The Modern Foreign Languages Faculty
Teaching and Learning Director
Mr J. McStocker
MFL Faculty Intent
• To provide opportunities for all students to achieve their full potential and to promote and enable academic achievement
• To foster within students a love of foreign languages and culture and to equip them with essential skills such as communication skills, problem-solving, team work and resilience
Key Stage 3 Subject Intent
• Development of cultural awareness through use of different media
• Promotion of intercultural understanding
• Understanding of structure and grammatical principles
• Increase self-confidence, especially in speaking
• Development of resilience and Growth Mindsets
• Enjoyment of and success in language learning
• Appreciation of literature in foreign languages
• Provision of educational experiences in TL countries
• Free choice of 2 from 4 of the languages offered
Key Stage 4 Subject Intent
As per KS3, plus:
• Development of ability across all key skills in preparation for exams
• Development of spontaneity in speaking
• Opportunity to study 2 languages to GCSE
• Equip students with the necessary skills and content to undertake further language study.
Curriculum Overview
Years 7 & 8
During Key Stage 3 (years 7 & 8) students are able to select two languages to study. Language lessons are taught in mixed ability classes with homework set twice per week. Students are assessed in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing and on their knowledge and application of grammatical principles.
French, Spanish, German and Italian – Year 7
| Block 1 | Block 2 | Block 3 | Block 4 |
|
Alphabet & phonetics. Greetings Classroom vocab Weather
Numbers to 31 Days of week Months Dates / birthdays
Personality Pets /family Colours Physical description
The present tense of regular verbs
Introduction to literary texts
Sports / Frequency Giving opinions Justifying opinions
Music and reading habits
Festivals and celebrations |
Students study their other language |
School subjects
Giving opinions and justifications
School facilities
School rules
Daily routine
Present tense of verbs
Social media and technology
Introduction to literary texts
Film and Television |
Students study their other language |
Year 8 – French, German, Italian and Spanish
| Block 1 | Block 2 | Block 3 | Block 4 |
|
– Holiday destinations – Holiday activities – Revision of present tense
– Food and drink – Shopping for food and drink – Numbers – Quantities
– Describing a past holiday
– Preterite/perfect tense of verbs
– Describing accommodation
– Booking accommodation
– Local area
– Directions
– TL country – celebrations
– Literary extracts |
Students study their other language |
– Jobs – Places of work
– Personal qualities and interests
– Pocket money
– Advantages and disadvantages of different jobs – Giving opinions and justifications
– Ambitions: future study and beyond
– Volunteering
– Using languages beyond the classroom
– Introduction to poetry: reading and responding and using language creatively. |
Students study their other language |
Year 9
All students in Year 9 study the language of their choice over five lessons per fortnight in mixed ability groups. Homework is set twice per week, one is a learning activity and one writing or speaking. Students are assessed in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing and on their knowledge and application of grammatical principles.
Students are assessed in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing and on their knowledge and application of grammatical principles.
Year 9
Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
|
Topic area: Who am I?
Family and friends: physical description and talking about personality
Friendships and role models: personal qualities
The present tense of verbs
Free time: sport and other interests
|
Topic area: Daily life
Daily routine and using reflexive verbs
Food and drink: giving opinions and justifications; mealtimes; food and drink in TL countries.
Shopping for food and drink and clothes: role-play practice; asking questions.
Social media and technology: uses and advantages and disadvantages.
.
|
Topic area: Cultural life
TV and films
Film week
Reading habits
Music
Describing festivals and traditions in TL-speaking countries
Family celebrations .
|
Topic area: School
Talking about school subjects
Talking about school day and routine
Discussing school timetable
Describing school uniform Talking about advantages and disadvantages of school uniform
Preterite/perfect tense of verbs
Rules and pressures at school
Comparing school in UK and TL countries |
Topic area: School
Imperfect tense
Describing primary school
Comparing primary school to high school
Literary text.
|
Topic area: School
Summer exams
Events and successes at school
The future tense of verbs
Planning a school trip/exchange
Literary texts: deconstructing a text; identifying key linguistic features; deducing and inferring meaning.
|
Years 10 & 11
All students in Years 10 & 11 continue to study the language of their choice over five lessons per fortnight in mixed ability groups. Homework is set twice per week, one is a learning activity and one writing or speaking.
Students are assessed in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing and on their knowledge and application of grammatical principles.
In Y11, provision is personalised and key topic areas are revisited to allow for consolidation and extension.
Year 10
Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
|
Topic area: Holidays
Destinations: Talking about location; cities and countries
Holidays: talking about holiday preferences; opinions and justifications; expressing plans and intentions; asking questions
Talking about a past holiday
|
Topic area: Travel and tourist transactions
Methods of transport: advantages and disadvantages; travel by train and bus
Places in town
Asking for directions /information
Dealing with problems (e.g. lost items)
Describing accommodation: types of accommodation; booking a hotel room; hotel facilities; complaints
Eating out in a restaurant
Christmas in TL country |
Topic area: Town, region and country
Describing local area: places in a town; what there is to see and do; positives and negatives
Discussing the weather and plans
Shopping: types of shops; buying clothes; complaints; shopping for food; using quantities
Online shopping: advantages and disadvantages
|
Topic area: Future aspirations, study and work
Talking about how you earn money
Jobs and professions: advantages and disadvantages; personal qualities and interests
Applying for a job abroad
|
Topic area: Ambitions
Y10 exams
The conditional tense of verbs
Talking about plans, hopes and wishes: future plans for study, volunteering and work
|
Topic area: Using languages beyond the classroom
Using languages: discussing the importance of languages; famous TL speakers
Studying languages abroad
Working abroad
Cultural project on TL-speaking areas: geographical location and features (natural attractions); weather; festivals; music; Sport; food and drink; daily life; things to see and do
|
Year 11
Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
|
Topic area: International and Global Dimension
Global issues and solutions
The environment: environmental issues; solutions; protecting the environment
Ethical shopping
International events: arguments for and against
Speaking preparation |
Topic area: Identity and culture
Learning is personalised to allow students to develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in relation to this theme.
Christmas and New Year traditions .
|
Topic area: Holidays and local area
Learning is personalised to allow students to develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in relation to this theme.
|
Topic area: School
Learning is personalised to allow students to develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in relation to this theme.
|
Topic area: Jobs and future aspirations
Learning is personalised to allow students to develop the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in relation to this theme.
|
LINKS TO SPECIFICATIONS:
Additional Information
Extra Support is offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after school for all students. As extra-curricular lessons we are offering Urdu and Arabic this year.
There are residential visits to France and Italy which take place each year.