Modern Foreign Languages
The MFL Faculty deliver French and Spanish. The faculty is led by a Director of Learning, Mr B Sykes, and is happy to answer any of your queries about our department.
MFL Intent
“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.”
At Whitcliffe Mount we want every student to understand, be interested in and experience the world outside our community. Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures.
We want students to see the value and joy in communicating with others through speech and in writing, whether expressing their own opinions and ideas or responding to others.
We believe that learning one language is a foundation for learning more, as teachers in the faculty personally promote. Our students learn French or Spanish which both originate from latin. Around 45% of English words derive from French meaning it is an obvious choice of language to learn. It is also widely used as the official language in international organisations such as the United Nations, the EU, UNESCO, the International court of justice aswell as the Olympic Committee. Spanish is also a popular choice as it is among the top five most widely-spoken languages in the world and is becoming increasing influential in popular culture.
In MFL lessons, students learn about how others live, promoting respect and tolerance and celebrating differences, in line with the school’s BELONG philosophy. Our aim is for our students to be in the best position for their future and to have more possibilities, whether through studying languages post-GCSE, working abroad or using communication and social skills.
Through building on the foundations at KS2 students will learn:
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Phonics so that they can pronounce words accurately to maintain clarity
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Vocabulary on a wide range of topics, allowing them to communicate beyond their own interests and knowledge
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How to express opinions and justify them- developing respect and tolerance
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How to form tenses so that they can understand and refer to present, past and future events
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Formal/informal tone so that they can communicate appropriately in different situations (thereby allowing students to develop their social skills)
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Skills to draw on when they don’t know words so that they can find ways to communicate, instilling confidence as a result.
The Curriculum
Key Stage 3
Students in Years 7 and 8 study French or Spanish over 4 x 60-minute lessons a fortnight.
Students in Year 9 study French or Spanish over 5 x 60-minute lessons a fortnight.
Key Stage 4
We use the AQA Examination Board course for the new GCSE which covers a variety of themes. Students are taught in mixed ability groups and progress is tracked and monitored by the faculty to provide additional support and intervention. All assessments are taken at the end of Y11 and consist of Listening, Speaking, Writing and Reading examinations. All skills are equally weighted at 25% each.
Achieve
KS4 French Achieve session - every Thursday from 2.45pm-3.45pm in 117
KS4 Spanish Achieve session - every Thursday from 2.45pm-3.45pm in 117
French and Spanish Speaking club - every Friday morning from 8.00am - 8.30am in 116
Specifications
The specifications for each course can be downloaded from the AQA website using the links below:-
AQA GCSE Spanish (8698) Specification - Year 11
AQA GCSE French (8658) Specification - Year 11
https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/spanish/specifications/AQA-8692-SP-2024.PDF - Year 7 - 10
https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/french/specifications/AQA-8652-SP-2024.pdf - Year 7 - 10
Revision and Support
We currently run the following revision and support sessions:-
Thursdays - French and Spanish KS4 Achieve 3:10pm - 4:10pm in 117
Our open door policy means students can arrange support at any time if needed. They just need to speak to their French or Spanish teacher.
Revision Guides
Every student will have been given the opportunity to purchase a revision guide through school. However, they can also be bought online (for example from Amazon or eBay) or at a high street retailer (for example WHSmith) easily yourself.
Revision websites and apps
There is a wealth of revision material on the internet. Apps can be useful as students can revise anytime or anywhere they have their phone with them. We particularly recommend the following:
- Seneca - students can practise the language from the AQA specification
- Duolingo - this is a very popular online way of learning languages which presents information through bite-sized lessons and then keeps re-testing the learner who can track their progress and move up through increasingly challenging levels of difficulty.
- Blooket - a user-generated learning platform which uses games to practise vocabulary and structures.
- Quizlet - also uses flashcards and games as a fun way to practise key vocabulary and structures.
- Languages Online - has lots of ready-made interactive tasks and worksheets.
- Youtube videos - there are lots of revision songs on Youtube.
Quick Revision
Please click on the French and Spanish revision documents in the links at the bottom of this page. The one-page French revision sheets can be self-marked.
French and Spanish "RockStars" Vocabulary Lists
Click on the links at the bottom of this page for "Rock Stars" lists of key vocabulary that appear in the Listening and Reading exams.
Special Assemblies
This year we hope to run another series of workshops for our Y9 students, exploring the links between languages and careers and raising awareness on the importance of studying a modern foreign language and the advantages it can have in the workplace.
Useful links
Students will need to create their own individual accounts for Memrise and Duolingo but will receive instructions on how to do this from their teachers, or can follow instructions online.
Please click the links below to view our curriculum plans.