Modern Foreign Languages
Head of Department: Mr Silva
Teacher of Spanish: Mr Silva
The Modern Foreign Languages Department at Finch Woods Academy delivers the teaching of Spanish.
Aim
We intend to engender in our students an enthusiasm to explore what lies behind a different language, enhancing the richness and the diversity of different cultures.
Our students are taught all four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing as well as taking part in pledge activities language related.
We are passionate, engaged and challenged, developing the ability to use and understand another language.
This positive and innovate approach to MFL encourages our pupils to use the language for their own purposes, opening new doors to the future.
Why Modern Foreign Languages?
We believe that students who develop the ability to write and speak in second or even third languages may benefit from significantly improved job prospects when they enter the world of work. A premium is now placed upon job candidates who can speak more than one language and who understand different cultures. No matter what sort of career a pupil chooses to pursue once their studies are over, learning a second language can give them a real head start.
“Learning other languages enables children and young people to make connections with different people and their cultures and to play a fuller part as global citizens” (Building the Curriculum, 2006: 18)
Programme of study
Key Stage 3:
We focus on developing the breadth and depth of pupils’ competence skills, based on a sound foundation of core grammar and vocabulary.
It enable pupils 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 spontaneity, independence and accuracy.
Qualification: FCSE in Spanish (Year 9)
Exam board: AQA
Full course (listening + speaking + reading + writing)
Short courses: Spoken (listening + speaking) or Written (reading + writing)
Lessons: 2x a week
Textbooks: Viva 1, Viva 2 and Viva 3 (Rojo)
- Year 7 : Me, my family and friends; Home, town, neighbourhood and region; My studies
- Year 8: Travel and tourism; Free time activities
- Year 9: Jobs, careers choices and ambitions; Social issues; Technology in everyday life
Pledge Activities:
- Visit local historical/famous landmarks
- Lunch at Spanish restaurant
- Reading in partnership once a week to develop reading skills
Key Stage 4:
Through studying a GCSE in a modern foreign language, students should develop their ability and ambition to communicate with native speakers in speech and writing.
The aims of the GCSE MFL course are to:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
- Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
- Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
- Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
Qualification: GCSE in Spanish
Exam board: AQA
Lessons: 2x a week
Textbook: ¡Viva! AQA GCSE Foundation
- Year 10: Home, town, neighbourhood and region, Social issues, Global issues
- Year 11: My studies, Life at school / college, Education post 16, Job, Career choices and ambitions, Travel and Tourism
Pledge Activities:
- International trip to Spain (Barcelona / Madrid/ Seville / Valencia)
- Lunch at Spanish restaurant
- Attend Open Day at University
- Reading in partnership once a week to develop reading skills
Curriculum Overview
For a more detailed look at what we aim to cover within the MFL Curriculum this year:
Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum
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