Modern Languages

Subject Progression

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French and Spanish

The ability to use language lies at the heart of communication and the study of a Modern Language has a unique contribution to make to the enhancement of a young person’s future employability. In addition, learning another language enables learners to play a fuller part as global citizens and make connections with different people and their cultures, gaining greater insights into other ways of thinking and views of the world. Language skills are therefore a key skill set to thrive in today’s multicultural world and global economy, yet the benefits of learning another language reach much beyond cultural and economic advantages. The social and cognitive advantages cannot be overstated and will benefit learners across all areas of the curriculum. As well as enhancing brain health, language learning improves communication, memory, problem-solving, resilience and self-confidence. The ability to use a foreign language is therefore increasingly seen as a valuable set of transferable skills and nowadays often studied as part of a combined university degree (e.g. law, business, accountancy, tourism etc), making students more employable and better equipped for the world of tomorrow.

Through their language studies, pupils will also enjoy the opportunity to

  • Develop their literacy skills both in English and in the foreign language

  • Raise their awareness of other cultures, international citizenship and world affairs related to the countries where the language is spoken

  • Develop transferable skills such as working with others, research, problem solving and ICT skills

National 4 and 5

As part of their studies at National level, pupils will continue to develop their linguistic skills in Reading and Listening (Understanding Language Unit) as well as Talking and Writing (Using Language Unit), while covering the broad contexts of Society, Culture, Learning and Employability (topics detailed below).

  1. Society - healthy lifestyles, media and relationships

  2. Culture - travelling, Spanish/French films, literature and traditions

  3. Learning - education, current and future studies

  4. Employability - jobs and future plans, work and CVs

Assessment

At National 5, there will be an external course assessment covering the various elements of Reading, Listening, Talking and Writing. The course assessment in Reading, Listening and Writing will consist of a question paper while the format of the Speaking assessment will be an oral presentation on a chosen topic within the prescribed themes (see above), as well as a follow-up discussion. In addition, a written assignment will be completed during class time and submitted to SQA thereafter. At National 4, students will be internally assessed in the four language skills of Reading, Listening, Talking and Writing.

Progression Routes

Pupils who gain an award at National 4 level, can then move on to National 5 should they wish to pursue their language studies. Alternatively, they can take up a new National course (National 4 or National 5) in a new language.

Higher

The Higher Modern Languages course will focus on developing the students’ ability to read, listen, talk and write in a Modern Language, in other words to understand and use a Modern Language, while studying in greater depth the contexts of Society, Learning, Employability and Culture. Learners will also develop the language skills of translation, and apply their grammatical knowledge and understanding in their use of the language.

Higher French is extremely valuable for many career paths, for entry to higher or further education and for students’ general education and personal development.

The Higher Modern Languages course is made up of two mandatory Units:

Modern Languages: Understanding Language (Higher): The purpose of this Unit is to develop and extend reading and listening skills in the Modern Language, and to develop their knowledge and understanding of detailed and complex language.

Modern Languages: Using Language (Higher): The purpose of this Unit is to develop and extend talking and writing skills in the Modern Language, and to develop their knowledge and understanding of detailed and complex language.

Assessment

At Higher, there will be an external course assessment covering the various elements of Reading & Translation, Listening, Talking and Writing. The course assessment will consist of 2 question papers (Paper 1: Reading, Translation and Directed Writing) (Paper 2: Listening) and the format of the Talking assessment will be a teacher-pupil conversation, in the foreign language, on the topics chosen by the pupil within the prescribed themes. In addition, a written assignment will be completed during class time and submitted to SQA thereafter.

For entry to this course, students are expected to have achieved an A or B pass at National 5 or equivalent.

Advanced Higher

The aim of this course is to allow students to further develop their existing ability in the four language skills of Listening, Talking, Reading and Writing, leading to greater fluency, flexibility, complexity and accuracy in the language use and a wider knowledge of French literature and culture.

Course content: This Course is made up of three units:

Modern Languages: Understanding Language (Advanced Higher)

Modern Languages: Using Language (Advanced Higher)

The purpose of these two units is to provide students with the opportunity to discuss, compare and contrast a number of topical and cultural issues in the relevant country/countries, while further developing their Listening, Talking, Reading and Writing skills. Within the four key contexts of Society, Learning, Employability, and Culture, students will explore a variety of topical issues ranging from gender equality (Society/ Employability) to climate change (Society/Environment) or the rise of social media (Society/Culture) for example. Through their study of those topics, students will increase their language proficiency, demonstrating the ability to use complex and sophisticated language in a range of formal and informal situations.

Modern Languages: Specialist Study Unit (Advanced Higher)

This unit will provide students with opportunities to develop analytical and evaluative skills through the study of literary or media texts in the Modern Language. The main focus of this unit will be to develop students’ analytical and writing skills and will consist of a 1500 word essay written in English on the students’ chosen literary text(s) in the foreign language.

Assessment

At Advanced Higher, the course assessment will consist of 2 question papers (Paper 1: Reading and Translation) (Paper 2: Listening and Discursive Writing), as well as submitting a 1500 word essay for the Specialist Study topic. In addition, there will be an oral exam, conducted by an SQA Visiting Assessor, which will sample across a number of topics studied in Advanced Higher.

For entry into this course, students are expected to have achieved a Grade A at Higher or equivalent