Exam Board AQA (GCSE/A level)
Subject Aims
– to motivate and inspire students and kindle a lifelong love of learning languages
– to foster curious, confident, independent and resilient learners
– to promote an awareness and acceptance of different cultures locally, nationally and globally
– to provide students with the skills to communicate effectively in at least one foreign language
– to build students’ cultural capital by engaging in and learning from culturally enriching activities
– to enable students to use the foreign language in real life contexts
– to broaden students’ horizons through educational visits abroad, contact with foreign language speakers and extra-curricular clubs
Modern Languages Staff
Mrs S Lewis – Head of MFL
Mrs A. Taylor
Ms A. Mertz
Mr I. Bostock
Mrs L Vincent
Key Stage 3
All students at Painsley Catholic College have the opportunity to study more than one foreign language in Year 7 and in Year 8.
Students start with German in Year 7, swap to Spanish after the Christmas holidays and then back to German after Easter.
In Year 8 students start with Spanish in Year 7, swap to German after the Christmas holidays and then back to Spanish after Easter.
This allows students to gain a good understanding of their preference and aptitude in both languages before choosing their options, and make a good comparison by studying the topics alongside each other.
Year 7/8 Course Outline
Topics studied in Year 7/8 include:
Year 7
Term 1: Personal language/ Family and descriptions in German
Term 2: Personal language/ Family and descriptions in Spanish
Term 3: School life/ House and home in German
Year 8
Term 1: School life/ House and home in Spanish
Term 2: Free time/ Holidays in German
Term 3: Free time/ Holidays in Spanish
Year 7 & 8 Outcomes: Students will practise the skills of listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation and will be able to express opinions, give reasons for their opinions, recognise, understand and use the present and future tenses with support.
Key Stage 4
The AQA GCSE specification is followed.
Year 9 Course Outline
Topics studied in Year 9 include:
Term 1: Me, my family and friends/ Sport and leisure
Term 2: Media/ My studies
Term 3: Technology in everyday life/ Food and drink/ Secondary vehicle
Year 9 Outcomes: By the end of Year 9, students will practise the skills of listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation and will be able to recognise and use the present, past and future tenses, develop a spoken or written piece of work using opinions, reasons and a variety of vocabulary and structures, understand how to prepare answers to a role play and photo card.
Year 10 Course Outline
Topics studied in Year 10 include:
Term 1: Travel and tourism
Term 2: Home, town, neighbourhood and region
Term 3: Speaking exam preparation/ Customs and festivals/ Secondary vehicle
Year 10 Outcomes: By the end of Year 10, students will practise the skills of listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation and will be able to recognise and use the present, past, future and conditional tenses flexibly, develop a spoken or written piece of work using opinions, reasons which are explained in detail and using a variety of vocabulary and complex structures, prepare answers to a role play and photo card in detail.
Year 11 Course Outline
Topics studied in Year 11 include:
Term 1: Environment/ Examining literary texts
Term 2: Health
Term 3: Post-16 education and jobs/ Social issues
Year 11 Outcomes: By the end of Year 11, students will practise the skills of listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation and will be able to use all tenses flexibly, develop a spoken or written piece of work using opinions, reasons which are explained in detail and using a variety of vocabulary and complex structures, prepare answers to a role play and photo card in detail.
Key Stage 5
A Level courses are offered in French, German and Spanish at Painsley Sixth Form College and run over two years. The AQA A-Level specification is followed.
Year 12 Course Outline
German topics studied in Year 12 include:
Term 1: Aspects of German-speaking society: Family and partnership/ The digital world
Term 2: Artistic culture in the German-speaking world: Fashion, music and television/ Festivals and traditions
Term 3: Artistic culture in the German-speaking world: Art and architecture/ Berlin/ Film: Goodbye Lenin
Year 13 Course Outline
German topics studied in Year 13 include:
Term 1: Multiculturalism in German-speaking society: Migration and immigration/ Racism
Term 2: Aspects of political life in the German-speaking world: The EU/ Politics and youth
Term 3: Aspects of political life in the German-speaking world: German reunification/ Preparation for the speaking exam and external exams/ Book: Der Vorleser (The Reader)
Useful Links
German
Key Stage 3
www.languageguide.org/german/vocabulary/ (vocabulary builder)
www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/german/german.htm
www.kidsweb.de/ (German news for children)
www.kika.de/ (German children’s TV channel)
Key Stage 4
www.languageguide.org/german/vocabulary/ (vocabulary builder)
www.wordreference.com (recommended online dictionary)
www.leo.org (recommended online dictionary)
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/german/
www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/german
Spanish
Key Stage 3
www.languageguide.org/spanish/vocabulary/ (vocabulary builder and grammar)
www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/spanish/spanish.htm
www.languagesonline.org.uk
Key Stage 4
www.languageguide.org/spanish/vocabulary/ (vocabulary builder and grammar)
www.languagesonline.org.uk
www.wordreference.com (recommended online dictionary)
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/spanish/
www.spanishrevision.co.uk/gcse/gcse_index.htm
Recommended Websites for Learning Languages
http://www.busuu.com/enc/ – French/German/Spanish/Portuguese/
Russian/Polish/Turkish/Italian/Arabic/Japanese/Chinese/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ – 40 different languages!
Advice on Learning Languages
http://www.omniglot.com/language/index.htm – Advice, suggestions, tips and techniques for learning languages
Communicating with Students of other Nationalities
http://www.penpalworld.com/ – Get a penpal from another country
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/penpals.asp – Get a penpal
Extra-Curricular
Languages Club
The MFL department runs a Languages Club every Thursday lunchtime at 12.30pm. It is open to all students in Years 7, 8 and 9. Students have the opportunity to learn about different languages and cultures from all over the world and the activities are led by the students themselves. Dishes from around the world are also tasted during Languages Club.
MFL Trips
Year 9 Trips
Every year in activities week in July, the MFL department takes Year 9 students to Germany and Spain for five days.
German Exchange
Thanks to Comenius funding and our collaboration with the Otfried-von-Weißenburg Gymnasium in Dahn, several trips have been made possible for some of our GCSE and A level students of German.
Learning Journey