In a multicultural society, the need to communicate, share ideas and develop an understanding of others is vital. Furthermore, as a business and enterprise college, we know that students need to be equipped to work within the 21st century’s global network.
With this in mind, the Modern Foreign Languages department aims to encourage students to explore different cultures through languages. We currently offer French, Spanish and Urdu, and intend to offer more languages at GCSE in coming years as the demand for employees with language GCSEs increases.
We employ a range of methods to help pupils grow accustomed to new languages. Power-point presentations, interactive whiteboard material, language videos, songs and films in the target language are used to introduce topics and vocabulary. We also have an excellent computer network on which pupils are able to use the department’s different ICT-based language resources.  The department uses the website www.linguascope.com where pupils can learn the language whilst having fun.
Pupils get the chance to attend plays performed in French and in Spanish.
Finally, the recent school trip to France proved to be a real success, and we are looking to organise another trip this year.

Introduction

In Year 7 pupils study Spanish during the first term, French from January until May and finally Italian.
We follow the “Mira” and “Expo” courses at KS3.
In Year 8, they choose to study either French, Spanish or Urdu.
Languages are optional at GCSE. We currently offer AQA French and Spanish GCSE.

Thinking about studying  a language at GCSE?

Languages are really important in the world we live in and gives every pupil great skills for the rest of your life. The internet has brought everyone much closer together so chatting, blogging and networking with people of different languages from all over the world has become easier.
It may seem that everyone speaks English, but in fact 75% of the world’s population does not.  
 Languages at GCSE are fun to learn; they are not just another boring lesson to sit through at school. You listen to songs, watch TV and read comics and books all in a different language.

Why languages at GCSE?:
“Language classes at GCSE are interactive, fun and full of surprises.”

Being able to speak to get by when you go on holiday is just one of the many reasons why you should learn a language at GCSE. Mind you, you don’t even have to go abroad to speak a foreign language. Tourism and the Olympics are just a couple of examples that bring other languages right to our front door.

The assessment
For languages you are marked on four key areas - reading, writing, listening and speaking – these will be important skills to have when you apply for college, university and even a job.

  • The reading and listening exams are short and the best bit is that some answers are only one word long or multiple choice – so there will be no arm cramps from writing lots!
  • The oral assessments really are not that scary; you just have to talk!
  • For the written assessments, you write down what you have prepared in lessons and there are no surprises.

What will I study?

  • A massive range of topics are covered in your language classes, so as well as learning a language you also learn all about the culture and lifestyle of foreign countries; school life, food, travel, sports, famous people, traditions and customs and the list goes on! The four key areas of language learning are: speaking, listening, reading and writing, so your classes will include activities that improve these skills. You might make posters about your favourite foreign celebrities, sport or pop stars, and then practice what you might say if you ever met them. By learning how to give directions you can point someone in the right direction or get yourself back on track if you ever get lost!
  • You could listen to music typical of the country or their popular music and try to work out what the lyrics mean-you will probably find you already know some of them! There are lots of cool songs to learn to help you remember dates, months, days of the week and even grammar. There are also some great films and TV shows to watch, all while practising your listening of course!
  • Learning a language will really widen your knowledge and understanding of the world and everyone's place within it and you’ll have a really fun time doing in the process.

Employers value language skills

  • Research has shown that using language skills in business opens the door to a wide range of economic, social and personal benefits
  • 74% of employers are looking to employ people with conversational language skills
  • Customers addressed in their mother tongue are much more likely to do business with you
  • Studying a foreign language improves your oral and written skills in English too, and also helps develop key communication skills that are crucial in the workplace

Head of MFL – Mrs F Cusimano