Modern Foreign Languages

MEET THE TEAM: 

  • Mrs. J. Hensman – Leader of Languages
  • Mr. T. Ricketts – Teacher of Spanish 
  • Mrs. A. Goodacre – Teacher of French and Spanish
  • Miss. J. Bottomley – Teacher of Spanish
  • Miss. S. Mooneegan – Teacher of French
  • Mrs. R. Mitchell – Senior Assistant Headteacher

KS3

At Caludon Castle we offer both French and Spanish. Students opt for one language to study in Y7 when transitioning from primary school, but then have the option to pick up the other language in Y8. Students then have the choice to remain dual linguists for the entirety of their time at Caludon. Throughout KS3 students have two lessons a week. As well as working upon grammar acquisition, throughout their time at Caludon, students are encouraged to use communicative skills to improve their oracy. Lessons include both productive work and regular practice through listening, reading and speaking exercises, regularly complemented by the use of technology. 

YEAR 7

In both French and Spanish at Y7 the language focus is on phonics and key transactional language needed for communication. This includes: introducing oneself, giving key information and asking questions, as well as talking about family, home, hobbies, food and school. 

YEAR 8

Again for both languages, Y8 students further develop their language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing through the study of the following topics: home town, weather, clothes and fashion, shopping, making plans to meet up, describing a past weekend and food and drink. As well as topic specific vocabulary, grammar covered includes an introduction to the past and the future tenses, as well as further work on the present tense. Other aspects of grammar include use of adjectives, negatives, comparatives, superlatives and forming questions.

Those students who have opted to take up a second language will study a fast-track beginners’ course that covers the basic skills from Y7 and Y8, and prepares them for further study at Y9 should they wish to continue. 

YEAR 9

In French, topic areas include: where you live, social media, technology, fitness and healthy lifestyle, as well as working on topic specific vocabulary and practising communicative skills. The grammar focus entails further work on the present, past and future tenses across all contexts studied.

In Spanish, topic areas include: technology, free time, TV, cinema and music, healthy lifestyle, body parts, illnesses and expressing strong opinions. Key skills are practiced further, and students are taught to use three tenses confidently. This new input is layered with a cultural context of Spanish-speaking countries. 

At KS3 students develop their linguist competency as well as layer their learning with historical and cultural elements of the wider French and Spanish speaking world.

KS4

During this AQA GCSE course students will develop skills in the four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing through three themes:

  • Identity and culture
  • Local, national, international and global areas of interest
  • Current and future study and employment

Emphasis is placed on the development of all four skill areas across Y10 and Y11 in their three lessons a week. Students will also have the opportunity to use technology to develop their language skills both inside the classroom and at home. In order to best prepare, students will also sit mock examinations in both Y10 and Y11.

There will be home learning booklets to complete in preparation for the speaking examination and weekly vocabulary tests alongside Firefly tasks to embed learning.

The examination for both GCSE French and Spanish is as follows:

25% Listening examination – understanding and responding to different types of spoken language

25% Speaking examination – carried out in school with the student’s class teacher and discussing the key themes

25% Reading examination – understanding and responding to different types of written language

25% Writing examination – writing about several stimulus points with translation tasks

KS5

During this AQA A-Level course students will continue to develop skills in the four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing in their five lessons a week. The French and Spanish course gives students a greater flavour of a further education in languages as they are required to unpick and appreciate more elaborate texts, covering topics such as politics, employment, changing family structures and gender inequality, as well as more complex grammar. Class sizes are often small in order to maximise progress and to best prepare students there are mock examinations in both Y12 and Y13.

The examination for both A-Level French and Spanish is as follows:

50% Listening, reading and writing examination – understanding and responding to different texts to test three main skills

30% Speaking examination – carried out in school with the student’s class teacher covering aspects of an individual research project (prepared in lessons) and theme-related questions

20% Writing examination – writing about several stimulus points based on the film and literary text studied in class