Modern Foreign Languages

We are a well-resourced department of 4 full-time staff, based in our own suite of language rooms.  We teach French across the age range and begin Spanish with the whole cohort in Year 8 for 12 weeks.  Students may then opt to study French, or Spanish or both for GCSE.  We also offer a weekly Spanish club after school for students who would like to learn more about the language and the culture.

Listening

Students learn how to identify sound patterns and characteristics of the spoken language as well as how to identify the gist and detail of an item of speech and progressively longer recordings.

Speaking

Students are encouraged to contribute increasingly to spontaneous talk in the classroom in the language they are learning. They learn how to extend and add interest, intonation and expression to their speech as they advance. The use of idiomatic expressions used in the French-speaking country is also encouraged.

Reading

Throughout the Key Stages students learn techniques on how to approach a written text and gain understanding from it. Students use a range of extended reading materials in class and have access to non-fiction books to improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills. In Year 7, we have introduced a reading scheme to enable students to recognise sounds and read with more confidence.

Writing

As students’ progress, they learn how to move from simple to more complex structures of language which can be manipulated to support their development. This skill can then be used in planning and writing extended paragraphs in the foreign language. Students in Key Stage 3 have to write pieces of extended writing, commonly called “Right to Write” (R2W) after each new topic learnt. In April, students are then asked to compile all their redrafted paragraphs in order to have a longer piece of writing that will embed all the learning from the year.

Cultural knowledge and contact

This is an intrinsic feature of every stage of language learning and enables students to learn about where in the world the foreign language is spoken, the cultures and people that it represents, what we can learn about those cultures and how they are different from our own.

• Year 7 MFL Curriculum Overview
• Year 8 MFL Curriculum Overview
• Year 9 MFL Curriculum Overview

KS3 Homework Policy

At KS3 with follow the National Curriculum and base most of our teaching on the EXPO 1-4 books. We also strive to incorporate authentic texts and resources from the internet to give pupils first-hand understanding of the French culture in France but also in other French speaking countries.

Welcome to GCSE Modern Foreign Languages

The amount of trade and contact between Europe and ourselves continues to increase. The Channel Tunnel now provides rapid travel direct to the major cities of Europe and there is an ever increasing need to communicate with Europeans in their own languages. We provide the opportunity for our students to build upon their studies so far and to further develop their skills in speaking everyday French. Students are strongly encouraged to continue with the study of a foreign language at Key Stage 4. The GCSE course is designed to provide a sound basis for communicating in a foreign language both at work and in everyday life. Knowledge of a foreign language is now essential for many jobs especially within tourism, media, manufacturing and commerce.

The GCSE course is designed to provide a sound basis for communicating in a foreign language both at work and in everyday life. There are many countries where French is spoken – not just France – and even if you don’t get the chance to visit them, you could well meet French speaking people in this country, either through pleasure or even in your work. Knowledge of a foreign language is now essential for many careers especially within tourism, media, manufacturing and commerce. For some it is a requirement, for others, it offers good opportunities for variety and promotion within a job.

Please be aware that this current Key Stage 4 curriculum will be followed up to July 2016 with the current Year 10 cohort. To have a look at the new curriculum for teaching starting in September 2016, please see below.

• New French GCSE Option Booklet
• KS4 MFL Curriculum Overview

Independant Learning

Learn Spanish Online (Dialogues-exercises-quizzes-vocabulary list)

http://www.studyspanishlanguage.org

Languages online (Covers a range of topics and offers a wide range of materials from beginners to A level)

http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/Hotpotatoes/Index.htm

BBC Languages (Full language courses. Access to Spanish news, TV & radio worldwide)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/

Extra-Curricular Activities

Intervention sessions are offered outside of lessons to support learning beyond the classroom.  They are offered to both Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 3 students who wish to expand their experience further, these are in French and Spanish after-school. The European Day of Languages is an annual event greatly anticipated and enjoyed by the whole school community where students get to learn a wide range of languages.

Educational Visits

The department places great emphasis on visits abroad as the opportunity to visit the country of the language brings it alive for students and helps them put their learning in context as well as give it purpose.

Educational visits organised by the department are designed to enable students to put their learning into practice as well as find out more about the culture and geography of the country.

