Our Aims and Objectives
To engender an understanding and a positive appreciation of foreign cultures
To promote an understanding of how languages work, including their own, thus raising their awareness of literacy
To encourage communication between countries by us of spoken, written and technological means.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9)
There are four separate areas of skill: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Pupils practise all four areas in virtually every lesson. We wish to make pupils competent and effective learners of language. We will build upon pupils’ experience of Literacy Hour at primary school: the study of foreign languages has a major part to play in assisting pupils in understanding their own language and how the rules they have learnt about the foreign language they are studying apply to English. They may have the opportunity of visiting Paris during the summer term.
Year 7
In year 7, all pupils study French for threelessons per week. Our course book is Equipe 1 (published by OUP). Topics include introducing and saying a little about yourself; leisure activities and fitness, local environment; food and drink. Pupils will learn to communicate with themselves and with others, as well as to understand what others are saying to them.
Years 8 and 9
All pupils continue to study French, using Equipe 2 as the course book.
More able linguists have the opportunity to study a second language in addition to French. The emphasis here is on applying what they have learnt in their first language to the second to make them good learners of language for the future.
GCSE - Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)
Pupils may undertake a GCSE in French or German and French. We follow the AQA modular course. Pupils take exams throughout years 10 and 11, all of which count towards their final grade. It is a source of great motivation for pupils to watch the marks mounting up during the two-year course.
Year 10
Pupils take the module one exam in December having studied six topics on the theme of ‘My World’, between September and December. Module one accounts for 12.5% of the GCSE.
Pupils take the module two exam in June. This module accounts for a further 25% of the GCSE. Topics are based on the theme of holidays and travel.
Year 11
Pupils begin module three, a course work module, in September. This is a written coursework module which accounts for a further 12.5% of their final GCSE grade. Course work tasks are based on the theme of ‘Work And Lifestyle.’
Module 4, which is worth 50% of the final grade, is the final module with exams in May or June. Areas of study are based on the theme of ‘The Young Person In Society’.
HEAD OF MODERN LANGUAGES: Mr N Twelves
