Modern Foreign Languages
Intent: The Big Ideas in Modern Foreign Languages at Atherton High
To create aspirational lifelong linguists through an engaging, challenging, knowledge and culturally rich curriculum.
The big ideas in MFL at Atherton High are to ensure that pupils are able linguists who can use transferable skills and knowledge to manipulate whichever language they are learning. We also want to promote an aspirational curriculum by creating the opportunity for pupils to study both Spanish and French. We also look to promote a love of learning within the subject, through ensuring that the pupils are knowledge rich and vocabulary rich, so that they have good foundations when they come to use the language across the attainment skills that we teach (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing). Pupils are challenged in Languages at Atherton High through the constant exposure to new grammar, such as being able to use 3 tenses successfully, and continually developing their level of vocabulary. Pupils will cover the following 3 themes throughout their time at Atherton High:
Theme 1 – Identity and Culture (covering areas such as, family and friends and hobbies and free-time)
Theme 2 – Local, National, and International areas of interest (covering areas such as, holidays, hometown and region and the environment)
Theme 3 – Current and Future study and employment (covering areas such as school life, education Post 16 and jobs).
Within the languages department, we constantly develop cultural capital, exposing pupils to not only the culture of the Spanish and French speaking worlds by studying festivals such as Día de Los Muertos and Bastille Day, but also increasing the cultural knowledge of their own country through constant comparison. Pupils also study a variety of authentic sources, such as film and literary texts. Pupils will watch films and read texts, stories and or poems in the target language. Pupils at Atherton High are also given the opportunity to attend trips, such as the Spanish trip to Barcelona, allowing pupils to have the first-hand exposure to Spanish life. In addition to this, pupils will also be given the opportunity to take part in trips within the local area, such as trips to local language centres to help improve their language skills through conversations with native speakers.
How the MFL curriculum contributes to the school’s curriculum intent
- Knowledge is developed about the language and the skills needed to be able to successfully build upon the language. Knowledge will be developed through allowing the pupils to learn how to form tenses, how to make adjectives agree, look at the correct word order and fully ensure that they can converse as securely as possible in the language.
- Vocabulary rich through constantly developing and expanding on the pupils’ vocabulary. Studying a language requires pupils to learn and recall new vocabulary constantly, this will be monitored, and development shown through regular vocabulary tests and pupils will be given vocabulary booklets to consistently build up on this knowledge and foundation.
- Aspiration through allowing the pupils to have the opportunity to study both Spanish and French, which allows them to have an aspirational curriculum, as they are not being narrowed to study just one foreign language. Aspiration will also be built by potential trips to the countries, to allow the pupils to use their knowledge and language skills in a real cultural situation.
- Character building through teamwork and group work within lessons in AHS. Group learning will allow the pupils to use their language skills comfortably in front of their peers and allow them to build up relationships and develop their character in different settings.
- Love learning as pupils study engaging MFL lessons. Pupils will be challenged to their ability to ensure that they can access all work and that they love the learning and progress and develop a love of learning. In addition, we will also study cultural events in Spain and France, which will build to the love of learning the topic, as they are not just restricted to learning vocabulary and using exam techniques.
