Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

In 2023, 79% of pupils achieved a Grade 4 or above in GCSE Spanish.

Pupils also achieved GCSEs in Spanish, Italian, Bengali and Urdu.

(GCSE results 2023)

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela

“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” Frank Smith

In the Modern Foreign Language (MFL) department we teach our pupils to be compassionate and loving. The MFL Curriculum at Holy Trinity enables pupils, regardless of their starting ability, to discover more about a foreign language, developing their desire and ability to communicate with and understand speakers of the assessed language in a variety of contexts and for a variety of purposes. The study of a modern foreign language will broaden horizons, develop cultural knowledge and understanding and foster transferable skills such as confidence, communication, problem solving and creativity.

The MFL department contributes to the whole school curriculum intent by:

Fostering pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world and of Spanish culture.
Ensuring a “languages for all” approach to teaching all abilities
Enabling pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language
Providing opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes
Equipping pupils with skills to understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
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
Ensuring pupils can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
Allowing students to discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied
Providing the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries
Promoting literacy and numeracy across all teaching, where applicable. The department will link to careers and contribute to whole school initiatives and promote staff well-being.

The MFL Department aims to:

To promote intercultural understanding.
To enable students to have a more profound understanding of their own language and culture.
To develop the skills and the confidence to understand and speak in the target language with a real purpose.
To help prepare students to become global citizens.
To build cultural capital.
To provide a competitive edge for future careers.
To relate language learning to current affairs.
To provide first-hand experience of foreign language and culture via trips and use of authentic classroom materials.

Staff

Subject leader for MFL – Mrs S Chesterman

MFL Teacher (Deputy Headteacher) – Mrs J Daw

MFL Teacher with responsibility for Spanish – Miss A Gomez

MFL Teacher with responsibility for Spanish – Mr R Luque

Curriculum information:

Curriculum Map- French LO and Grammar KS3

Curriculum Map- French LO and Grammar KS4

Curriculum Map- Spanish LO and Grammar KS3

Curriculum Map- Spanish LO and Grammar KS4

Assessment

Pupils are assessed at the end of each topic and also weekly in the form of vocabulary tests – an essential part of language learning. . It is useful for students to have access to a good bi-lingual dictionary.

The course

All students study the Edexcel Specification GCSE course. This is a linear course meaning that all examination papers are sat at the end of Year 11.

Websites/ Useful Links

Linguascope – www.linguascope.com

(ask your teacher for the login details)

Memrise – www.memrise.com

BBC Bitesize

Languages Online – www.languagesonline.org.uk

We have uploaded below a bank of subject specific translations for the following subjects that may be useful:

Science

Geography

Citizenship/PSD