Welcome to the Modern Languages Department

Subject Overview
Day Trips, Visits and Exchanges
Course Information
Resources and Websites

Subject Overview

The Department is fortunate to be situated in the newest building on the school site, the Thorp Building, opened in 2005. The Department has four permanent teaching rooms, each equipped with television and video or DVD player and audio equipment for listening exercises. All classrooms have digital projectors and two are equipped with SMARTboards.

The Department delivers French, Spanish and German throughout the school. All students study French on entry to the school in Year 7. In Year 8, Spanish is introduced, and most students continue to study two foreign languages. German is introduced in to the curriculum in Year 9. When students take their options at the end of Year 8, they have the opportunity to study French, Spanish or German. The school currently has over 70% of students undertaking a modern language at GCSE Level, which is above the present national average.

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Day Trips, Visits and Exchanges

The school offers a variety of visits to reinforce the learning of the students at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.

Year 8 - Visit to the Opal Coast

In Year 8, 41 French students are offered the opportunity to take part in the two-day visit to the Opal Coast. After crossing from Dover, the visit includes a tour of a chocolaterie (with a demonstration and the possibility of buying some chocolate) and a walking tour of the town of Le Portel. A highlight of the visit is a tour of a snail farm. Students can sample the delights of snails with crackers, washed down with plenty of lemonade.

Years 9 and 10 - Paris Trip

In June, Year 9 and Year 10 French students are offered the opportunity to spend a week in Paris, during which time they stay in a hotel and spend the days and evenings walking around the city centre, seeing the sights and learning about Parisian history and culture. The trip includes visits to Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur, Montmartre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, the Catacombs and Disneyland Paris. This is a very informative and rewarding visit, during which students are able to see and learn a great deal about French culture, history and traditions, and also to interact in French with native speakers. A three-hour language course improves students’ speaking and writing skills.

Year 10 – Visit to Berlin

This visit takes place in November. Students travel to Berlin and spend four days in the city, staying in a youth hostel. Each day, a 45-minute language course takes place, which enables students to consolidate their learning from the classroom. Students are given time on their own in the city to converse in the foreign language, and are also given a guided tour of the city by professionals. Before returning home, a visit to a German Christmas market is taken in.

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Course Information

Key Stage 3

All students in Year 7 are taught French. Students work from the Expo 1 textbook throughout the year. This includes topics of personal information and description, family and pets, house and home and telling the time and places in a town. The Department provides textbooks for use in class and also asks students to purchase the workbook which is used for homework.

In Year 8, students study Spanish, following the Mira Express text book. Students are expected to purchase a workbook, from which homework is set.

In Year 8, most students continue with both languages, receiving one lesson per week of both French and Spanish. However, certain students are encouraged to study only one and receive two lessons of French per week.

During Year 8, students continue with Expo 1 for French Units 5 and 6 and then start Expo 2 in the final term. They cover topics of daily routine, school and free time. In German, they cover Units 5 and 6 of Logo 1 and then Unit 1 of Logo 2. The topics covered are: house and home, daily routine, places in town and ordering food and drink.

In both French and Spanish, students are taught through listening, speaking, reading and writing tasks, following the National Curriculum and the Key Stage 3 National Framework for Modern Languages. They are set one homework per week and are assessed regularly. They cover all four attainment targets and are awarded levels as specified in the National Curriculum. The essential homework task is to learn and consolidate new vocabulary learnt in class.

In Years 7 and 8, students should expect to attain a Level 1 - 4, and gifted and talented linguists may attain Level 5. To attain Level 5, students need to be confident in the use of past and future tenses. Lessons aim to achieve a balance between communicative language teaching and the firm belief held within the Department that grammar must be introduced from an early stage in order to give pupils the strongest framework possible for their language learning.

Key Stage 4

Students begin the GCSE course in Year 9 and all students are encouraged to choose at least one language, from French, Spanish or German. Many continue to take more than one language. Students have two periods of Modern Language teaching per week and are taught following the AQA specification for GCSE.

As in Key Stage 3, students are given regular opportunities to both consolidate and expand their learning with practice in the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, each of which makes up 25% of their final examination grade. The lessons are a combination of topic work and grammatical language study.

