Contact
Head of Department: Mr P. Traynor
p.traynor@kingsway.stockport.sch.uk
Powerful Knowledge
Powerful Knowledge is the vocabulary, grammar and phonics needed in order to communicate with others confidently and clearly in the target language. Powerful Knowledge is also having an understanding and appreciation of other cultures different from our own.
Curriculum Intent
The MFL department at the Kingsway school aim to make language learning a rewarding, confidence-building and enjoyable experience. Students will develop a wide range of transferable and lifelong learning skills including: collaboration, independence, resilience, tolerance, creativity, development of memory and oracy. Students will learn to look for and spot patterns in language, and learn how words are connected and can be put together successfully. They will develop a wide range of vocabulary and their knowledge of the target language will encourage them to be reflective about their own language, thus improving their literacy skills and vocabulary in their own language.
Furthermore, learning a foreign language will enable students to develop a strong understanding of the world beyond their own viewpoint and everyday experience; they will learn that the world is diverse and rich in different cultures, history, customs and perspectives which may be different from their own. Finally, our Key Stage 3 curriculum will give students the necessary foundations for beginning the GCSE course. Schemes of work have been carefully sequenced so that students are able to build up a secure knowledge of grammatical structures. Our teaching of grammar should always lead to an improvement in students’ abilities to use the language independently and creatively.
MLF Department Learning Journey
Key Stage 3
Year 7 French
(5 lessons per cycle French)
In year 7 students will learn that active participation is essential in the learning of a language, and that they should listen and follow their teachers’ lead. We will endeavour to make them feel “comfortable” out of their comfort zone as they settle into their language lessons; for example, when listening to the teacher speak in the target language, or pronouncing difficult words. They will learn the basic patterns of pronunciation so that they are able to speak confidently, contributing to lessons at every opportunity. We will challenge students to use their memory in lessons, with a focus on recall and retrieval of knowledge. Students will learn the first building blocks of accurate sentence structure.
Knowledge
Students will know the following linguistic and grammatical knowledge:
- Key phonemes
- Articles
- Possessive adjectives (my & your)
- Adjective position & agreement
- Regular -er verbs in present tense
- Key irregular verbs in present tense (avoir, être, faire, aller)
- Basic connectives, time sequencers and intensifiers
- C’est & il y a
Contexts
- Meeting & greeting
- Friends, family & descriptions
- Where I live
- School life & routine
- Town
- Clothes
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Speak with accurate pronunciation of familiar words.
- Ask and answer questions, and take part in a short conversation.
- Produce a short, accurate text (30-40 words) on familiar contexts from memory.
- Write with accurate punctuation.
- Begin to add details and more varied vocab to their work (e.g. some basic intensifiers & time sequencers).
- Express opinions, with some reasons in extended sentences using basic connectives.
- Use resources e.g. ex book, textbook to check accuracy of work.
- Respond to teacher feedback by improving their work through error correction and adding extra detail, with guidance.
- Use strategies to help understand unfamiliar language e.g. looking/listening for cognates and key words.
Term 1
- Greeting
- Classroom language
- Colours
- Days
- Alphabet
- Age & Birthday
- Family
- Pets
- Descriptions
Term 2
- Where you live
- House
- Bedroom
- Morning & evening routine
- Telling the time
- Numbers 31-100
- School subjects & opinions
- Describing school day
- Present tense
Term 3
- Places in town
- Directions
- Clothes
- Shopping for clothes
Year 8 French
(3 lessons per cycle French + 2 lessons per cycle Spanish or German)
In year 8 French, students will continue to build upon their skills and knowledge gained in year 7; learning a language is a cumulative process and grammatical knowledge and vocabulary should be re-visited and applied in different contexts to ensure long-term learning takes place. Year 8 will lay the foundations for the GCSE course in terms of the introduction of key grammatical structures, including verb tenses.
Furthermore, in year 8, students will begin a second modern foreign language (Spanish or German). Although this does result in students having reduced time for French, it will give students the opportunity to spot similarities and differences between the two languages, as well as their own language. It will also give them a wider choice when they choose their option subjects in year 9. Furthermore, students will realise that all skills developed in one language are transferable to the other language.
French
Knowledge
Students will know the following linguistic and grammatical knowledge:
- Year 7 knowledge
- Other key present tense verbs in 1st person relevant to the contexts below (e.g. je lis, je prends)
- Negatives (ne..pas/jamais)
- Perfect tense (avoir, common etre, common irregular past participles)
- Near future tense
- Partitive article
- An increasing range of connectives, time sequencers, time expressions, adjectives and intensifiers, and an awareness that using a variety will add interest to their work
Contexts
- Media & Technology
- Free time activities
- Sports
- Weather
- Visiting Paris/tourist destination
- Tourist Information
- Food & drink
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Speak with accurate pronunciation and use knowledge of phonemes to work out pronunciation of unfamiliar words.
