Curriculum

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Modern Foreign Languages

As a school we are wanting the highest of the standards for our young men. We offer French, Arabic and Urdu. There is a strong emphasis on the importance of studying a modern foreign language as this reinforces to the young men that their aspirations are far reaching and worldwide and that studying other languages, cultures, beliefs and practices helps to promote cohesion and tolerance in our society.

The academy currently offers Arabic and French at KS3 and KS4.

Our vision for MFL

The study of languages opens pupils’ minds to a whole world of opportunity. It develops their deep cultural awareness of how linguistic heritage links people of different cultures around the world. We enable all our pupils to broaden their horizons, converse with other people from different backgrounds, learn about world cultures and strengthen their economic prospects by building for them a firm foundation in language learning.

Pupils learn to:

  • understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of carefully selected sources, including authentic audio texts where appropriate.
  • speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
  • read and respond to a wide range of textual sources in each target language, including authentic and literary texts; and to enhance their linguistics knowledge and fluency, an learn more about parts of the world where each language is spoken, through reading for enjoyment from an extensive MFL reading list.
  • write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
  • discover and develop an appreciation of the countries and cultures where the language is used

 

The whole-school curriculum addresses pupils’ academic, personal and social development. These three individual elements of learning provide a different component to the education of every pupil. Intellectual, personal and social maturity are the goal of these structured layers of learning at the school.  There are three guiding elements which are brought to life through the MFL curriculum:

 

  • Educational excellence: MFL teachers engender a love of language learning and a thirst to become fluent in the spoken and written word. Pupils are well prepared to continue their language learning post-16 whether within a career or educational context.
  • Character development: MFL teachers bring the country and culture into the classroom and support pupils’ broader personal development through appreciation of other countries and cultures. Enrichment opportunities include Year 8 Storytime, Year 9 film clubs, Ka Safar virtual trip to Pakistan, video links with schools abroad.
  • Service to communities: MFL teachers promote teamwork and collaboration in the classroom. At GCSE, pupils grapple with social and global issues with the aim of developing pupils’ thinking around their civic duties.

Key Stage 3 Intent

In Year 7, pupils are encouraged to secure a love of languages and culture, forming positive language learning habits and securing a strong linguistic foundation with a focus on knowing and remembering vocabulary.  Year 8 builds on the strong foundation of Y7 by recycling some content in greater depth, practised, and extended through complex linguistic structures and sustained listening, speaking, reading and writing. New topics are also introduced, as well as the past tense. Year 9 focuses on automaticity. Pupils’ confidence is built by using a combination of tenses. The study of MFL in Year 9 allows students to explore familiar topic areas in greater depth, practised and extended through more complex linguistic structures and sustained listening, speaking, reading and writing.  All three tenses – present, past and future – are rehearsed, including in third person, in different combinations.  At KS3, developing cultural awareness and active engagement verbally and in written form remain at the core of the curriculum.

Key Stage 3 Impact

At KS3, explicit disciplinary knowledge components (vocabulary, grammar and phonics) that lead to a series of composite tasks where appropriate. These help to secure fluency in the spoken and written word over time.

Key Stage 4 Intent

In Year 10 pupils revisit topics studied at Key Stage 3 in more depth through the Key Stage 4 GCSE specification.  They listen and read for gist and detail with increasing stamina.  Pupils speak and write confidently in some detail. They use correct verb endings more consistently, develop greater confidence in combining time frames and learn a wider range of verb tenses. They offer and justify opinions on a range of topics. Pupils recall high frequency vocabulary and structures and now start to draw upon more nuanced and specialised vocabulary. In Y11, pupils continue to build upon a strong foundation of prior learning to tackle more complex content relating to future plans, healthy lifestyle choices and social and global social issues.  They know how to synthesise learning across topics and recycle language more proficiently from memory. The simple future tense, subjunctive voice and passive voices are introduced. Pupils end the course well-prepared for the rigour of GCSE exams in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Pupils communicate competently and confidently in spoken and written language and appreciate different cultures in different countries around the world; they have a strong foundation to study A-Levels or use languages proficiently in the future.

 

Key Stage 4 Implementation

1. Identity and culture

2. Local area, holiday, travel

3. School

4. Future aspirations, study and work

5. International and global dimension

Paper 1

Paper 2

Paper 3

Paper 4

Listening and understanding

Speaking

Reading and understanding

Writing

Written examination 25% of the overall grade

Internal Examination. Externally assessed.

25% of the overall grade

Written examination 25% of the overall grade

Written examination 25% of the overall grade

Enrichment and Careers

The Department offers a range of enrichment clubs, such as reading clubs, leading overseas educational visits and organising regular competitions. Intervention sessions to consolidate prior learning and ensure maximum progress are at the heart of our delivery model.

There are excellent professional careers for learning MFL. Proficiency in MFL is a major asset for those seeking a career in international business as well as telecoms and manufacturing. Many global companies, especially in information technology, require MFL besides English. Mastering a language will provide an opportunity to work in exciting and rewarding jobs such as translating, interpreting, and even giving tuition in the UK and across the globe!