Modern Foreign Languages

What will this subject enable me to do?

Language provision for pupils:
At the end of Year 7, following assessment data, those pupils we believe are capable of studying both French and Spanish on a reduced curriculum of 3 hours a fortnight for each language will be able to take both languages in Year 8. At the end of Year 8, they will choose which of the two languages they would like to continue studying in Year 9.
For those pupils who might need additional literacy and numeracy support in Year 7, they will instead do Extra core lessons instead of French. This does mean that once pupils are in Extra Core, they will no longer study a language for the remainder of their time at Quarrydale.

Department Staff

C Davison

Head of Department

M Croll

Teacher

S Penaranda

Teacher

R Pearce

Teacher

A Thompson

Teacher

Homework and Support

Homework will be set via our online homework platform and will generally comprise of a spelling tests using Quizlet and Blooket links and vocab books.  Quizlet is an online learning platform where we upload all of the vocabulary our pupils study on our school page ~ QuarrydaleFrench where they can play games and view flashcards. It is better if our pupils sign up for this using their school email address and keeping their password safe as not all the vocabulary is visible without an account. It can be also be downloaded as an app for free on smartphones. We also use Blooket as an online tool for vocab revision and links to homework sets will be sent to your child on our homework platform. For Blooket, there is no need to have an account, however, as with Quizlet, your child can sign up and search for other subjects’ revision sets too!

Occasionally, pupils have to complete research or project based work or writing activities. In addition to revision this will help pupils achieve well in their end of module tests.

You can help your child by testing them on their vocabulary and asking them to write out their spellings and self checking. If you have Netflix, many programmes’ settings can be changed so that French/Spanish subtitles are available. Duolingo is also a really fun, free app that can also enhance your child’s progress in languages.

Each pupil will receive a printed vocabulary book which contains all the necessary vocabulary and grammar needed for that year of study.

Keystage 3

ModuleSkillsAssessment
Year 7
C’est parti!Pupils will learn: greetings how to introduce themselves, their name and age numbers, colours, months of the year and days of the week classroom languageFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Famille et copainsPupils will learn: how to talk about family and pets the verb ‘avoir’ to describe themselves and others using the verb ‘être’ how adjectives changeFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Mes passetempsPupils will learn: to talk about their likes/dislikes how ‘er’ verbs change to use the verb ‘faire’ to talk about sport, hobbies and technology to describe what others doFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Ma zonePupils will learn: how to describe where they live; their house and town to talk about their town’s facilities to ask and give directions to use the verb ‘aller’Formal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Year 8 French
Mon collègePupils will learn: school subjects and to give their opinion of them how to tell the time in French describe their timetable describe their daily routine using reflexive verbsFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
T’es branché(e)?Pupils will learn: how to describe what they like to watch on TV how to describe what they like to read how to describe what films they like how to describe what music they like how to describe what they do with technology how to describe the weather to describe what they do with their friendsFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Paris, je t’adore!Pupils will learn: about Paris and its popular tourist sites about its celebrations how to form questions how to order food and drink in a cafe how to form the past tense to say what they have done and what it was likeFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Mon identitéPupils will learn: recap how to talk about their personality clothes and giving opinions on fashion shopping for clothes the type of shops and shopping for food consolidating the use of the perfect tenseFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Year 8 Spanish
Mi vidaPupils will learn: greetings how to describe themselves how to give their age say when their birthday is numbers family membersFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Mi tiempo librePupils will learn: how to talk about their hobbies and freetime how to describe the weather how to talk about sportsFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Mi instiPupils will learn: school subjects how to give their opinion on school subjects how to describe their school how to say what they do in their break timesFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Mi familia y mis amigosPupils will learn: how to describe family members and themselves in greater detail larger numbersFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Mi ciudadPupils will learn: places in town how to tell the time weekend activitiesFormal Test in listening, speaking, reading and writing

Keystage 4

Pupils will study AQA GCSE and are examined in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Each component is worth 25% of their overall grade.

ThemeTopics
Theme 1 Identity and CultureSub-topic 1 Me, my family and friends Relationships with family and friends Marriage/partnership Sub-topic 2 Technology in everyday life Social media Mobile technology Sub-topic 3 Free time activities Music Cinema and TV Food and eating out Sport Sub-topic 4 Customs and festivals in French-speaking countries/communities
Theme 2 Local, national, international and global areas of interestSub-topic 1 Home, town, neighbourhood and region Sub-topic 2 Social issues Charity/voluntary work Healthy/unhealthy living Sub-topic 3 Global issues The environment Poverty/homelessness Sub-topic 4 Travel and tourism
Theme 3 Current and future study and employmentSub-topic 1 My studies Sub-topic 2 Life at school/college Sub-topic 3 Education post-16 Sub-topic 4 Jobs, career choices and ambitions

Keystage 5

Students will study AQA French A-Level.

ThemeTopics
Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends• The changing nature of family (La famille en voie de changement) • The ’cyber-society’ (La « cyber-société ») • The place of voluntary work (Le rôle du bénévolat) Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues • Positive features of a diverse society (Les aspects positifs d’une société diverse) • Life for the marginalised (Quelle vie pour les marginalisés ? ) • How criminals are treated (Comment on traite les criminels)
Artistic culture in the French-speaking world• A culture proud of its heritage (Une culture fière de son patrimoine) • Contemporary francophone music (La musique francophone contemporaine) • Cinema: the 7th art form (Cinéma : le septième art) Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world • Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment (Les ados, le droit de vote et l’engagement politique) • Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power? (Manifestations, grèves – à qui le pouvoir ? ) • Politics and immigration (La politique et l’immigration)
Independent Research ProjectStudents choose an element of the French speaking world on which to do in-depth research from a variety of sources for their speaking exam. Film and Literature Students will study one film and one book in class for part of their writing exam.