Modern Foreign Languages
At St. Mary’s Catholic School, students study either French or Spanish at Key Stage 3. The opportunity to study Italian may also be available. Topics covered are in the curriculum maps. Pupils are encouraged to work independently at home using their devices to help engage with their learning. Pupils are also encouraged to develop their memory retrieval skills by regularly revisiting vocabulary covered throughout the course.
Assessments take place termly across the four skills or listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Curriculum Map
The link below allows you to see when topics may be covered; this is a guide for information only and has the potential to change as the year progresses.
Key Stage 4
GCSE Modern Foreign Languages – French/ Italian/Spanish
Assessment methods
There are 4 exams for GCSE French.
Each exam is worth 25% of your final grade.
The exams can be taken at Higher or Foundation Level.
|
|
Foundation |
Higher |
|
Listening |
40 minutes Section A answers in English Section B answers in French |
50 minutes Section A answers in English Section B answers in French |
|
Speaking |
Role play card Photo card General conversation 3-5 minutes |
Role play card Photo card General conversation 5-7 minutes |
|
Reading |
45 minutes Section A answers in English Section B answers in French |
1 hour Section A answers in English Section B answers in French |
|
Writing |
1 hour Q1 photo description Q2 40 words Q3 5 sentences translation Q4 90 words |
1 hour 15 minutes Q1 90 words Q2 150 words Q3 paragraph translation |
NB: students who are fortunate to speak languages other than those on offer at St Mary’s can also be given the opportunity to sit a GCSE and the MFL Department will help them achieve this.
GCSE French, Spanish and Italian cover 3 themes.
Theme 1 Identity and Culture
Theme 2 Local, national, international and global areas of interest
Theme 3 Current and future study and employment
The AQA GCSE French specification including vocabulary list is available here:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-8658
The AQA GCSE Italian specification including vocabulary list is available here:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/italian-8633
The AQA GCSE Spanish specification including vocabulary list is available here:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/spanish-8698
Key Stage 5
At A Level, students develop their awareness of the culture and society of French, Spanish or Italian speaking countries. All students are actively encouraged to develop their language skills through the use of a variety of media. Languages complement many subjects at university and the skills learnt through languages are easily transferable to other A Levels and further study. Knowing a foreign language will help to improve your cultural awareness, increase your adaptability and make you a more confident and effective communicator.
A Level French covers a wide range of topics which are covered over four themes.
Theme 1 : Changes in French society
Family, education, world of work.
Theme 2: Culture in the French-speaking world
Music, media, festivals and traditions.
Theme 3: Immigration and multi-cultural society in France
The positive impact of immigration and the extreme right in France.
Theme 4: The occupation and role of the resistance in France during the Second World War.
Occupied France, the Vichy regime and the resistance movement.
The film Les Choristes and book Thérèse Desqueyroux you study link to the topics, giving you further insight into French culture and History. As part of the speaking examination you will need to complete an Independent Research Project based on your own area of interest related to the society and culture of the French-speaking world.
A Level Italian covers a wide range of topics which are covered over four themes.
Theme 1: Changes in Italian society
Family, education, world of work.
Theme 2: Culture in Italy
Music, media, festivals and traditions.
Theme 3: Immigration and multi-cultural society in Italy
The positive impact of immigration, the challenges of migration to Italian society, the North/ South divide.
Theme 4: History
The rise of Mussolini, fascism in the Second World War, the move from dictatorship to democracy in Italy.
Students are also required to study and critically analyse two Italian novels, as well as practising their translation and essay writing skills. The books Io non ho paura and Volevo i pantaloni link to the topics, giving you further insight into Italian culture. As part of the speaking examination you will need to complete an Independent Research Project based on your own area of interest related to the society and culture of the Italian-speaking world.
A Level Spanish covers a wide range of topics which are covered over four themes.
Theme 1: Changes in Spanish society
Family, education, world of work.
Theme 2: Culture in the French-speaking world
Music, media, festivals and traditions.
Theme 3: Immigration and multi-cultural society in Spain
Immigration in Spain and the Civil War
Theme 4: History
Franco’s dictatorship and the transition from the dictatorship to the democracy
The books Como Agua para Chocolate and Crónica de una Muerte Anunciadathat you will study, link to the topics, giving you further insight into Spanish culture and history. As part of the speaking examination you will need to complete an Independent Research Project based on your own area of interest related to the society and culture of the Spanish-speaking world.
Method of Assessment:
All MFL subjects follow the Edexcel course. You will sit the A Level exam at the end of Year 13. It consists of three papers:
|
Paper |
Skills |
Marks |
Timing |
Proportion of A Level |
|
1 |
Listening, reading and translation into English |
80 |
2 hours |
40% |
|
2 |
Written response to film and text, translation into French |
120 |
2 hours 40 minutes |
30% |
|
3 |
Speaking |
72 |
21-23 minutes |
30% |
