Modern Foreign Languages

Years 7 and 8 focus on the basic learning blocks of a successful linguist. Key grammar and topic areas are introduced in years 7 and 8 and are later built on at GCSE which we start to teach in Year 9. The teaching of grammar underpins everything that our students learn at Key Stage 3; our intention is to provide them with a solid understanding of the basics before they reach year 10. Students are set by ability in years 8 and 9 to allow our teaching both to support and to stretch learners more effectively. There is a condensed curriculum for French, Spanish and German dual linguists which allows students to acquire skills in fewer lessons.  The curriculum for single linguists moves at a slower pace but with more lessons.  In year 9, some learners who have struggled to access the curriculum in years 7 and 8 are placed in a set with fewer lessons of Modern Foreign Languages, enabling them to focus on progress in core English and Maths skills. These students follow the same curriculum in Spanish or French as their peers, but the curriculum content has been differentiated to meet their needs, allowing them to access key language and more cultural elements which have been included in the topics themselves.

The material taught is designed to be both accessible and challenging in order to engage learners of all abilities. In years 7 and 8 there is a focus on topics relating to students’ lives and experiences allowing them to communicate their interests and things that matter to them. In order to increase confidence in students’ speaking and listening, native or fluent conversation assistants regularly support the teachers in and outside the classroom. Cultural enrichment is embedded into each scheme of work in the form of activities or projects which are completed at appropriate times in the calendar and curriculum.

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is intended to prepare our students with the skills necessary to be confident at the start of Key Stage 4. This includes grammar, vocabulary, exam technique and study skills. Learning how to memorise vocabulary and grammar is addressed, as well as how to improve listening and reading comprehension, setting personal targets that focus on trying out and evaluating different learning strategies. From the outset, students also begin to develop translation skills both into and from the target language. GCSE topics in French and Spanish are started in year 9 albeit at a slower pace.  In German, GCSE starts in Year 10 because students are selected to start learning German as a second Modern Foreign Language in year 8.

In years 7 and 8 French and Spanish students focus on developing the skills that underpin the language they are learning. They are taught through topics which are based on the GCSE programme so that vocabulary can be consistently revisited, recycled and developed as they progress.  In year 9, French and Spanish students start to learn the more accessible topics of the GCSE curriculum, reinforcing the key tenses studied in years 7 and 8. In Term 6 of year 9, the GCSE topic of customs and festivals is delivered as it is interesting and more engaging, especially for those students who have not opted for GCSE languages. German follows the same sequence but starts in year 8.