Languages at Mosslands

 “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart”, Nelson Mandela, ex-president of South Africa.

Learning a language

In languages, we aim to develop our students into enthusiastic, resilient and ambitious learners.

Our Modern Languages curriculum will give pupils the opportunity to:

• use language skills, receptively and productively, for communication in the real world, for practical purposes, for their immediate needs, interests and beyond and to express and justify opinions;
• develop their confidence and autonomy to access new and unfamiliar language through the use of decoding skills brought about by the explicit teaching of phonics and sound patterns;
• work towards becoming a fluent and spontaneous speaker of the foreign language.

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3, our Schemes of Learning revolve around the three pillars of language learning; phonics, vocabulary and grammar.  Our schemes are centred around the 4 skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening)

All students study French from year 7 and continue studying the same language in year 8 and 9. Pupils will have the option to continue French at GCSE or start Spanish at GCSE.

In Year 10, students embark on their GCSE courses and are encouraged to choose to study a language for GCSE.

GCSE

Learning is centred around 3 themes:

Theme 1: Identity and culture

Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest

Theme 3: Current and future study and employment

Broaden cultural understanding

Providing opportunities to promote cultural understanding is a vital element of language learning. We are therefore committed to ensuring that the MFL curriculum contains many elements of cultural reference to French and Spanish speaking countries and their communities.

Homework 

Homework is set every fortnight on Language Gym to improve pupils’ knowledge of vocabulary.