Modern Languages

The Languages Department is a forward-thinking department located in its own fully equipped building with four classrooms. Students also have access to a variety of apps and websites on their tablets and laptops to further their language progression. We are a team of 4 teachers, who are passionate about the importance of learning languages and the opportunities it offers our students, both culturally and as they enter the world of work. We have a wide ranging extra-curricular programme which includes regular trips to Germany and Spain.

Key Stage 3

Students at KS3 enjoy three hours a week of languages in Year 7 and 2 hours in Years 8 and 9. Students study one language on entry to Saint Aidan’s, either Spanish or German.

We are in the process of transitioning to a scheme of work designed by Oak National Academy. We have chosen to adopt this new curriculum as we believe it will give our students a much firmer grounding in the language, and enable them to become more confident linguists.

Rationale and principles

Our scheme of work is designed around 3 key strands of language learning: Phonics, Vocabulary and Grammar. The vocabulary our students learn is selected from the most common words used in day to day conversations, with the intention that our students gain a sounder grasp of language which would be most useful to them if they were to visit/study or live in a German/Spanish speaking country.

One of the key aims of the SoL is to avoid introducing too much language too fast, with no more than one new main grammatical function every 2 weeks and no more than 10 new words each week.

The revisiting of phonics, vocabulary and grammar is also carefully planned into the scheme of learning.

Phonics

Most lessons will start with short, sharp bursts of practice of one or two SSC (Symbol-Sound correspondences), and this knowledge is then developed through integration with other activities. Every SSC is taught by the end of KS3, and these are regularly re-visited.

Vocabulary

The focus of our Scheme of Learning moves away from learning topics, instead focussing on the language that is most frequently used in Spanish/German. This common language is also systematically revisited throughout the scheme of work. This soon allows students to manipulate verbs and regularly create their own sentences. Classes have weekly vocab tests, and this vocabulary is mostly pre-learnt as homework before we use it in class.

Grammar

Pupils now encounter grammatical structures early on, which traditionally would not have been taught until much later in the curriculum. This is taught in small, manageable chunks. For example, if pupils learning present tense verb endings, they might only learn 2 or 3 parts at once and practice them thoroughly before introducing the rest

Key Stage 4

Students at KS4 follow the AQA specification. We are also transitioning to the OAK Academy Scheme of Learning at KS4, which continues to build upon the skills developed at KS3. We are tailoring the curriculum with an extra focus on exam skills to offer students the best chance of success at GCSE.

Students are given the opportunity to further their knowledge of the language with three main themes that we cover:

1. Identity and relationship with others.

2. Healthy living and lifestyle.

3. Education and work.

Students can build on their learning at KS3, explore new vocabulary, tenses and involve themselves in interesting and interactive activities. All lessons are interactive and iPads are used to enhance the learning. There is a strong emphasis on immersing the students in the language and the culture of the country.

Assessment

Student’s work is assessed in MFL regularly through weekly vocabulary learning, reading and listening homework and regular summative assessments to check on understanding. This allows the right support to be provided, to inform the next stages of teaching and to allow students and parents to be informed of progress.

The final examinations at the end of the two year course is as follows:

Paper 1 Listening exam – 25%

1 exam – Foundation tier 35 minutes and Higher tier 45 minutes. Section A: Listening Comprehension. Section B: Dictation

Paper 2 Speaking exam – 25%

1 exam consisting of a role play, a reading aloud task and a discussion of a photo card. Foundation tier will last 7-9 minutes and Higher tier will last 10-12 minutes.

Paper 3 Reading exam – 25%

1 exam – Foundation tier 45 minutes and Higher tier 1 hour. Section A: Reading Comprehension. Section B: Translation into English.

Paper 4 Writing exam – 25%

1 exam – Foundation tier 1 hour 10 minutes and Higher tier 1 hour 15 minutes. There are 5 tasks in the foundation paper: A photo description task, a 50 word essay, a grammar knowledge gap-fill question, a English to German translation and a 90 word essay. There are 3 tasks in the higher paper: An English to German translation, a 90 word essay, and a 150 word essay

Enrichment

We hold regular revision clubs for KS4 students both after school and at lunchtimes.

We have recently set up a penpal exchange with Anne Sullivan School in Barcelona, and we are in the process of setting up online links with Elbschule near Hamburg through the E-Space scheme organised by UK-German Connection.

Every September we celebrate the European Day of Languages with a week of events including special assemblies, a house quiz and our very successful “Bake Off”.

As a team we believe it is essential to offer as many of our students as possible the opportunity to take part in an educational visit to widen their cultural understanding and give them a chance to practise the language they have been learning in the real world. Therefore, we are continuing to build on our educational visits programme. We offer regular KS4 visits to Cologne, Berlin and Barcelona.

Department Staff