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Modern Foreign Languages (French, German, Spanish, Mandarin)
SPANISH (AQA) MR D WALKER (HEAD OF SPANISH / HEAD OF LANGUAGES) FRENCH (AQA) MS N TAÏBI (HEAD OF FRENCH) GERMAN (AQA)
MISS C EVANS (HEAD OF GERMAN)
Should you wish to study two languages at GCSE, one of these will be an option and the other your core. Please circle your first language choice in the core section of the options form, then tick your second language option in the main part of the sheet.
WHICH SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE MUST I HAVE BEFORE EMBARKING ON A LANGUAGE GCSE COURSE?
It is important to have displayed a good understanding of the grammar covered in Years 7, 8 and 9. You should continue learning Spanish, French or German if you enjoy the language and are motivated to deepen your understanding of the subject. If you are culturally curious you will gain much from the course. You should enjoy communicating and will gain greater confidence to articulate your ideas in the target language. Linguistic flair will be advantageous, but a disciplined approach to learning vocabulary and new grammatical structures is also a prerequisite for success. WHY LEARN A LANGUAGE?
Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, it is even more important for people in the UK to be able to communicate in another language. Knowledge of a foreign language is key to understanding how people think and not only plays a major role in social cohesion but also provides a skill for life. There are currently over 600 million speakers of either Spanish, French or German as a first language in the world. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world after English, French is an official working language of the UN, the International Red Cross, and German is the language of the world's third most powerful economy and the most powerful in Europe.
The European Economic Community, NATO, and the International Olympic Committee and German remains the UK’s most important European trade partner. Being able to communicate effectively in one or more of these languages is a portable skill that will open up opportunities in your future professional lives, as well as offering you greater freedom to travel and to forge social contacts with people across Europe and the World.
WHAT WILL I LEARN?
You will acquire the ability to read and respond to texts in the target language, as well as listening to native
speakers. You will learn to use a range of vocabulary and structures, whilst developing your knowledge and understanding of grammar; this will be tested to some extent through the medium of translation. You will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge through role-play, research on cultural aspects including film, literature, and ICT work. You will gain cultural awareness of countries and communities where the target language is spoken. You will be able to give your opinion on a range of topics. You will learn to read and respond to different types of written language, including texts from ICT-based sources.
This insight into different cultures and ways of life will help you to foster a positive approach to other societies. Over the years we have had the opportunity to participate in an annual Exchange to either Madrid, Munster or Toulouse. We are hopeful that in the near future we can begin these excellent trips once again and we would strongly encourage pupils to consider these during the GCSE course as it can be invaluable in terms of confidence and fluency in the target language. It also gives pupils a ‘real’ experience of the target language country and allows them to put into practice what they have studied in the classroom. Pupils will also have the opportunity in Year 11 to have speaking sessions with our Language Assistants.
HOW IS THE WHOLE COURSE STRUCTURED?
GCSE MFL examinations reflect young people’s interests and the topics should be of relevance to you. The course is designed to cover three themes divided into four sub-topics which are already familiar and relevant to you so that you will find it easier to comment on them in the language. THEME 1: IDENTITY AND CULTURE
Topic 1: Me, My Family and Friends
Relationships with family and friends Marriage / partnership
Topic 2: Technology in everyday life
Social media Mobile technology
Topic 3: Free-time activities
Music Cinema and TV Food and eating out Sport
Topic 4: Customs and Festivals in Spanish / French / German speaking countries and communities
Charity / voluntary work Healthy / unhealthy living
Topic 3: Global issues
The environment Poverty / homelessness
Topic 4: Travel and tourism
THEME 3: CURRENT AND FUTURE STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT
Topic 1: My studies Topic 2: Life at school / college Topic 3: Education post-16 Topic 4: Jobs, career choices and ambitions
The GCSE course contains no coursework or controlled assessment. Assessment covers the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Each of these skills is tested in a separate examination. Each skill is worth 25% of the overall mark. The GCSE course offers pupils exposure to more transactional and useful language skills preparing our pupils for realistic scenarios on an exchange or in the workplace abroad.
