MFL

The Team 

Key Stage 3 

Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) are an important part of our pupil’s education. There are so many clear personal, cultural, social and career benefits in being able to communicate confidently in another language that everyone should have the chance to develop their own modern foreign language skills. We want our pupils to be enthusiastic, engaged and challenged and to develop their ability to use and understand another language.   

Our MFL curriculum also aims at encouraging the awareness of our pupils of what lies behind a different language, enhancing the richness and the diversity of different cultures by using authentic resources as well as making links with pupils from our partner schools in France and Germany.  

All pupils in the school study French or German and in their lessons, our pupils will gain systematic knowledge of key vocabulary and structures, grammar and phonics of the new language and a better understanding of how these are used by French and German speakers.  

We want to develop confident and independent pupils who are not afraid to communicate in a different language.  

Key Stage 4 

Exam Board: AQA 

Link to Specification:  

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-8658/specification-at-a-glance 

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/german-8668/specification-at-a-glance 

Future Careers: 

In year 10 students choose to continue studying German or French as one of their GCSE options for 5 periods over 2 weeks. Our objective is to enable students of all abilities to develop their language skills to their full potential.  The lessons equip pupils with skills and knowledge to communicate in a variety of contexts, encouraging transference, resilience and confidence. The study of a modern foreign language at GCSE broadens students’ horizons and encourages them to step beyond familiar cultural boundaries and develop new ways of seeing the world.  It is our ambition to equip our pupils with the necessary skills and understanding to be able to continue their language studies in Key stage 5.   We hope to give all GCSE students the opportunity to travel to their target language country and communicate with pupils in our partner schools. 

Key Stage 5 

Exam Board: AQA 

Link to Specification:  

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/german-7661/specification-at-a-glance 

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/french-7652/specification-at-a-glance 

Pupils study the contemporary French culture and society in depth, including discussing and debating the following topics: Theme 1 – Social issues and trends in French society  

Theme 2 - The political and artistic culture in French speaking countries, including music, festivals and traditions and the media.  

Theme 3 – Literary texts and film 

Future Careers: 

Knowing a second language is a valuable asset in any job and gives you excellent transferrable skills.  

As well as broadening your opportunities and enriching all aspects of your life, there are a wide range of career paths which require specific foreign language skills in the increasingly global job market.   

 Jobs directly related to a knowledge of French include: Tourism and travel industries and international business, Interpreter; Secondary school teacher; Translator.  

Jobs where French speaking would be useful include: Broadcast journalist; Diplomatic services; English as a foreign language teacher; International aid/development worker; Logistics and distribution manager; Sales and Marketing executive; Tour manager.  

Learning a foreign language could also improve your chance of studying at a good university or of joining the Erasmus scheme and studying abroad whilst at university. A language will provide you with confidence and a strong ability to communicate.