Modern Foreign Languages
Curriculum Area Leader: Mrs A Congrave
Our vision in the Modern Foreign Languages department is that all language learners develop the skills and confidence to consider themselves as ‘World Citizens’ who belong to a multicultural world. We aim to support students to understand other countries and cultures so that they can be more open and adaptable to new experiences. The department is committed to developing strong, lifelong linguistic skills and we encourage our students to become curious and interested in languages through offering a range of trips and welcoming visitors into school throughout the year.
Teaching and Learning at Coppice
The MFL Department is a dynamic, passionate, and enthusiastic department. We endeavour to make learning languages fun and meaningful, providing students with many opportunities for both collaboration and independent work in each lesson. Curriculum overviews are designed to ensure that all four skills (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening) are covered in every unit. They offer regular opportunities to revisit key skills and previous learning.
Our KS3 curriculum aims at developing our students’ linguistic and communicative skills with our recent addition of a phonics focus every lesson.
Our KS4 curriculum prepares our students to communicate spontaneously in spoken and written form in different time frames and in depth. Listening and reading skills are practised in every lesson and Summative assessments are carried out in all four skills at the end of every unit.
The MFL department has high expectations of all students and the climate for learning encompasses the contributions of all abilities; we trust in the success of each student. Our curriculum allows students to become hardworking, independent students who are motivated to achieve their full potential. Students need to be resilient language learners.
Within the MFL classroom, we consistently emphasise that it is acceptable to make mistakes whilst trying. We believe that students can progress by deciding how they learn from these errors. We hope that this learning environment allows students to grow in confidence and not feel intimidated when speaking out in front of the class.
Opportunities for reflection are built in at regular intervals in lessons through mini self-assessments and peer marking tasks. Learning in the classroom is enhanced through home learning, which is set every week consisting of a variety of activities ranging from vocabulary learning and reading activities to extended writing tasks. Independent learning is a very important part of achieving success in studying a language.
A.Congrave (Learning Lead for MFL)
A Forrester (Assistant Head and Teacher of MFL)
G Peace (Teacher of MFL)
Learning Environment & Resources
The MFL department is situated in the Communications Zone. There are three teaching rooms, one of which includes access to computers, as well as a trolley of 30 iPads which are available to enhance learning in the classroom.
The Department has developed a wide range of activities for use with the interactive whiteboards available in each teaching room. A range of specialist software titles is available for use in lessons and for revision purposes. Many resources have been produced “in-house” for use exclusively by our students, and we have invested in new course materials across all year groups.
MFL teachers are available to students who want extra support/tuition at lunch times and after school. Intervention takes place after school when needed in order to increase confidence and help students to improve their skills.
Key Stage 3
Students follow a programme of study to develop skills in the areas of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, providing a solid foundation for the GCSE course. The course is supported by a range of materials including the Allez textbook and other online resources. Topics covered include: Family, Food and Drink, Hobbies, Holidays, the Media, New Technology, Jobs and Healthy Living.
Key Stage 4
Students at Key Stage 4 have two French lessons each week and follow a 3-year Eduqas GCSE course. Over the three years the course covers the three themes of: Identity & Culture (Me, my family and friends; Technology in everyday life; Free-time activities; Customs and festivals in target language countries/communities); Local, national, international and global areas of interest (Home, town, neighbourhood & region; Social issues; Global Issues; Travel and tourism) and Current and future study and employment (My studies; Life at school/college; Education post-16; Jobs, career choices and ambitions)
Alongside the curriculum content, students continue to improve their skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing which are separately assessed skills with equal weighting (25% per skill). Speaking exams consist of a role play, describing a photo, conservation questions.
Extra Curricular
Students have the opportunity to visit France as part of their GCSE course, as well as take part in other cultural activities such as food tasting and watching a French play.
