French
Year 7, it is the aim to familiarise pupils with a wide range of key vocabulary and expressions about their personal details and class and home activities. Elementary features of the language such as the definite and indefinite articles, possessive pronouns and many basic constructions are learned as well as how to ask and answer elementary questions. Work is also done on elementary dialogue.
Year 8, pupils’ grammar is extended to include work on the past tense, imperatives and recognising and using three time frames. New contexts are explored, such as giving and justifying opinions, describing leisure activities, school visits and dialogue work is extended.
Year 9, work on giving and justifying opinions is extended and new contexts include illness and medicine, making plans for the holiday, shopping for clothes and sharing opinions. Pupils will also learn how to give and understand facts about a region and make enquiries at a tourist office. Language work progresses to irregular verb constructions and more complex work on tenses. Letter writing is also covered.
German
German is an option subject in Years 8 and 9. In alternate years we organise a trip to the German Christmas Markets which is open to all pupils. There is also a well established and popular exchange visit to our partner school in Hofheim near Frankfurt every year for pupils in Year 10 who then opt to take German at GCSE
A modern textbook, Echo Express, is used in Years 8 and 9. It has its own interactive resources and also covers the basics of German grammar very thoroughly. The approach is communicative and lively, appealing to new learners of German and providing them with a solid base for further study. Pupils are also encouraged to participate in and contribute to the MFL blog, showcasing their own work and commenting constructively upon others’.
Spanish
Throughout KS3 Spanish pupils develop the key skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking. A particularly strong emphasis is placed on pupil participation and fostering an enthusiasm for language learning. This is achieved through a wide range of activities, including using interactive activities delivered via the Interactive Whiteboard, video and electronic resources, discovering grammatical concepts and communicating in Spanish both in pair and whole class oral exercises and in genuine, every day exchanges in the classroom.
During Year 8, pupils learn how to greet and introduce themselves to other people and to talk about themselves, their family and pets and their school. They also learn about food and drinks and how to order in a Spanish café. Year 9, the focus is on pupils’ leisure activities, describing their house and hometown and talking about holidays. By the end of KS3 pupils should be able to use the present and past tenses and express personal opinions in Spanish.