Languages

Curriculum INTENT

Our aim is to foster students’ curiosity of languages and promote diversity and tolerance of other cultures, in order to deepen their understanding of the wider world and to instil a sense of freedom to travel.

Students will have the opportunity to develop a competency that focuses on a depth of learning rather than breadth, in the four key skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.   Learning will centre around the three pillars of language teaching: grammar, vocabulary and phonics. Students will be able to understand and communicate personal and factual information that goes beyond their immediate needs and interests, developing and justifying points of view in speech and writing, with increased confidence, spontaneity, independence and accuracy.

Curriculum End Points

By the end of KS4, a Y11 student will have:

 

• Developed language skills for life by studying all four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing in significant depth

 

• Developed sound grammatical knowledge which they can apply and manipulate with increasing confidence and competence

 

• Developed a deep understanding of Speech Sound Correspondences (SSC)

 

• Developed and use a wide-ranging and deepening breadth of vocabulary

 

• Developed an ability to give and justify opinions

 

• Developed an awareness of where their language study could take them both at A-Level and beyond

 

• Developed a cultural awareness of the French/Spanish-speaking world and an openness and appreciation for all languages and cultures

Curriculum Maps

French KS3:

ks3 french.pdf

 French KS4:

ks4 french.pdf

Spanish KS3:

ks3 spanish.pdf

Spanish Y10:

y10 spanish .pdf

 

Spanish Y11:

y11 spanish .pdf

 

 

Curriculum in Year 7

 

All students in Y7 study Spanish.

 

Our wish is for students to learn a language through a range of interesting and motivating contexts, with each unit having clear intent and key component knowledge.  Examples of topics covered in Y7 include: My World and Where I Live.  The KS3 curriculum in languages has been carefully considered and devised based on the requirements of the National Curriculum and so that grammar and vocabulary are sequenced according to prior learning.  Students are given the ability to master and recall key components at every stage of their journey.  New language is introduced and old language recycled in chunks via the use of sentence builders.  Formative assessment takes place regularly.  Elements of Hispanic culture are explored and discussed throughout the year. There is an emphasis on understanding and celebrating differences within cultures and Spanish speaking countries.    

 

Summative Assessments:

These assessments will be cumulative and will assess students’ knowledge on all key component knowledge covered up to that point. 

 

SPANISH	HT1-3	HT4-6
Overview	Speaking  and Writing	Listening and Reading Speaking and Writing
Content	Phonics Understanding key questions Understanding texts on topics covered up to this point Writing short passages	Phonics Forming questions Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using two tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions

 

 

Curriculum in Year 8

All students in Y8 study Spanish and some students (Z band) will also start to learn French.  

 

Our wish is for students to learn a language through a range of interesting and motivating contexts with each unit having clear intent and key component knowledge.  Examples of topics covered in Y8 in French include: My Friends and The World Around Me.  Whilst in Spanish students cover: My Mind My Body (Sport); School; Celebrations and Music.  The KS3 curriculum in languages has been carefully considered and devised based on the requirements of the National Curriculum and so that grammar and vocabulary are sequenced according to prior learning.  Students are given the ability to master and recall key components at every stage of their journey.  New language is introduced and old language recycled in chunks via the use of sentence builders.  Formative assessment takes place regularly.   Elements of Hispanic and Francophone culture are explored and discussed throughout the year. There is an emphasis on understanding and celebrating differences within cultures and Spanish and French speaking countries.    

 

Summative Assessments:

These assessments will be cumulative and will assess students’ knowledge on all key component knowledge covered up to that point. 

 

 

FRENCH	HT1-2	HT3-4	HT5-6
Overview	Speaking	Listening and Reading	Writing Speaking
Content	Introduction to phonics Understanding key questions Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions	Understanding texts on topics covered up to this point	Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions Introduction to phonics Understanding key questions

 

SPANISH	HT1-2	HT3-4	HT5-6
Overview	Writing Listening and Reading	Speaking	Speaking and Writing
Content	Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions	Phonics Forming questions Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions	Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions Introduction to phonics Understanding key questions Understanding texts on topics covered up to this point

 

 

Curriculum in Year 9

All students in Y9 study Spanish and some students also continue to learn French (Z band). 

 

Our wish is for students to learn a language through a range of interesting and motivating contexts with each unit having clear intent and key component knowledge.  Examples of topics covered in Y9 French include: Clothes and Fashion; My Town and the Future.  Whilst in Spanish students cover; Free time and Hobbies, My Mind My Body (Wellbeing); A Celebration; Technology and My Future.  The KS3 curriculum in languages has been carefully considered and devised based on the requirements of the National Curriculum and so that grammar and vocabulary are sequenced according to prior learning.  Students are given the ability to master and recall key components at every stage of their journey.  New language is introduced and old language recycled in chunks via the use of sentence builders.  Formative assessment takes place regularly.  Elements of Hispanic and Francophone culture are explored and discussed throughout the year. There is an emphasis on understanding and celebrating differences within cultures and Spanish and French speaking countries.    

