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Curriculum rationale:
The aim of the MFL curriculum is to develop successful and effective communicators and to allow students to reflect on their culture alongside understanding new cultures. Lessons encourage students to experiment with the new language structures that they learn and embrace challenge and risk in a safe environment.
Regardless of ability or background, all students study a language, either French or Spanish. Our curriculum is planned over five years to provide all students with a secure foundation on which they can build and equip them with life skills. Leaving SJN with language skills will open up a range of pathways for their further and higher education and increase their employability. As well as building upon prior knowledge, the curriculum fosters resilience through challenge. The curriculum is designed to enable all our students to recognise and produce language in three timeframes.
We use a wide variety of strategies and resources including use of authentic materials and we encourage students’ use of spontaneous language. The content of our curriculum enables students to develop an awareness of others and the world outside of the classroom, for example, through teaching about customs and festivals in Francophone and Hispanic countries. Teaching of social issues broadens their knowledge of the wider world and current affairs. We use current popular music to help students relate to popular culture. All of this contributes to challenging stereotypes. Our multi-sensory approach ensures we appeal to all learning styles, backgrounds and ability.
Curriculum Design:
The MFL curriculum is coherently sequenced with interleaving of topics and important language structures and regular retrieval practice. There is a clear transition between each phase of learning with provision to revisit skills and subject knowledge over time so no student is left behind in their learning.
Curriculum Plan:
MFL 5 Year Curriculum Plan 2020-21 |
|||||
Half term |
Y7 |
Y8 |
Y9 |
Y10 |
Y11 |
1 |
Phonics and alphabet Classroom language Numbers and colours All about me |
Food and drink Eating out Retrieval – School |
Holidays Retrieval – Environment Retrieval – Food and Drink |
Theme 3: My studies, life at school and college Future plans Careers Retrieval – Holidays (KS3 topic) |
Theme 2: Travel Theme 2: Global issues Retrieval of social issues |
2 |
Pets My family and I Relationships |
Shopping Minor illnesses Healthy eating |
Buying travel tickets Booking info Hotels/restaurants/ making complaints |
Theme 1: Self, family, and relationships. Marriage and partnership Retrieval of Festivals |
Theme 1: Customs and festivals Retrieval and Revision for mock exams |
3 |
School Subjects Teachers Facilities Timetable |
Free time (music, TV and cinema) |
Customs and festivals Customs and festivals in French-speaking countries/ communities: Talking about key activities for different festivals & opinions – Describing a special day – a celebration in the past use key verbs |
Theme 1: Free time Social media and mobile technology Music, cinema, and TV Food and eating out Sport |
Retrieval of all topics – exam skills |
4 |
School - uniform Future plans |
Free time (technology and social media) |
Ideal presents Clothing and what to wear for festivals Talking about food for special occasions |
Theme 1: Customs and festivals Work experience |
Retrieval of all topics – exam skills Trial 2 exams listening/reading/writing Revision for GCSE speaking exams TBC |
5 |
Free time (sports and other hobbies) including future |
Home Town Environment |
Retrieval of healthy eating and minor illnesses Daily routine Helping at home Pocket money |
Theme 2: Travel and tourism |
Week 1 and week 2 MFL GCSE Speaking exams TBC |
6 |
Retrieval of family and school - prepare for Big test |
Retrieval of food and drink Prepare for Big test |
Retrieval of Holidays and Festivals - Prepare for Big test Social issues – film project |
Theme 2: Home, town, neighbourhood, and region |
Curriculum Assessment:
The curriculum integrates low stakes formative assessments in the form of interim tasks and weekly vocabulary tests and retrieval tests as well as summative assessments at the end of each topic.
Students are assessed in at least three skills at the end of each topic including a receptive skill (reading and listening) and a productive skill (writing and speaking). Students are given a WWW and EBI to help them improve and are provided with a closing the gap task where students are not meeting their target. Challenge tasks are provided for extension.
Our writing and speaking assessments criteria are made explicit to students. For most tasks the expectation is for students to extend their verbal and written responses with connectives, intensifiers, opinions and justifications.
Summative and formative assessments are used to inform us of our students’ progress and enable us to provide intervention where students are at risk of not meeting their target.
Extra-curricular opportunities:
There are a huge variety of extra-curricular opportunities in Modern Foreign Languages. The Y8 trip to France and Y9/10 trip to Barcelona bring the language to life and allow students to experience first-hand other European cultures. KS3 students are given the opportunity to compete in the National Foreign Language Spelling Bee and Translation Bee competition.
European Day of Languages is celebrated each year through quizzes and competitions and through celebrating the vast number of languages spoken by the students at SJN. In addition, visiting speakers are used to highlight the cultural aspects of the language and to promote the career opportunities within the subject.