Modern Foreign Languages
Subject Leader: Mr E Martel
Subject Leader Email Address: edward.martel@swale.at
You can never truly understand one language until you understand at least two.
GEOFFREY WILLANS
Subject overview
In our ever-increasingly interconnected world, understanding a second language and another culture has never been more important. From day-trippers to global businesses, language skills are ever-present in our society and employers in all sectors value candidates who can demonstrate language acquisition skills. Learning a foreign language helps us to become more literate in our first language, through the development of skills such as reading and listening for gist and expressing oneself clearly and concisely in both writing and speaking.
Year 7
Term 1:
Introduce yourself, greet others, give basic details about yourself, ask basic questions of others.
Enquiry Questions:
Qui es-tu? - Who are you?
Term 2:
Describe yourself and others; describe your and others' hair and eyes, size and personality, give basic likes and dislikes; ask questions to elicit this information. What you like to do - basic sports and activities with basic opinion.
Enquiry Questions:
Tu es comment? - Describe yourself
Term 3:
My home and my town: describe your home, your ideal home; say what is and isn't in your town; give your opinion, ask others.
Enquiry Questions:
Où habites-tu? - Where do you live?
Term 4:
Where I live and where I am from: introduction to countries; where I have been, where I would like to go; Francophone countries / islands; compass points, directions.
Enquiry Questions:
D'où viens-tu? - Where are you from?
Term 5:
Your school life. Subjects you take, opinions, preferences, simple adjectives to justify opinions; school uniform; basic comment on primary school.
Enquiry Questions:
C'est comment, ton école? - What is your school like?
Term 6:
Your school life. Timetable, what your school is like, opinion of your school, what you would like in your school; introduction to French school life. Basic future plans - I would (not) like to be a (job).
Enquiry Questions:
C'est comment, ton école? - What is your school like?
Year 8
Term 1:
Revise and extend opinions and reasons; food and drink vocabulary; recognition of food cognates and near cognates; introduction to French and Francophone foods.
Enquiry Questions:
Qu'est-ce que tu aimes manger et boire? - What do you like to eat and drink?
Term 2:
Meals and times of the day, traditional French / Francophone meals, ordering in a restaurant / café, understanding a menu. Explaining what you ate, will / would like to eat.
Enquiry Questions:
Qu'est-ce que tu manges à chaque repas? - What do you eat at mealtimes?
Term 3:
Explain what you wear / like to wear with time indicators and during different activities / weather / seasons.
Enquiry Questions:
Qu'est-ce que tu aimes porter? - What do you like to wear?
Term 4:
Jeu de role - GCSE-style role play cards on familiar and new topics; skill of using familiar vocabulary and structures in order to fulfil a given role.
Enquiry Questions:
Various questions related to role play scenarios: What do you like to do in your free time? What do you like to study at school? What is your town like? What is your favourite meal? Describe your family, etc.
Term 5:
Where do you go on holiday? - Reading and listening tasks related to holidays (understanding the language): where you go, where you have been, would like to go; what one does on holiday; different types of location and holiday activity.
Enquiry Questions:
Où vas-tu en vacances? - Where do you go on holiday?
Term 6:
Where do you go on holiday - writing and speaking tasks related to holidays (producing the language): where I go, where I have been, would like to go; what one does on holiday; different types of location and holiday activity.
Enquiry Questions:
Où vas-tu en vacances? - Where do you go on holiday?
Year 9
Term 1:
Tell me about your family; relationships, friendships; ask and answer questions about self and others - look, personality, likes and dislikes.
Enquiry Questions:
- Parle-moi de ta famille - Tell me about your family.
Term 2:
What do you do in your free time? Extension of hobbies, sorts, activities, more complex opinions, ask questions of others
Enquiry Questions:
- Que fais-tu quand tu es libre? - What do you do in your free time?
Term 3:
Where would you like to go? Travel and tourism - what is in your area for tourists to do? Holiday destinations and activities; how to book accomodation, things to see and do in France / Francophone countries
Enquiry Questions:
- Où voudrais-tu aller? - where would you like to go?