- Ask and answer questions, and take part in a longer conversation, with some spontaneity.
- Produce longer (40-90 words), accurate texts on familiar contexts from memory, with an awareness of creativity.
- Translate short texts between English and target language
- Write with accurate punctuation.
- Add details and more varied vocab to their work, using vocabulary from different contexts
- Express opinions, with a range of reasons in extended sentences using a range of connectives
- Use resources e.g. ex book, textbook to check accuracy of work.
- Respond to teacher feedback by improving their work through error correction and adding extra detail, with a greater degree of independence.
- Read/listen and understand the gist and some detail of longer, more complex and unfamiliar spoken and written language
Term 1
- TV programmes
- Films
- Books
- Using the internet
- Sports & games
- Free time activities
- Weather
Term 2
- Holidays
- Tourist information
- Countries
- Transport
- Perfect tense
Term 3
- Food & drink
- Meals
- Shopping for food & drink
- Going to a restaurant
Year 9 French
(3 lessons per cycle French + 2 lessons per cycle Spanish or German)
Having been introduced to the perfect, present and near future tenses during years 7 and 8 French lessons, in year 9 the focus is practice, consolidation, and embedment of this knowledge. It is vital that students can retrieve it and apply it across various contexts, with a greater focus on memory, and accuracy.
Students also continue with the same second language (Spanish or German).
Knowledge
Students will know the following linguistic and grammatical knowledge:
- Year 7 knowledge
- Year 8 knowledge
- Use of time markers to improve precision when referring to past, present or future
- A wide range of connectives, time sequencers, time expressions, adjectives and intensifiers
- Mrs Vandertramp – etre verbs
Contexts
- My family and friends
- Celebrations and festivals
- Technology
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Speak with accurate pronunciation, including more complex and unfamiliar words, using knowledge of phonemes.
- React spontaneously to questions on familiar contexts, and extend answers producing extended sentences in speech.
- Translate short texts between English and target language with increasing grammatical accuracy.
- Use QUACNOTT to ensure that their work includes a variety of vocab and complex structures by systematically checking, improving and re-drafting it.
- Express opinions, with a range of reasons in extended sentences using a wider range of connectives.
- Begin to transcribe accurately in target language.
- Use resources e.g. ex book, textbook to check accuracy of work.
- Respond to teacher feedback by improving their work through error correction and adding extra detail independently.
Become confident reading and listening to longer, more complex and unfamiliar spoken and written language, and understanding the gist and detail.
Term 1
-
My family and friends.
-
Describing my family
-
Describing family relationships
-
Describing plans with friends
-
Term 2
-
Celebrations and festivals.
-
Food and mealtimes
-
Festivals and celebrations in the French speaking world and the UK
-
Daily routine
-
Term 3
-
Technology
-
Describing how I use different technologies
-
Describing the advantages and disadvantages of technology
-
Year 8/9 Spanish
Knowledge
Students will know the following linguistic and grammatical knowledge:
- Key phonemes
- Articles
- Possessive adjectives (my & your)
- Adjective position & agreement
- Regular ar, er & ir verbs in present tense
- Hacer & jugar in present tense
- Key irregular verbs in present tense (ser, tener)
- Opinion verbs + infinitive
- Basic connectives, time sequencers and intensifiers
- Hay
Context
- Meeting & greeting
- Free time (including weather)
- Family & descriptions
- School
- Where I live (house & town)
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Speak with accurate pronunciation of familiar words.
- Ask and answer questions, and take part in a short conversation.
- Produce a short, accurate text on familiar contexts from memory.
- Write with accurate punctuation.
- Begin to add details and more varied vocab to their work (e.g. some basic intensifiers & time sequencers).
- Express opinions, with some reasons in extended sentences using connectives
- Use resources e.g. ex book, textbook to check accuracy of work.
- Respond to teacher feedback by improving their work through error correction and adding extra detail, with guidance.
- Use strategies to help understand unfamiliar language e.g. looking/listening for cognates and key words.
Year 8 Term 1
- Classroom language
- Greetings
- Age & birthday
- Alphabet
- Character adjectives
- Brothers & sisters
- Pets
- Colours
Year 8 Term 2
- Free time activities
- Sports & games
- Days of week
- Weather
Year 8 Term 3
- School subjects
- Opinions & reasons
- Description of school & facilities
Year 9 Term 1
- Talking about break time
- Food & drink
- Uniform & clothes
Year 9 Term 2
- Members of family
- Numbers 31-100
- Description
- Describing where you live, areas and types of dwellings, adjectives, rooms in the house
Year 9 Term 3
- Places in town
- Ordering food & drink in a café/restaurant
Year 8/9 German
Knowledge
Students will know the following linguistic and grammatical knowledge:
- Key phonemes
- Articles
- Pronouns
- Plurals
- Possessive adjectives – words for my
- Regular verbs in present tense
- Haben and sein in present tense
- Key irregular verbs in present tense e.g. fahren and sehen
- Using ‘gern’ to express opinions
- Basic connectives, time sequencers and intensifiers
- Word order with ‘weil’
- Word order (verb second idea)
- Prepositions (changing the article)
- Modal verbs (können and dürfen)
Contexts
- Meeting & greeting
- Family & descriptions
- Free time
- School
- Places in town
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Speak with accurate pronunciation of familiar words.