Visits are highly valued for the opportunity as they bring teachers and students together to work outside of school and helps them all to appreciate the varied contexts in which learning can take place.

Every year we offer a trip to Boulogne for Year 7 students. Year 8 students visit the Christmas market in Lille, and there are trips to Paris for Year 10 and 11 students. For more information on clubs and trips, please visit the relevant page.

At the core of our approach to marking at JRCS is task marking.

In non-practical subjects one substantial piece of work will be task marked at least once every eight hours of teaching. Students will respond to the tasks and they will be checked by staff. In between that time students’ work may be peer or self-assessed or briefly checked by staff.

It is likely the same piece of work will be assessed for literacy. Staff will mark work using the literacy marking code: 

Levelling and Assessment

KS3

To develop a growth mindset and reflect ‘life after levels’ work in KS3 books will not usually be levelled; assessment will be formative and highlight how students can improve. Students will record areas of strength and development on their ‘reflection sheets’ which will be at the front or back of the book. At the end of each term a level is reported for students in each subject, which reflects all their work over that term. These are found on students’ pale yellow progress cards, which are stuck into their planners. These cards show students whether they are in line to meet their end of key stage target. With the move away from National Curriculum levels, the school is trialling a new ‘skills thermometer’ and 1 to 9 levelling in English. Other KS3 subjects will be using NC levels for the remainder of this year.

KS4

KS4 practice exam questions and mock exams are likely to be graded. This work might not be in student books. Students will record grades and areas of strength and development in their ‘reflection sheets’ which will be at the front or back of the book. All students receive an attainment and predicted grade at the end of each term. These are found on their pale yellow progress cards, which are stuck into their planners. These cards show students whether they are in line to meet their end of key stage target.

KS5

At KS5 students take a series of VIMAs (Sixth Form Milestone Assessments) during their course. Students receive developmental comments to help them improve their work. Each VIMA result includes four parts: the grade for that assessment, a comparison of the grade with their expected progress grade (EPG), a Learning Capability mark and a prediction of their end of year grade (PEG). The outcomes of these assessments and other graded work will be in student folders. They are also sent home to parents. A summary of VIMA marks and the students’ expected progress grade is also recorded in their planner.

Assessment Policy for MFL

Key Stage 3

Formative assessment

All classwork is ticked as a minimum. Key pieces of work that display levels of skill are task-marked with a positive comment and a short task to develop the work. As often as possible, students will be asked to complete tasks for 5-10 minutes at the start of a chosen lesson. Tasks should not be allowed to build up and there should be no more than two tasks that need completing at any time. When tasks are completed they are checked by the teacher and if they are not completed satisfactorily the student is encouraged to complete it for the next lesson. When all tasks are completed, teachers can then feedback to the class about any misconceptions identified in the piece of work.

Literacy is also routinely checked in MFL and tasks are assessed following this model which takes into account all the grammatical concepts we want the students to identify and correct in a piece of work: Following teacher’s feedback using the MFL editing code, pupils then correct their mistakes in green.

Examples of task marking in MFL: Please incorporate pictures of task marking from the Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 folder/examples of task marking.

Homework is set every week. All homework is task-marked and completion recorded in the teacher’s electronic planner. Homework can take the form of a learning homework or a written homework. Regular spelling tests will be held in the lesson to ensure progress and also to check that the students have learnt their keywords for homework. Students can then be asked to peer-assess their work or to self-assess it and write the correction down.

Summative Assessment

Students will have a summative assessment three times a year. The assessments will include four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Each student will then record their predicted next step achievement in a similar skill on the MFL learning ladder used by all MFL teachers and stuck at the front of pupils’ exercise books. They will write a target drawn from the progress ladder that ranges from beginners’ stage to Degree level. The MFL ladder will enable students to stretch the higher achievers.

Key Stage 4

Formative Assessment

Individual teachers are responsible for identifying key pieces of work to task-mark across a project as teachers use different approaches to topics. Tasks are written in books when completed. We are aiming not to give any grades in the students’ books to encourage students to always strive to improve on their work. Students are given regular verbal feedback to indicate more general areas that need improvement.

Summative Assessment

Students are given general grades after the completion of mock exams or each unit (generally one each term) as well as the mid-year and end of year assessment reports.