Term 4:
Are you healthy? Healthy eating choices, staying fit; effects of smoking, alcohol, drugs, lack of sleep. What I should do to be (more) healthy.
Enquiry Questions:
- Tu es en bonne santé? - Are you healthy?
Term 5:
French film study - La Famille Bélier - themes depicted and language used in the film.
Enquiry Questions:
- What happens in the film La Famille Bélier? How different is the depiction of family life in France to family life in the UK?
Term 6:
French literature study - Le Petit Nicolas - themes depicted and language used in the novel.
Enquiry Questions:
- What happens in the novel Le Petit Nicolas? How different is the depiction of school life in France to school life in the UK?
Year 10
The AQA GCSE 9-1 French course extends and expands the knowledge and skills your child studied in Key Stage 3. The following skills are practised and further developed: reading and listening for gist and understanding, speaking on familiar and unfamiliar topics, writing about yourself and your experiences, translation.
Students who choose a language at GCSE may continue their language studies at A Level, or may choose to begin a new language at GCSE level.
Term 1:
What do you do in your free time? - express opinions and preferences, ask others about free time, cover 3 time frames.
Enquiry Questions:
- Qu'est-ce que tu aimes faire pendant ton temps libre? - What do you do in your free time?
Term 2:
What do you do at school? Subjects studied / not studied, comparison of education system in France, timetable, school day, opinions. What is your school like? - describe daily life at school, describe the school, what do you like / dislike? How would you change your school? What is school life like in a Francophone country?
Enquiry Questions:
- Qu'est-ce que tu fais au collège? - What do you do at school?
- C'est comment, ton collège? - What is your school like
Term 3:
What are you going to do after the exams? - future options: post-16 education, apprenticeships, work, university
Enquiry Questions:
- Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire après les examens? - What are you going to do after the exams?
Term 4:
What sort of person are you? Compare yourself and others, say what you used to be like, ask and describe others.
Enquiry Questions:
- Quelle sorte de personne es-tu? - What sort of person are you?
Term 5:
How could you improve your town? Your country? The environment and society - what works well and what needs to be done to improve things?
Enquiry Questions:
- Comment est-ce qu'on peut améliorer ta ville? Ton pays? - How could you improve your town? Your country?
Term 6:
Where would you like to go on holiday? - Destinations, activities, booking and reserving accommodation, eating. What is there for tourists in your area? Describe the activities and places to visit in your area.
Enquiry Questions:
- Où aimerais-tu aller en vacances? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a pour les touristes dans ta région? - Where would you like to go on holiday? What is there for tourists in your area?
Students currently have the option of beginning GCSE Spanish in Year 10. The AQA GCSE Spanish course begins with an accelerated beginner’s program in terms 1 and 2, becoming more advanced in the subsequent terms.
Term 1:
Me, My Family and Friends – describe yourself, those around you, your hobbies, home, school and local area.
Enquiry Questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
Term 2:
Jobs, career choices, ambitions – be able to describe and express opinions on jobs, explain what you would like to do in the future.
Enquiry Questions:
- What would you like to do in the future?
Term 3:
Food, health and eating out – explain your opinions on different foods, discover traditional Spanish foods, learn how to order in a Spanish restaurant and bar, explain which foods are (un)healthy and why.
Enquiry Questions:
- What kinds of food do you like to eat? Why?
Term 4:
Free time, clothes, shopping – explain what you do and do not like to do in your freetime, what you did recently and will do soon, and explain what clothes you wear for different activities.
Enquiry Questions:
- What do you do in your free time?
- What have you done recently?
- What clothes do you like to wear?
Term 5:
Home, town, neighbourhood & region – describe your local area and your home in detail; say what you would do to improve your area and discuss the problems with it.
Enquiry Questions:
- Where do you live?
- Describe your home.
- What do you like and dislike about your town?
- What are the biggest problems in your area and how do we solve them?
Term 6:
Travel & Tourism – explain where you have been, go and would like to go on holiday; discuss holiday activities and learn about some of the main tourist attractions and holiday destinations in Spain.
Enquiry Questions:
- Where have you been on holiday?
- Where would you like to go?
- What do you usually do on holiday?