Modern Foreign Languges | Churchill Community College

Subject	Modern Foreign Languages
Members of staff	Richard Ludlow (Curriculum Leader and Teacher of French and Spanish), Deborah Patterson (Teacher of French and Spanish), Lee Williams (Teacher of French and Spanish)
Subject overview 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.
Key Stage 3
Content	Year 7		Year 8
Autumn term 1	Topic 1 – Hola		Topic 1 – Sports and Healthy Living
Autumn term 2	Topic 2 – Travel and The World Around Us		Topic 2 – Food and Drink
Spring term 1	Topic 3 – Directions and Our Town and Region		Topic 3 – Holidays and Exploring French Culture
Spring term 2	Topic 4 – School Life		Topic 4 – The World of Work
Summer term 1	Topic 5 – Free Time and Leisure		Topic 5 – House, Home and Local Area
Summer term 2	Topic 6 – Media Project El libro de la vida (The Book of Life) Les Choristes (The Choir)		Topic 6 – Media Project Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks) Valentin
Key Stage 4
Content	Year 9	Year 10		Year 11
Autumn term 1	Identity and Culture Family, friends, future plans and relationships. Social networks and technology.	Current and Future Study and Employment School life, employment opportunities and work/life balance.		Local, international, national and global areas of interest (Exam Preparation) Towns, the countryside, charity work and healthy lifestyle.
Autumn term 2	Identity and Culture Free time, leisure, eating out and sports.	GCSE Focus Exam Skills Reading and Writing Themes 1, 2 and 3		Local, international, national and global areas of interest (Exam Preparation) Home and local area, poverty and the environment.
Spring term 1	Identity and Culture Mobile technology, customs and festivals.	GCSE Focus Exam Skills Themes 1, 2 and 3		Local, international, national and global areas of interest (Exam Preparation) Holidays, accommodation and discovering France/Spain.
Spring term 2	Local, international, national and global areas of interest Towns, the countryside, charity work and healthy lifestyle.	Identity and Culture (Exam Preparation) Family, friends, future plans and relationships. Social networks and technology.		Current and Future Study and Employment (Exam Preparation) School life, employment opportunities and work/life balance.
Summer term 1	Local, international, national and global areas of interest Home and local area, poverty and the environment.	Identity and Culture (Exam Preparation) Free time, leisure, eating out and sports.		Exam Preparation and Completion
Summer term 2	Local, international, national and global areas of interest Holidays, accommodation and discovering France/Spain.	Identity and Culture (Exam Preparation) Mobile technology, customs and festivals.
Revision links for GCSE course 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.
How can parents support their child’s progress in this subject? 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.
Extra-Curricular Activities 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.