Modern Foreign Languages

Bonjour!  In Year 7 all students study French.  By the end of the year each student will be able to talk about themselves and give basic information about their family, school and hobbies.  The student will be able to give their opinion and state what they like and dislike.  During the year the student will meet a range of grammatical concepts including present tense verbs and adjectival agreement.  Each student will take part in speaking, reading, listening and writing activities and learn about French culture.

International literature: The students will study The Little Prince and some poetry by Jacques Prévert.

Why French?

• More than 300 million people speak French on the five continents.
• The ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market.
• French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture. A knowledge of French offers to great works of literature in the original French as well as films and songs.
• France is the world’s top tourist destination and attracts more than 87 million visitors a year.

How to support at home:

Test students on vocabulary regularly (10 new words a week).

Go to WOW Film Festival nights at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

Drill tenses using: http://www.conjugation.org/

Use Linguascope (teachers will provide username and password)

Use Duolingo compete as a family

Bonjour/Buenos días/Ni hao…. Students will study French, Mandarin and Spanish (one term for each). Students will learn to describe where they live, holidays past and future, the weather, transport, countries, daily routine and what they do in their spare time.  The students will study cultural aspects about the countries where these languages are spoken and develop ICT skills via our online language programmes. As a Faculty, we aim to facilitate cultural enrichment opportunities and make our students aware of the multi-lingual world in which we live.  We will have visits from motivational guest speakers, trips and cultural activities in our calendar of events.  These include: The Chínese New Year, El día de los Muertos, Bastille, etc. Globally minded students are the future!

International literature: The students will also study The Little Prince, poetry by Lorca and Machado and a range of Chinese haikus.

How to support at home?

Test students on vocabulary regularly (10 new words a week)

Go to WOW Film Festival nights at Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Drill tenses using: http://www.conjugation.org/

Use Linguascope (teachers will provide username and password)

Use Duolingo to compete as a family!

Bonjour/Buenos días/Ni hao…. In Year 9 you will continue to study French, Spanish and Mandarin (one term of each language).  You will further your understanding of your chosen language and develop your linguistic skills to include more tenses and more complex sentence structures. Cultural enrichment opportunities are offered via our international trips and culture-based project work. You will develop your ICT skills via our online language programmes and learn the language needed for real life contexts; job interviews and defending your opinion.  We have visits from motivational guest speakers who aim to link language skills to employability and each year we select Pupil Language Ambassadors to represent the school and take an active role in our decision making in the Faculty Council.  We have a calendar of events which include: The Chinese New Year, El día de los Muertos and Bastille. Globally minded students are the future!

Key Pieces:

French – Cinema project on “Les choristes”.

Spanish – Project on Hispanic food and dialogue in a café

Mandarin – Translation with character recognition

Trip:

Spain, Andalucía with immersion language lessons

International literature: Students will also study The Little Prince, poetry by Lorca and Machado and a range of Chinese haikus.

How to support at home?

Test students on vocabulary regularly (10 new words a week)

Go to WOW Film Festival nights at Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Drill tenses using: http://www.conjugation.org/

Use Linguascope (teachers will provide username and password)

Use Duolingo to compete as a family!

There are no controlled tasks in MFL but 100% final exam broken up into the 4 disciplines.  It will be decided in year 11 if your son/daughter will be entered for Higher/Foundation.  This decision is based on Key Piece marks and class-work.  (Please note, due to specification changes in Edexcel Mandarin, the new 9-1 grading system will replace A*-G.)

By taking a language at GCSE you will have amazing skills and a valuable talent that is applicable to almost everything you do. A language GCSE builds on what you have already learnt in years 7, 8 and 9 and you probably know more than you think. Language classes are still fun and interactive and you cover things at a slightly quicker pace and in more detail than previously. Plus, by taking a language GCSE you will not just learn the language, you will get to find out about other people, countries and cultures.  By the end of the GCSE course you will be able to communicate confidently and spontaneously in your chosen language.  Globally minded students are the future!

Exams

Topic areas covered at GCSE in all languages:

Youth culture, lifestyle choices, customs and traditions, home and locality, tourism, global sustainability, current study, enterprise, employability and future plans.

The course will enable learners to:

• develop their ability to communicate confidently and coherently with native speakers in speech and writing, conveying what they want to say with increasing accuracy
• express and develop thoughts and ideas spontaneously and fluently
• listen to and understand clearly articulated, standard speech at near normal speed
• deepen their knowledge about how language works and enrich their vocabulary in order for them to increase their independent use and understanding of extended language in a wide range of contexts
• acquire new knowledge, skills and ways of thinking through the ability to understand and respond to a rich range of authentic spoken and written material, adapted and abridged, as appropriate, including literary texts
• develop awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where the language is spoken develop language learning skills both for immediate use and to prepare them for further language study and use in school, higher education or in employment

There are no controlled tasks in MFL but 100% final exam broken up into the 4 disciplines.  It will be decided in year 11 if your son/daughter will be entered for Higher/Foundation. This decision is based on Key Piece marks and class-work.  (Please note, due to specification changes in Edexcel Mandarin, the new 9-1 grading system will replace A*-G.)

By taking a language at GCSE you will have amazing skills and a valuable talent that is applicable to almost everything you do. A language GCSE builds on what you have already learnt in years 7, 8 and 9 and you probably know more than you think. Language classes are still fun and interactive and you cover things at a slightly quicker pace and in more detail than previously. Plus, by taking a language GCSE you will not just learn the language, you will get to find out about other people, countries and cultures.  By the end of the GCSE course you will be able to communicate confidently and spontaneously in your chosen language.  Globally minded students are the future!

Exams

Topic areas covered at GCSE in all languages:

Youth culture, lifestyle choices, customs and traditions, home and locality, tourism, global sustainability, current study, enterprise, employability and future plans.

The course will enable learners to:

• develop their ability to communicate confidently and coherently with native speakers in speech and writing, conveying what they want to say with increasing accuracy
• express and develop thoughts and ideas spontaneously and fluently
• listen to and understand clearly articulated, standard speech at near normal speed
• deepen their knowledge about how language works and enrich their vocabulary in order for them to increase their independent use and understanding of extended language in a wide range of contexts
• acquire new knowledge, skills and ways of thinking through the ability to understand and respond to a rich range of authentic spoken and written material, adapted and abridged, as appropriate, including literary texts
• develop awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where the language is spoken
• develop language learning skills both for immediate use and to prepare them for further language study and use in school, higher education or in employment