCQ’s, exam question practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills (timed), end of unit testing |
Spaced retrieval practice, regular vocabulary/grammar testing, MCQ’s, exam question practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills (timed), end of unit testing |
Exams |
All students who follow this course will be given weekly home learning. Wider reading is always useful either from the websites offered, the textbook or as directed by their classroom teacher.
Students will sit formal half termly assessments which will test either of the 4 skills they need to be able to produce for their final GCSE’s. Teachers will be able to deliver personalised feedback after these assessment and address misconceptions, and reteach content where necessary. In the Summer Term, each student will sit a formal, internal exam which will consist of all elements taught throughout the course. Appropriate preparation in the form of revision should be taken seriously with sufficient planning and organisation to ensure each student fulfils their potential.
FOR THE 2024/2025 GCSE Exams ONLY
French/German/Spanish (Foundation Tier)
Paper 1: Listening 35 minutes, 40 marks, 25% of GCSE
Paper 2: Speaking 7–9 minutes + preparation time, 60 marks, 25% of GCSE
Paper 3: Reading 45 minutes, 60 marks, 25% of GCSE
Paper 4 Writing 1 hour, 50 marks, 25% of GCSE
GCSE French/German/Spanish (Higher Tier)
Paper 1: Listening 45 minutes, 50 marks, 25% of GCSE
Paper 2: Speaking 10–12 minutes + preparation time, 60 marks, 25% of GCSE
Paper 3: Reading 1 hour, 60 marks, 25% of GCSE
Paper 4 Writing 1 hour 15 minutes, 60 marks, 25% of GCSE
Examination Board:
Course Specification:
Qualification obtained:
GCSE French
GCSE German
GCSE Spanish
Useful Reading Material
French
- STUDIO AQA GCSE French Higher
- CGP French Revision Guide
- EXPO French
- Pocket French dictionary
German
- STIMMT AQA GCSE German Higher
- CGP German Revision Guide
- ECHO German
- Pocket German dictionary
Spanish
- VIVA AQA GCSE Spanish Higher
- CGP Spanish Revision Guide
- MIRA Spanish GCSE
- Pocket Spanish dictionary
Additional Information
Enrichment
The department offers a range of extra-curricular activities which include older students visiting a local primary school on a ‘roadshow’ where they lead and teach MFL lessons. The department also offer an MFL library to encourage reading for pleasure in the target language they are studying.
Useful Websites
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