Modern Foreign Languages
"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way." - Frank Smith
PHILOSOPHY & VISION
Learning a foreign language immerses students into entirely new cultures and world perspectives, inviting them to experience a world beyond their own to help them fully appreciate the language, thereby expanding their horizons, which is the surest way for them to develop into tolerant individuals, with an understanding of life that is open-minded and embraces cultural differences and leads to an appreciation of cultural diversity helping “the children of today meet the challenges of tomorrow”.
Learning a foreign language provides students with a better understanding of their own native language and culture, not only cultural customs, but of the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation patterns of their first language.
Teaching a different language is teaching a different vision of life
Year 7
Students follow the NCELP (National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy) course in Spanish, which is funded and researched by the DfE. This is based on vocabulary, grammar and phonics, and provides research informed SOWs, aimed at the new GCSE and designed to improve the success of foreign language learning. It is NOT topic based but focuses on the same 4 key skills as always, plus phonics and grammar. This continues in Year 8.
Their learning content looks like this:
Year 7 Spanish
Describing places and location
Saying what someone is like at the moment
Saying what someone is like in general
Saying what people have
Saying what people do
Saying what people do and don’t do
Numbers (1-12) and talking about more than one thing
Saying what there is around you and describing it
Talking about the location of things
Describing a place
Giving and wanting
Describing family
Describing some natural wonders of the Spanish speaking world
Asking and answering questions
Talking about what you do with others (rural life)
Talking about what people can do
Contrasting what people can, must and want to do
Year 8
Students follow the NCELP (National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy) course in French or Spanish, funded and researched by the DfE. Both courses are based on vocabulary, grammar and phonics, and provide research informed SOWs, aimed at the new GCSE and designed to improve the success of foreign language learning. It is NOT topic based but focuses on the same 4 key skills as always, plus phonics and grammar.
At the end of Year 7, our current Year 8 students opted to continue with either French or Spanish. Their second year of NCELP learning is mapped as follows:
Year 8 French NCELP
Saying what people do
Saying what we do
Saying what others do (they)
Saying ‘you’ singular and plural
Saying how many there are (numbers)
Describing people (family)
Saying what people have (plurals)
Saying what people do (sports)
Saying where people go (places)
Saying where people go (countries)
Asking questions
Using question words
Saying people do not do something
Describing things and people
Year 8 Spanish NCELP
Saying what there is around you and describing it
Talking about the location of things
Describing a place
Giving and wanting
Describing family
Describing some natural wonders of the Spanish speaking world
Asking and answering questions
Talking about what you do with others (rural life)
Talking about what people can do
Contrasting what people can, must and want to do.
Talking about places and locations
Saying what people are like versus in general
Describing activities (travel)
Describing what people do
Year 9
Students describe regular holiday habits, past holidays good and bad, learn how to book a room, and combine 3 tenses (past, present and future). They describe their school subjects and teachers, compare their primary school to their high school, and give opinions on the rules and school issues. They learn about technology and apps, types of books, and relationships with family and friends.
Year 10
Students look at TV and film genres, sports, what’s trending, what shows/concerts/films they have seen and talk about role models. They describe their town in more detail, learn types of shops and gifts/souvenirs, the pros and cons of town versus countryside, and how they would improve a town incorporating the conditional tense. They also study the customs and festivals of Spain, and visiting the pharmacy with illness or injury.
Year 11
Students cover modules on jobs and future career plans, work experience, how to apply for a job, the importance of learning languages, and how to spend a gap year. They also study global, environmental and social issues, healthy lifestyle – diet and exercise, natural disasters and global sporting events. They do two mock GCSE exams and lots of practice and preparation for their final GCSE exam.