Modern Foreign Languages

head of department: Miss dubois

INTENT 

To deliver a challenging, thoughtful, well planned MFL curriculum which teaches the 4 skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) and the themes (Identity and Culture; Local Area, Holiday and Travel; School; Future Aspirations, Study and Work and International and Global Dimension) in a supported spiral curriculum that adds complexity and depth and delivers students’ progress. Our aim is to create independent, engaged and confident global citizens and critical thinkers who love and appreciate all aspects of language learning and the cultures of the language they study, while appreciating and loving their own culture and language.

IMPLEMENTATION

Students are taught MFL in mixed ability groups by specialist teachers. They study one language from year 7 to year 11 in order to maximise their time and reach their full potential.

Teachers conduct lessons mainly in the target language in order to maximise exposure to the language for learners. Students experience all the four skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) in most lessons.

Adaptive teaching is key in MFL lessons in order for all students to reach their potential: teachers provide support with differentiated resources for SEND and low ability students and extension work for the more able learners.

Games and student-led activities are at the centre of our pedagogical approach to maximise enjoyment and engagement in students.

The MFL curriculum is a spiral curriculum that builds on prior learning and it is centred on 5 themes: Identity and Culture; Local Area, Holiday and Travel; School; Future Aspirations, Study and Sork and International and Global Dimension.

Through the MFL curriculum we provide students with a breadth and depth of study that allow students to have a wide and varied knowledge base that supersedes testing and enriches their experience and cultural capital.

Students are assessed on all skills every term and can track their progress.

Students receive support with lunch-time clubs and an open-door policy.

The MFL Departments aims to provide a full-immersion experience by organising trips abroad every year.

All our teachers are native speakers who share their cultural knowledge and experience with students.

We subscribe to a variety of student-friendly, digital resources: www.linguascope.com, Pearson Active Learn, Kerboodle and L’Espresso.

IMPACT

We expect 80% of our students to make above the expected progress (UQ) by the end of their year.

We expect students to develop a passion for languages, curiosity about other cultures, a desire for travelling, understanding of other cultures and different ways of thinking, tolerance of differences, increased knowledge of the structures of the English language (which they develop by comparing their studied language to English).