Modern Foreign Languages

Useful Resources and Revision Support

www.quizlet.com: all students are asked to sign up for this website to be able to complete their weekly learning homework online. The majority of MFL homework now consists of vocabulary learning, practice and retention in order to prepare students for the linear GCSE.

www.pearsonactivelearn.co.uk: in addition students in Years 9 to 11 will be set regular homework online in order to practise current topics and to revise vocabulary from previous years.

Pearson GCSE Revision Guide and Workbook: we offer these at the start of the year at a reduced price of £2.50 each and encourage students to acquire them for their own personal revision.

Mary Glasgow languages magazines: we offer these at the start of the year, they cost £9 for a year’s subscription and include topical and authentic reading material, such as appears on the new GCSE exam paper.

AQA website links: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-8658 and https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/spanish-8698

BBC Bitesize links: French https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/z9dqxnb and Spanish https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/z4dqxnb

We also recommend https://www.memrise.com/courses as a vocabulary builder.

Recommended MFL Books:
Wider Reading List - Languages

At BGS we aim to make learning a modern foreign language stimulating, engaging and interesting. We learn about languages, and the cultures of the people who speak them, actively through phonics, song and music, games, role-play and ICT.

We also understand that students need to understand how languages work (grammar) and to learn vocabulary if they want to use them in the real world for real purposes and to do well in their studies, especially as the new GCSE and A Level exams are now linear (final assessment only).

We have a strong belief that learning a Modern European Language will:

Prepare students for an increasingly competitive national and European career market
Offer students an insight into cultures and lifestyles different to their own
Help students to develop general listening, reading, writing and speaking skills which are essential for good communication in all areas of their personal and professional life
Develop independent learning skills

Currently all students study Spanish in Years 7 and 8, with the top bands also studying French for 2 years. From Year 9 onwards most students continue to learn one language up to GCSE standard, as part of the English Baccalaureate. . We follow the AQA specification at GCSE and Eduqas at AS and A Level.

Enrichment

Years 7 and 8 participate in the Foreign Language Spelling and Translation Bee, a national competition organised and run by Routes into Languages. In 2019 some of our students progressed to the regional finals in Sheffield and we took two of our Year 7 students to the national finals at the University of Cambridge!

Every September the Faculty organises different events to celebrate the European Day of Languages. In 2018 there was a flags treasure hunt around school, a design-a-t-shirt competition and the restaurant served foods from around Europe. The students were encouraged to say “thank you” in a foreign language to enter a prize draw, the prize being a mountain bike!

We offer a French trip for students in Year 7 and 8. They spend a few days in Normandy practising their language skills and experiencing the culture – for example a visit to a local market, the war cemeteries and the chocolate factory. In the near future we hope to be able to offer a similar trip for students studying Spanish.

For Yr 11 students, we offer GCSE revision and intervention sessions after school to consolidate learning. Students need to check with their teachers on which days these are running.

Assessment

Internal assessments take place two or three times a year as per the assessment calendar and reported home.

GCSE French Specification (AQA 8658) and GCSE Spanish Specification (AQA 8698)

Links to exam board past papers and mark schemes : https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-8658 and https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/spanish-8698

Curriculum Overview

Year 7

Year 8

Spanish :

Cognates

Introductions

Personality

Passions and interests

Numbers, age and birthday

Brothers and sisters

Alphabet

Free time activities

Weather

Sports

School subjects and opinions

Describing the school

Family and descriptions

Describing the home

Places in town

Telling the time

Ordering food and drink in a café

Making future plans

French*:

Cognates

Introductions

Numbers, age and birthday

Brothers and sisters

Personality

Describing the classroom

Colours

School subjects and opinions

School uniform

Telling the time

Sports

Free time activities

Places in town

Invitations

Ordering food and drink in a café

Making future plans

Pets

Family and descriptions

Describing the home

* Currently Yr 7 students are not studying French as they are in mixed ability groups.

Spanish:

Holidays – past holidays, what you did on holidays, what it was like

My life – talking about hobbies and interests, mobile phones, music, TV shows

Food and drink – what you like to eat, describing mealtimes, ordering a meal in a restaurant, buying food at the market

Making arrangements to go out – going to the cinema, making excuses, talking about getting ready, talking about clothes, sporting events

Summer activities – comparing holiday locations, describing activities, asking for direction, learning about Spanish summer camps

French:

Holidays – talking about school holidays, saying what you did and where you went, talking about disastrous holiday experiences

Special occasions – festivals and celebrations, describing special days, buying food at the market, school trips, talking about New Year celebrations

Leisure and Free time – talking about celebrities and TV programmes, digital technology, going to the cinema, talking about your free time activities

Home and local area – talking about where you live, the weather, describing your region, saying what you should do to help at home, talking about moving house

Sport – talking about sports, giving opinions, asking for directions, talking about injuries and illnesses

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Spanish:

Who we are – things you like, what you do during the week, films, birthdays, celebrities, past days out

Jobs and future plans – job descriptions, what you’d like to be, talking about future plans, describing a typical day, using reference materials

Keeping fit – healthy diets, talking about active lifestyles, daily routines, talking about ailment, describing a daily fitness routine

Young people in action – children’s rights, fair trade, recycling, changing towns, fundraising, world issues

An adventure in Madrid – meeting and greeting people, buying souvenirs, talking about plans for tomorrow

French:

My world – likes and dislikes, after-school clubs, friendships, birthdays, discussing clothes

Future plans – earning money, jobs, future tense, talking about young inventors

My life, then and now – musical tastes, describing what you were like, primary school, how your life has changed, learning about young refugees

Best of worlds – food, eating habits, talking about nature and animals, environmental issues, how to change the world

The French-speaking world – countries you’d like to visit, amazing things to see, booking trips, preparing fact-files about Francophone countries, learning about young French-speakers, learning about French-speaking artists.

French and Spanish:

Myself, my family and friends – family members, physical descriptions, personality, relationships

Home town and local area – describing your local area, things to do, opinions, directions, describing your home and bedroom, discussing celebrations at home e.g. Christmas, birthdays

Free time – sport, TV, films, musical preferences, arranging to go out with friends, food and eating out

Travel and Tourism – holiday types and preferences, travel abroad, describing holidays in the past and future, describing the holiday location and accommodation, holiday memories and disasters

French and Spanish:

Marriage and Partnership – views on marriage and relationships

My studies – revision of school subjects, teachers, facilities, uniform, routines, school rules. Education Post-16

Careers – jobs, charity work, ambitions

Technology – uses, opinions and focus on social media

Environment – local environmental problems, global issues, poverty, homelessness, natural disasters, life in poorer countries

Customs and Festivals – traditions and festivals in French and Spanish speaking countries