Key Stage 5

The school offers both French and German at Key Stage 5, with French students following the Élan 1 and 2 course and German students following Zeitgeist 1 and 2. Students are expected to purchase their own textbooks in Years 12 and 13.

Students are taught by two members of staff who normally divide their lessons into grammatical or topic-based themes. They study six periods per week, three per teacher and are also expected to work in private study periods.

Topics covered range from festivals and social traditions and health and fitness to relationships, environment, French or German politics and the European Union.

On entry to Year 12, students are expected to do at least three hours of private study per week in addition to classroom tuition in order to develop their subject knowledge and understanding to the standard required in the Sixth Form.

Grammar tuition plays a major role in AS and A2 Levels so that students are brought up to the required standard of linguistic comprehension and are able to manipulate the language effectively. The teaching encompasses verb work in all forms, as well as other grammatical concepts such as word order in German, all of which require analytical skill for good understanding.

Students find that the teaching approaches move from more teacher-led learning to more independent study. The programme includes extended writing, internet research and use of newspapers and magazines. Wider reading is important and leads to improved comprehension of the target language and culture.

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MFL ICT Resources and Websites

German

The UK's largest language bookseller.

Interactive exercises, grammar and pronunciation work for 11-16 year-olds.

This website is backed by the European Commission and has lots of links to websites in German.

Choose a language and pick "fun" from the left hand menu to see tongue-twisters in German.

Articles in German about current sporting news and events.

Wheel of Fortune, millionaire, hangman, scratch card, quizzes on a variety of basic topics.

Beginners’ German site from Exeter University.

Online English-German dictionary.

German grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary – on-line learning site.

Up-to-the-minute on-line news in German.

A very useful site for students of GCSE with video clips and on-line interactive activities available on many topics.

Pop culture news and chat room.

On-line news, weather and politics in German.

A site for travellers to learn German phrases, find out about places to visit and buy German products.

Grammar tests, vocabulary lists and a series of articles about German culture.

Enjoyable learning games for Years 7 and 8. Go to the Student Zone and then choose ‘German’.

Activities for pupils to practise German.

Information in German about Bonn.

The Goethe Institut study materials help students to learn German. There are links to sites of cultural interest as well.

Quizzes and tests for pupils to use on-line.

Language games and quizzes; choose from the menu on the left.

Latest news from lots of German newspapers. Students can search on terms and find articles of interest.

Revision club with topical articles alongside useful vocabulary.

Choose sample materials for GCSE to do free activities in German.

German website about pets.

German news site.

Information in German about Berlin.

Games and activities in French, Spanish, Italian and German.

French

French teenage interest website.

A very useful site for students of GCSE with video clips and on-line interactive activities available on many topics.

This website is backed by the European Commission and has lots of links to websites in French.

Magazine for 15-25 year-olds in French - full of interesting stories.

Games and activities in French, Spanish, Italian and German.

Interactive exercises, grammar and pronunciation work for 11-16 year-olds.

Wheel of Fortune, millionaire, hangman, scratchcard, and quizzes on a variety of basic topics.

Fun French student-orientated website.

Fun French exercises for all levels of students.

Activities for pupils to practise French.

French-Canadian website aimed at pupils.

Language learning and revision site for pupils with free downloadable teaching resources.

Choose sample materials for GCSE to do free activities in French.

Activities for all levels of French students.

Language games and quizzes - choose from the menu on the left.

Choose a language and pick 'fun' from the left-hand menu to see tongue-twisters in French.

Virtual tour of Paris in French.

Current affairs in French with sound.

Quizzes and tests for pupils to use on-line.

French games for pupils.

News and features from France for learners of French.

Le Monde newspaper. Excellent for up-to-the-minute current affairs stories in French.

Try the student pages to evoke excitement of the French language.

Enjoyable learning games for Years 7 and 8. Go to the Student Zone and then choose ‘French’.

Ready-made vocabulary tests from English to French or French to English.

Find out about the Cannes Film Festival.

Spanish

Linguascope.com

bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish

SunderlandSchools.org

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