Languages
Modern Foreign Languages
The main aims of the department are to motivate and inspire students to learn Modern Foreign Languages across the curriculum, and create a positive environment for language learning to take place. It is vital that we capture the interest of students in order to ensure that motivation remains high across all of the age groups and that there is an increasing number of double linguists.
To do this, there are now enrichment options for both languages which explore the use of film in different languages. Students are able to improve their reading, listening and vocabulary through watching these films either in the target language with English subtitles, or in English with French/German subtitles. These enrichment activities have proven to be popular amongst the students, with classes containing consistently high numbers.
The Languages department regularly organises study visits to France and Germany. Year 8 go annually to Paris, and Years 9-13 are given the opportunity to go to Germany .
These trips are extremely important, as one of the best ways of learning a language is by visiting the country itself and speaking it. Moreover such visits give an important insight into the target culture; most of the students return with an improved knowledge and motivation.
Students are also taught about the importance of languages for their futures. Every year, year 8 students attend a seminar organised by the University of Warwick, called ‘Why Study Languages’; this highlights the numerous careers where languages play an important role. It is also pointed out to students that universities look extremely favorably on candidates with language qualifications. We hope that both of these help maintain the motivation of students.
Aside from motivation, the Modern Foreign Languages department aims to consolidate on the excellent exam results of the past few years, by further reducing the number of students failing and by increasing the number of A and A* grades. To do this, the department have worked together to create a bank of resources and to share ideas and good practice. We also organise regular lunchtime and after school study sessions to support underperforming students. In this way, we have seen a clear improvement in our GCSE and A-Level examination results.
Curriculum
All students are taught two lessons of French and German in Years 7 and 8. At the end of Year 8, students opt to study either French or German for GCSE and some do both. One Modern Foreign Language is compulsory up until GCSE level
Year 7 French: greetings, phonics, alphabet, classroom objects, dates, family, house and home, prepositions, animals, avoir and être, weather, sports with ‘jouer’, regular –er verbs in the present tense, ‘aller,’ countries, near future, clothes and adjectival agreements
Year 7 German: numbers, greetings, alphabet, countries, classroom objects, family, pets, regular verbs in the present tense, rooms and furniture, clothes, colours, ordering food in a snack bar.
Year 8 French: town, food, shops, hobbies, present tense (regular, irregular, modal, reflexives), daily routine, simple future.
Year 8 German: transport, hobbies, weather, time, chores, future tense, daily routine, school, opinions, food, introduction to perfect tense, café dialogue
Students follow the ‘Encore Tricolore’ course in French, and in German, ‘Na Klar’ and ‘Logo’ textbooks are available.
GCSE
Course/s offered: GCSE French, GCSE German
Board: AQA (both French and German)
Specification code/s: 8658 (French), 8668(German) - Years 9 and 10. 4655 (French), 4665 (German) – Year 11.
Website:
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-8658 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/german-8668 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-4655 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/german-4665
New Specification:
Year 9 French: Revision of perfect tense, health, jobs, future simples, famous personalities, current and future studies and employment
Year 9 German: Perfect tense, town, jobs, health, transactional vocabulary, current and future studies and employment
Year 10 French and German: Identity and culture (technology in everyday life, free-time activities, me, my family and friends). Local, national, international and global areas of interest (customs and festivals in French, travel and tourism)
Old specification:
Year 11 French: environment, current and future plans, relationships and choices
Year 11 German: health, environment, current and future plans, relationships and choices
Students have completed all four controlled assessments in year 9 and 10. In year 11, students prepare for their listening and reading exams. Students use a variety of resources including AQA GCSE textbooks for French and German, and also A+ for French and Echo for German. Lessons often take place in the Language Laboratory to improve in particular, listening, reading and vocabulary and also to give practice for controlled assessments
Post 16
Sixth Form prospectus