The speaking element puts more emphasis on creativity, fluency and spontaneity. The speaking examination consists of three parts: the pupil has to develop a brief dialogue in the form of a role-play, respond to questions based on a photo, and the final part is a more general conversation based on two themes. Depending on the tier sat, this examination could last 7 - 9 minutes or 10 -12 minutes with 12 minutes of supervised preparation. This examination is conducted by the students’ MFL teacher. The listening and reading papers will require pupils to understand the target language, but to write the majority of their answers in English.
The written examination requires candidates to show their ability to write in the target language without a dictionary to help them. These three examinations last between 35 - 80 minutes. There is no possibility of a mixture of foundation tier or higher tier papers. Students have to do all four papers at the same level. In French 77% of pupils gained 9-7 grades with 68% achieving grades 9/8.
In German 67% of pupils gained 9-7 grades with 37% achieving grades 9/8.
In Spanish 53% of pupils gained 9-7 grades with 29% achieving grades 9/8.
In Mandarin 100% of pupils gained 9/8 grades.
Overall 100% achieved grades 9-4.
FOR WHAT SIXTH FORM SUBJECTS WILL THIS COURSE BE USEFUL?
A GCSE in a MFL combines well with any other subject at A Level. Knowing a language will enable you to acquire other languages more easily in the future for business or leisure purposes. However, you should not assume that learning one is a skill that will only be of use for a career in languages. Many universities actively welcome a MFL at A Level for entry on courses involving science, engineering, medicine and business, as well as traditional Arts subjects.
WHY LEARN MANDARIN?
Mandarin Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world, with over 900 million speakers worldwide.
The academic challenge of learning a new, non-Roman script language will stretch all students’ way of learning, way of thinking, and help them to think more deeply about the world around them, including their own culture. Studying Chinese can offer skills and insight for students to be one step ahead in a fast changing environment. HOW IS THE COURSE STRUCTURED?
The Mandarin GCSE option is only available to pupils who have studied Mandarin in Year 8 and Year 9. Pupils will acquire the ability to read and respond to articles written in the Chinese language, listen to native speakers and learn to use a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures on a variety of topics. You will also learn the language through strong cultural elements, such as exploring the different Chinese festivals and trying your hand at Chinese calligraphy.
Pupils will learn the language by practising new vocabulary and set phrases through reading, listening, speaking and writing tasks. At this level there is a great emphasis on vocabulary learning, so a commitment to regularly reviewing the work covered in lessons is essential.
The GCSE course covers three distinct themes. Students are expected to understand and provide information and opinions about these themes relating to their own experiences and those of other people, including people in countries/communities where Chinese is spoken.
THEME 1: IDENTITY AND CULTURE
• Me, my family and friends • Technology in everyday life • Free-time activities
• Home, town, neighbourhood and region • Social issues • Global issues • Travel and tourism
THEME 3: CURRENT AND FUTURE STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT
• My studies • Life at school/college • Education post-16 • Jobs, career choices and ambitions
WHAT IS THE NATURE OF ASSESSMENT?
GCSE pupils follow the AQA specification. The GCSE assessment is composed of four papers.
PAPER 1 (LISTENING) In Paper 1, students will be tested on their ability to understand spoken Chinese.
PAPER 2 (SPEAKING) In Paper 2, students will be tested on their ability to communicate and interact effectively in speech for a variety of purposes.
PAPER 3 (READING) In Paper 3, students will be tested on their ability to understand written Chinese. The examination consists of a number of short texts, notices or news reports in Chinese which include a range of settings and styles, both formal and informal.
PAPER 4 (WRITING) In Paper 4, students have to complete two openresponse writing tasks, each linked to a topic area. There is also a question involving translation of four sentences into Chinese.
