Modern Foreign Languages

Exam Board : Edexcel International GCSE MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Mrs TM Russell ● Head of Modern Foreign Languages ● trussell@kgs.org.uk

FRANÇAIS – DEUTSCH – ESPAÑOL – ITALIANO – MANDARIN

There are huge educational, cultural and psychological benefits to learning a language. It is time to wake up to the enormous advantages that multilingualism can bring. The MFL Department at KGS provides its students with a vibrant outlet for language discovery and learning. We offer French, German, Spanish and Mandarin (Mandarin as second language option only) at IGCSE level and Italian at GCSE level, and it is compulsory for at least one of these languages to be taken at this stage, although many students opt to study two and, in some cases, even three languages.

For all five languages, the skills of Reading and Writing (50%), Listening (25%) and Speaking (25%) are examined in different papers. All four skills are taught and practised throughout the two-year course using a wide range of resources. In addition to the textbooks and multimedia resources available to us, authentic materials are introduced into class activities to promote cultural awareness. There are also weekly sessions in small groups with a native speaker of each language who is thoroughly acquainted with the requirements of the IGCSE.

Each language specification follows the same five key topic areas:

1. Home and Abroad 2. Education and Employment 3. Personal Life and Relationships 4. The World Around Us 5. Social Activities, Fitness and Health

Students are taught to communicate effectively in written and spoken language and to develop their understanding of the written and spoken word. There is an emphasis on the accuracy of the language and students are encouraged to manipulate grammatical structures in order to be able to express their own ideas and opinions. The IGCSE course is an excellent foundation for A Level study in the language and it promotes independent learning, creative thinking and spontaneity when conversing in the foreign language. It prepares students to use the language in the world of work and it creates a thorough understanding of the structure of language facilitating the study of any other language in the future. Developing an independent approach to widening students’ linguistic and cultural knowledge via authentic material is of great importance.

We run trips for all languages that provide plenty of opportunity for students to put into practice their language skills. Our co-curricular activities add further value to their experience. Learning a language enables students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. Some of the benefits of learning languages can be found on page 28.