French

Intent

Why love MFL?

In French we aim to broaden horizons and experience life outside of our community, not just by developing listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, but also widening intercultural understanding. We provide an engaging and relevant curriculum, and our lessons offer a wide range of activities to make learning an engaging and positive experience.

Big Ideas in MFL

In French, we study a wide range of skills such as listening, reading, writing and speaking. We explore a wide range of topics to enable students of all abilities to develop their French language skills to their full potential, equipping them with the knowledge to communicate in a variety of contexts with confidence.

Why study MFL?

Learning a new language not only opens up a world of new opportunities but also, in today’s business dominated society, being bilingual can only be an advantage and gives a competitive edge when searching for jobs or maintaining current employment.
Studies showed that learning a second language significantly delayed the onset of many brain related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, compared to those who can only speak their native tongue.
In addition, learning a second language focuses attention on the grammatical rules’ constructions of that language. This experience gives people a new insight into their own language and ultimately leads to them improving their mother tongue, which will improve their everyday lives.
Learning a new language gives a greater global understanding of the world we live in. Even by learning a few phrases, never mind a whole language, it allows access to many fascinating cultures around the world and an understanding of the differences between the two countries.
Those studying the course will have access to a whole new array of film, music and literature, and a greater understanding of the history and culture of the nation and ultimately a better understanding of the way the world works, including politics and security.

Curriculum Map
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Implementation

Challenge

In listening students are taught how to understand and respond to different types of spoken language. They have to learn how to decode the language and use their knowledge of vocabulary in order to help them understand unfamiliar words and expressions.
In speaking they are taught how to communicate and interact effectively in speech for a variety of different purposes and situations.
In reading, students learn how to decode, understand and respond to different types of written language in different situations and settings.
In writing students learn how to express and convey their ideas in different contexts effectively in for a variety of purposes.

Vocabulary (Tier 2 & 3)

Knowledge Organisers are used for subject specific terms, key vocabulary and grammar points. These allow the students to use them as references which will allow them to access all the work successfully.
In addition to this, every day we look at French words and expressions commonly used in English such as respond, estimate and indicate for example to make the students aware of the similarities between the two languages.

Numeracy
Numeracy is tackled in French lessons. For example, students learn numbers for different purposes such as talking about their birthday, age, buying tickets in the train station or simply ordering a meal in a restaurant.
Links with other subjects
Modern Foreign Languages complement the teaching of English by promoting the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students’ understanding of English can be enhanced by comparing similarities and differences between English and other languages. The awareness and understanding that children develop through counting, understanding the calendar and telling the time in a foreign language, compliments skills taught in Maths. The teaching of Modern Foreign Languages links with other foundation subjects. Geographical links can be made when considering the location of countries and comparisons can be made with them and our country. Historical links can be made which help to form a basis of understanding of the heritage and culture of different countries.
Assessment in French

At Key Stage Three (Years, 7, 8 and 9) assessments are built into the curriculum half termly. Students’ progress in MFL will be assessed using a set of assessment criteria at the end of each unit. Each half term we assess one the skills we have been focusing on.
All Key Stage Three students complete an end of year exam style assessment during the summer term in order to acclimatise them to the exam format and to prepare them for stresses of external exams in the next two key stages of their learning journey.

At Key Stage Four, Year 10 has half termly assessments which are completed and cover two of the skills required in writing and reading or speaking and listening. Then in June they complete a mock exam which includes all four skills.
Year 11 students also complete half termly assessments which cover all skills and have mock exams during the year in order to prepare them for the GCSEs.