Mrs Deborah Patterson (Teacher of French and Spanish)

Mr Lee Williams (Teacher of French and Spanish)

Students studying a modern foreign language (French or Spanish) cover a wide range of content to support their progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening in the foreign language.  We also pay particular attention to the grammatical structure of the language, ensuring that students have clear understanding of time frames and other important components of language.

Students are encouraged to engage with authentic literature and media sources to develop their understanding of the language whilst also being able to explore a range of cultures in French or Spanish-speaking countries.

At Churchill Community College students in years 7 or 8 study either French or Spanish on a rolling basis.  Students who opt to take a language into key stage 4 will study for a GCSE in their chosen subject.

El libro de la vida (The Book of Life)

Les Choristes (The Choir)

Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks)

Valentin

Family, friends, future plans and relationships.

Social networks and technology.

School life, employment opportunities and work/life balance.

Towns, the countryside, charity work and healthy lifestyle.

Free time, leisure, eating out and sports.

Exam Skills

Reading and Writing

Themes 1, 2 and 3

Home and local area, poverty and the environment.

Mobile technology, customs and festivals.

Exam Skills

Themes 1, 2 and 3

Holidays, accommodation and discovering France/Spain.

Towns, the countryside, charity work and healthy lifestyle.

Family, friends, future plans and relationships.

Social networks and technology.

School life, employment opportunities and work/life balance.

Home and local area, poverty and the environment.

Free time, leisure, eating out and sports.

Holidays, accommodation and discovering France/Spain.

Mobile technology, customs and festivals.

Students at Churchill Community College actively use technology to support their learning and so the following websites and applications are used each week.  Students at KS4 should use GCSEPod and Memrise on a weekly basis.  Students may also use applications such as Duolingo through their mobile technology to help to reinforce the transactional language aspect of their education.  The GCSE Bitesize page can be accessed to revise GCSE vocabulary and structures, whilst work is also set for students through Kerboodle and across the Google Classrooms platform.

Languages are learned best when they are discussed and used openly with others.  The best way to support your child outside of the classroom is to engage with them about the language that they are learning within their lessons.  Parents may choose to support with independent study tasks which are set on a regular basis. Parents are also encouraged to prompt students to share the language that they have seen during classes.  Parents could also choose to support children with the cultural element of the course by asking them to discuss the differences between cultures and what they have found out about Spanish or French culture.

Students studying Spanish at GCSE are given the opportunity to travel to Barcelona as part of their studies with their peers.  As part of a cross-curricular visit with the Art and Design department, students are guided to a range of cultural and linguistic hotspots within this historically rich town to develop their knowledge of their country and their understanding of the language.

Students studying French at GCSE are given the opportunity to visit Boulogne-sur-Mer, Lyon and Paris as part of a week-long visit.  As part of this trip students visit a range of cultural locations whilst also spending time at our link school located in northern France, where students are taught in French and share experiences with other students.