- Ask and answer questions, and take part in a short conversation.
- Produce a short, accurate text on familiar contexts from memory.Write with accurate punctuation.
- Begin to add details and more varied vocab to their work (e.g. some basic intensifiers & time sequencers).
- Express opinions, with some reasons in extended sentences using connectives
- Use resources e.g. ex book, textbook to check accuracy of work.
- Respond to teacher feedback by improving their work through error correction and adding extra detail, with guidance.
- Use strategies to help understand unfamiliar language e.g. looking/listening for cognates and key words.
Year 8 Term 1
- Classroom language
- Greetings
- Name & age
- Numbers 1-20
- Alphabet
- Character adjectives
- Favourite things
Year 8 Term 2
- Pets
- More adjectives
- Family members
- Colours
- Days of week
- Months
- Numbers 20-100
Year 8 Term 3
- Free time
- Sports & hobbies
- Opinion words
Year 9 Term 1
- Opinions of hobbies (continued from Y8)
- Free time activities
- Time phrases
- Online activities
Year 9 Term 2
- School subjects
- Opinions and reasons
- Days of the week
- Time
- Descriptions of teachers
Year 9 Term 3
- Places in town
- Shopping and snacks
Key Stage 4
Why study a language?
The French, German and Spanish courses will be of interest to those who wish to develop the ability to use language effectively for the purpose of practical communication. Learning a language is fun and great for building confidence too.
As well as language skills, students will learn a wide variety of transferable skills, highly valued by employers and universities. These include communication skills, problem solving skills, team work and the ability to be flexible and cope in difficult situations. Furthermore, they will have the opportunity to learn about other cultures and the people of the country/countries where the language is spoken.
The GCSE specification for all three languages includes a wide variety of topics relevant to young people today, including:
Theme 1 Identity & Culture
- Me, my family & friends
- Technology in everyday life
- Free-time activities
- Customs & festivals
Theme 2 Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Home, town, neighbourhood & region
- Social issues
- Global issues
- Travel & tourism
Theme 3 Current & Future Study & Employment
- My studies
- Life at school/college
- Education post-16
- Jobs, career choices & ambitions
Assessment
Students complete assessments in the following four components:
- Listening – 25%
- Reading – 25%
- Writing – 25%
- Speaking – 25%
All components are assessed by examination, to be taken in the summer of Year 11. Students are entered for Foundation or Higher tier depending on their ability.
French
Year 10 Term 1
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Customs & Festivals
Year 10 Term 2
- GCSE Theme 2 - Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Home Town, Neighbourhood & Region
- Travel & Tourism
Year 10 Term 3
- GCSE Theme 2 - Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Social Issues & Global Issues
Year 11 Term 1
- GCSE Theme 3 - Current & Future Study & Employment
- My Studies & Life at School
Year 11 Term 2
- GCSE Theme 3 - Current & Future Study & Employment
- Jobs, Career Choices & Ambitions
Year 11 Term 3
Revision & Exam Preparation
German
Year 10 Term 1
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Self, Family & Friends
- Free Time Activities
Year 10 Term 2
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Free Time Activities (continued)
- Technology in Everyday Life
Year 10 Term 3
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Customs & Festivals
- GCSE Theme 2 - Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Home Town, Neighbourhood & Region
Year 11 Term 1
- GCSE Theme 2 - Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Travel & Tourism
- Social Issues & Global Issues
Year 11 Term 2
- GCSE Theme 3 - Current & Future Study & Employment
- My Studies & Life at School
- Jobs, Career Choices & Ambitions
Year 11 Term 3
Revision & Exam Preparation
Spanish
Year 10 Term 1
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Self, Family & Friends
- Free Time Activities
Year 10 Term 2
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Free Time Activities (continued)
- Technology in Everyday Life
Year 10 Term 3
- GCSE Theme 1 - Identity & Culture
- Customs & Festivals
- GCSE Theme 2 - Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Home Town, Neighbourhood & Region
Year 11 Term 1
- GCSE Theme 2 - Local, National, International & Global Areas of Interest
- Travel & Tourism
- Social Issues & Global Issues
Year 11 Term 2
- GCSE Theme 3 - Current & Future Study & Employment
- My Studies & Life at School
- Jobs, Career Choices & Ambitions
Year 11 Term 3
Revision & Exam Preparation