Spanish
Subject Intent
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
Aims
The overarching aim for MFL is to develop the breadth and depth of pupils’ competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a sound foundation of core grammar and vocabulary. It should enable pupils to understand and communicate personal and information that goes beyond their immediate needs and interests, developing and justifying points of view in speech and writing, with increased spontaneity, independence and accuracy. It should provide suitable preparation for further study. The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
- understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
- speak with 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
- can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
- discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied
Key Stage 3
In KS3, pupils are taught either French or Spanish and they have three lessons a fortnight. In Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils are taught in mixed ability groups. There are 6 units per year, with an assessment per unit. The assessments cover all 4 skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing.
| Year 7 Unit Titles | Year 8 Unit Titles | Year 9 Unit Titles |
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Brief description of the departments homework policy for pupils in year 7+8+9 |
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Homework is set weekly on our online learning platform, The Language Gym (uk.languagegym.com). There will be a variety of different activities that pupils will be set, ranging from the Boxing Game, Rock Climbing and vocab trainers. Students will be required to spend 30 minutes a week on the set activities. They are also able to exploit the website by doing independent activities. This can be guided by their class teacher. Students will also be encouraged to use their knowledge organisers to revise the set vocabulary for each half term. |
Key Stage 4
GCSE MFL at Stewards begins in Year 10. Pupils follow the AQA GCSE French/Spanish specification. The course develops pupils’ ability to understand and communicate in the foreign language they are studying. Pupils will learn the key elements of French/Spanish grammar as well as a range of vocabulary. They will then be able to manipulate the vocabulary and structures they have learnt and apply them to a variety of contexts. Throughout their GCSE studies, there will be opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of the culture of French/Spanish speaking countries.
Pupils study the following themes, which will be assessed in Year 11:
Theme 1: Identity and culture
Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
Theme 3: Current and future study and employment
GCSE French/Spanish has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier in order to achieve a grade.
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Paper 1: Listening |
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25% of GCSE What’s assessed: Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language. How it’s assessed: Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier) 40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 mark (Higher Tier) Questions: Foundation Tier and Higher Tier Section A: questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally Section B: questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally (Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.) |
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Paper 2: Speaking |
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25% of GCSE What’s assessed: Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes. How it’s assessed: Non-exam assessment 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) Questions: Foundation Tier and Higher Tier The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different stimulus materials for the Role-play. The timings are different too. Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier) Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier) General conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier) |
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Paper 3: Reading |
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25% of GCSE What’s assessed: Understanding and responding to different types of written language. How it’s assessed: Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier) 1 hour (Higher Tier) 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) Questions: Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally Section C – translation from French into English (a minimum of 35 words for Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier) |
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Paper 4: Writing |
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25% of GCSE What’s assessed: Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes. How it’s assessed: Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier) 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier Questions: Foundation Tier: Question 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks Higher Tier: Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks |
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Please provide a brief description of the departments homework policy for pupils at KS4 |
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Homework is set weekly on our online learning platform, The Language Gym (uk.languagegym.com). There will be a variety of different activities that pupils will be set, ranging from the Boxing Game, Rock Climbing and vocab trainers. Students will be required to spend a minimum of 45 minutes a week on the set activities. They are also able to exploit the website by doing independent activities. This can be guided by their class teacher. Students will also be encouraged to use their knowledge organisers to revise the set vocabulary for each half term. In addition to The Language Gym, all pupils in Year 10 and Year 11 are set homework from their Spanish/French Speaking Booklets. Students will also be set GCSE exam style reading and writing activities. |