Modern Foreign Languages
Mission Statement
Our aim is to challenge and develop our students towards being confident communicators, able to manipulate language, interact with and understand other cultures to become global citizens equipped to make a difference
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.
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 3
The following books are used art KS3.
French Dynamo 1 and Dynamo 2
Spanish Mira 1, Mira 2, Viva 3
Key Stage 4
The following books are used at KS4.
GCSE Studio AQA
GCSE Viva AQA
GCSE Modern Foreign Languages – French/ Italian/Spanish
Assessment methods
There are 4 examinations for GCSE.
Each examination is worth 25% of your final grade.
The examinations can be taken at Higher or Foundation Level.
|
Foundation |
Higher |
|
|
Listening |
40 minutes Section A answers in English Section B answers in TL |
50 minutes Section A answers in English Section B answers in TL |
|
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 TL |
1 hour Section A answers in English Section B answers in TL |
|
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:
Learning a language has helped me to understand more about the world around me. It has helped me to understand words and meanings, which I can apply to English. Furthermore, it has given me a window into another culture and helped me to gain both awareness of how big and varied the world is, and appreciation for such diversity.
- Mille, Year 12