 

Summative Assessments:

These assessments will be cumulative and will assess students’ knowledge on all key component knowledge covered up to that point. 

 

FRENCH	HT1-2	HT 3-4	HT 5-6
Overview	Listening and Reading	Writing and Speaking	Listening and Reading
Content	Phonics Understanding key questions Understanding texts on topics covered up to this point	Phonics Forming questions Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions	Phonics Understanding key questions Understanding texts on topics covered up to this point Conjugating verbs

 

SPANISH	HT1-2	HT 3-4	HT 5-6
Overview	Grammar and Writing	Listening and Reading	Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing
Content	Phonics Forming questions Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions Describing a photo	Phonics Forming questions Giving opinions on a variety of topicsand justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions Describing a photo	Phonics Understanding key questions Understanding texts on topics covered up to this point Giving opinions on a variety of topics and justifying these with interesting ideas and comparisons Using three tenses Extending answers to include key extra details Using negation Answering unexpected questions Describing a photo.

 

Curriculum in Year 10

Name of course and board:  GCSE French and GCSE Spanish

Method of external assessment: 100% exam 

Students will sit four exams at the end of the two-year course. The examination board is Edexcel. Candidates will be entered for writing, speaking, reading and listening examinations. Each is worth 25%.

There are two exam tiers:

Foundation (grades 1-5) and Higher (grades 4- 9).

Students’ progress in all four skills is monitored and supported throughout the course.

Students further develop their skills in understanding written and spoken French or Spanish and in actively using the language to speak and write.  They are expected to have and discuss their opinion on a wide range of current topics in French or Spanish.

They continue to develop a wide range of language learning techniques, which will aid them in learning across the curriculum and with any language they may choose or need to study in the future.

We broadly follow the Studio (French) Viva (Spanish) series and over the course of the two years we cover the following themes:

 

My Personal World

Lifestyle and Wellbeing

My Neighbourhood

Media and Technology

Studying and My Future

Travel and Tourism

 

 

Summative Assessments:

These assessments will be cumulative and will assess students’ knowledge on all key component knowledge covered up to that point including aspects covered in KS3. 

 

	HT1-2	HT3-4	HT 5-6
Overview	Writing, Listening and Reading.	Writing, Listening and Reading.	Speaking, Writing, Listening and Reading.
Content	Unseen GCSE Writing question.   Unseen listening and reading papers taken from Pearson textbook.	Unseen GCSE Writing question. Unseen listening and reading papers taken from Pearson textbook.	Unseen GCSE Mock examinations.

 How can parents help?

 

• Encourage your child to learn vocabulary little and often and ensure they   are completing their learning homework
• Encourage your child to watch age appropriate television programmes in   Spanish / French
• Encourage your child to use mobile phone apps / websites to practise   vocabulary, for example, Languagenut.  All students will be issued with log   in details for this website  

 

Curriculum in Year 11

 Name of course and board:  GCSE French and GCSE Spanish

Method of external assessment: 100% exam 

Students will sit four exams at the end of the two-year course. The examination board is Edexcel. Candidates will be entered for writing, speaking, reading and listening examinations. Each is worth 25%.

There are two exam tiers:

Foundation (grades 1-5) and Higher (grades 4- 9).

Students’ progress in all four skills is monitored and supported throughout the course.

Students further develop their skills in understanding written and spoken French or Spanish and in actively using the language to speak and write.  They are expected to have and discuss their opinion on a wide range of current topics in French or Spanish.

They continue to develop a wide range of language learning techniques, which will aid them in learning across the curriculum and with any language they may choose or need to study in the future.

We broadly follow the Studio (French) Viva (Spanish) series and over the course of the two years we cover the following themes:

 

My Personal World

Lifestyle and Wellbeing

My Neighbourhood

Media and Technology

Studying and My Future

Travel and Tourism

 

Summative Assessments:

These assessments will be cumulative and will assess students’ knowledge on all key component knowledge covered up to that point including aspects covered in KS3. 

 

	HT1-2	HT3-4	HT5-6
Overview	Writing Assessment	Full GCSE mock examinations	GCSE Examinations
Content	Unseen GCSE writing assessment. Foundation – 18 marker Higher – 22 marker	Speaking Listening Reading Writing

  

How can parents help?

 

• Encourage your child to learn vocabulary little and often and ensure they   are completing their learning homework
• Encourage your child to watch age appropriate television programmes in   Spanish / French
• Encourage your child to use mobile phone apps / websites to practise   vocabulary, for example, Languagenut.  All students will be issued with log   in details for this website  

 

 

Websites

Extracurricular Opportunities