At Priory School, from Year 7, all students receive three hours of MFL teaching and they study both French and Spanish. At KS4 they can choose to continue with either or both languages.

 

The MFL department prides itself in making the language come alive in the classroom: we use the target language as a media of communication and learn through interactive and engaging activities.

 

KS3 COURSE OVERVIEW – French and Spanish

In Year 7 students are introduced to France and Spain, and the wider French / Spanish-speaking world. They learn to speak about themselves, their families and their likes and dislikes, and to use the language for real purposes of communication.

Through a number of topic areas students have the opportunity to develop the passive skills of listening to and reading authentic texts, and the active skills of speaking and writing in the foreign language. As well as giving and requesting information, students start to learn how to give their own opinions. They are introduced to the basic language patterns and grammatical features which give them an understanding of how the language works.The course is based on the MFL Framework for KS3.

In Year 8 students are encouraged to be more independent in their language use. Through the study of a number of topics they explore more advanced grammatical concepts and learn how to make their productive language more interesting by using a greater variety of vocabulary and sentence structure.

By Year 9 students are expected to use the language more creatively. They learn to write longer, more sophisticated texts, and to understand material which contains more unfamiliar language. By the end of the year students should be capable of communicating information about their everyday life, as well as past events and future plans, using the correct tense, giving them a firm foundation for study at GCSE.

 

KS4 - AQA GCSE FRENCH/ SPANISH (Full Course)                             

Languages are optional at KS4.

Students will learn to cope with a variety of situations that may arise whilst visiting a French or Spanish speaking country, or hosting a French- or Spanish-speaking visitor at home. They will learn to exchange information, give full descriptions and accounts, discuss issues and give opinions and cope with a degree of unpredictability. The four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are developed through the study of four themes, which are sub-divided into a number of different topics:

• My World
• Holiday Time and Travel
• Work and Lifestyle
• The Young Person in Society

The emphasis of the course is on practical communication, and students only learn French or Spanish that may be used for real purposes. The courses provide a sound base for the skills and language required for work, leisure and, where appropriate, further study in the language.

 

EXTRA CURRICULAR

 

Priory School offers language Enrichment Programmes such as German, where students can learn basis German language and develop some confidence in learning a third language. We also offer a French and Spanish film club where students will develop their listening skills and become more familiar with the French and Spanish culture.

 

Students are also offered the opportunity to travel to France or Spain. In February 2008, Priory School choir and MFL students visited Paris and in July 2009, students travelled to Barcelona for a linguistic and cultural tour.