Modern Foreign Languages

MFL 2nd language ppt Curriculum choices

KS4 Subject Information for Parents / Students

Please see below some information about the course covered during Key Stage 4. You will also find more information about the knowledge and skills covered booklet in a hyperlink below.  During each half-term your child will have regular ‘learning checks’ to assess how well they are progressing against the expected standards. If they do not reach the expected standard in any of these checks, they should be seeking help from their teacher regarding the best possible steps. Teachers will also be sharing with students examples of how to go ‘beyond the expected standards ‘and providing additional challenge.

 

Minimum Expected Standards French Year 9

Minimum Expected Standards French Year 10

Minimum Expected Standards French Year 11

Minimum Expected Standards German Year 9

Minimum Expected Standards German Year 10

Minimum Expected Standards German Year 11

Minimum Expected Standards Spanish Year 9

Minimum Expected Standards Spanish Year 10

Minimum Expected Standards Spanish Year 11

 

 

Subject: French / German / Spanish

 
GCSE Exam board: AQA

 
Qualification Structure:

100% terminal examinations in summer of year 11. Students will be entered for either foundation or higher tier for all four papers.

Paper 1: Listening (25%)

Comprehension questions and answers both in English and in target language.

Paper 2: Speaking (25%) **

Role play, photo card and general conversation.

Paper 3: Reading (25%)

Comprehension questions and answers both in English and in target language. Translation from target language into English.

Paper 4: Writing (25%)

Response to a photo (foundation only), short passage (foundation only), translation from English into target language (both foundation and higher), structured writing task (both foundation and higher) and open ended writing task (higher only).

Themes covered in years 9-11:

Students study three themes during years 9-11 which are assessed in all four examinations in the final GCSE.

Theme 1: Identity and Culture (Family and relationships, technology in everyday life and free-time activities).

Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest (Home, town and region, charity / voluntary work, healthy / unhealthy living, the environment, poverty / homelessness, travel and tourism)

Theme 3: Current and future study and employment (My studies and life at school, education post 16, jobs, career choices and ambitions)

German:

Year 9: This is a foundation year for the GCSE course in which students will:

Students will commence the first topic of the GCSE course (my life and studies at school) in the second half of the spring term. This will enable them to put the new skills and enhanced grammatical understanding into practice.

  • consolidate knowledge of key grammar (including use of past, present and future tenses).
  • extend their grammatical understanding through exposure to more complex structures (e.g. conditional tense, imperfect tense, comparatives, superlatives and um…zu clauses).
  • expand their core vocabulary to include more interesting and unusual language through the study of a range of topics (e.g. role models, music and ambitions)
  • commence work on speaking element of the GCSE course by learning how to develop answers through use of qualifiers, connectives and justified opinions. They will practise conversation topics for the GCSE course, role plays and photo cards.

Year 10:

  • Free time and technology
  • Family and relationships
  • Customs and festivals
  • Home, town and local area
  • Travel and Tourism

Year 11

  • Education post 16 and career choices
  • Social issues
  • Global issues

 

Course content French:

French:

Year 9: This is a foundation year for the GCSE course in which students will:

Students will commence the first topic of the GCSE course (free time and technology) in the second half of the spring term. This will enable them to put the new skills and enhanced grammatical understanding into practice.

  • Consolidate knowledge of key grammar (including use of past, present and future tenses).
  • Extend their grammatical understanding through exposure to more complex structures (e.g. conditional tense, imperfect tense, comparatives and superlatives).
  • Expand their core vocabulary to include more interesting and unusual language through the study of a range of topics (e.g. media, healthy lifestyles, future career plans, holidays and rights and responsibilities).
  • Commence work on the speaking element of the GCSE course by learning how to develop answers through use of qualifiers, connectives and justified opinions. They will practise conversation topics for the GCSE course, role plays and photo cards.

Year 10:

  • Family and relationships
  • Customs and festivals
  • Home, town and local area
  • Travel and tourism
  • My studies and life at school at the bottom

Year 11:

  • Education post 16 and career choices
  • Social and global issues

Course content Spanish:

Spanish:

Year 9: This is a foundation year for the GCSE course in which students will:

Students will commence the first topic of the GCSE course (travel and tourism) in the second half of the spring term. This will enable them to put the new skills and enhanced grammatical understanding into practice.

  • consolidate knowledge of key grammar (including use of past, present and future tenses).
  • extend their grammatical understanding through exposure to more complex structures (e.g. conditional tense, imperfect tense, comparatives and superlatives).
  • expand their core vocabulary to include more interesting and unusual language through the study of a range of topics (e.g. future career plans,films, special occiasions, helathy lifestyles, rights and responsibilities and trips aborad)
  • commence work on speaking element of the GCSE course by learning how to develop answers through use of qualifiers, connectives and justified opinions. They will practise conversation topics for the GCSE course, role plays and photo cards.

Year 10:

  • My studies and life at school
  • Family and relationships
  • Technology
  • Free time
  • Customs and festivals

Year 11

  • Education post 16 and career choices
  • Town and local area
  • Social and global issues
Key Assessments

100% terminal examinations in summer of year 11 as above. *

**The speaking examination tends take place earlier than the other GCSE exams and usually takes place after the Easter holidays of year 11.

Each half term students will be assessed on either speaking & reading skills or writing and listening skills. In addition there will be regular homework set each half term including:

  • Four vocabulary learning homeworks
  • A grammar and translation homework
  • MFL mini readers
  • Creative task preparation
  • Past GCSE practice of reading and listening

 

In years 10 and 11 students will complete preparation for their speaking conversation topics and will need to do regular independent revision in order to keep up to date with this learning.
Subject specific websites to support revision and independent learning:

  • Excellent exam practice on www.pearsonactivelearn.com (payable on parent pay TGAS – see MFL teacher for username and password)
  • www.languagesonline.org.uk – very good grammar and topic based interactive resources
  • http://gut.languageskills.co.uk/index.html – German, French and Spanish interactive resources (free access outside school hours)
  • http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/07-langcoll/02-MFL-resources.shtml
  • It has a range of materials, exercises and advice for 5 different languages across a number of key stages (KS1- KS4)
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zhsvr82
  • GCSE bitesize, to practise all four skills via GCSE exam style questions.
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages   An informative site with a wide range of learning materials.
Recommended subject guides:

CGP revision guides 9-1 GCSE French / German / Spanish.

Pearson revision guides and workbooks (although designed for Edexcel board the exercises are at an appropriate language level for AQA as well)
Other:

Study supports are available with subject teachers upon request. In year 11 there are weekly drop in sessions and study supports which all students are encouraged to attend in order to boost their performance.