Languages

Overview
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 4
Key Stage 5
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The Team

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Curriculum Statement

Intent

The Languages department offers a gateway to the world. We want to foster in our students the skills and confidence to be open-minded global citizens with an understanding of, and respect for, other countries and cultures. Whichever language (or languages) students learn, we want to inspire and promote a love of languages, driven by linguistic curiosity, and a willingness to have a go, and make mistakes – moving on from the mistakes we make is at the heart of learning.

Our curriculum is driven by the need to focus on ensuring a robust foundation of knowledge, with an emphasis on phonic awareness, vocabulary, and grammar, along with ample meaningful practice to ensure progression.

In spite of the widely-held belief that speaking English is enough, the ability to communicate with people in their own language will always be huge advantage – both personal and financial!

We currently teach French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Latin.

Learn languages and you will feel at home everywhere.

Implementation

We use a wide range of teaching styles and activities in order that all students have access to the content of the courses we follow. Students gain experience in all four of the language learning skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and follow a curriculum that covers a breadth of topics. They learn the vocabulary, grammar and phonics relating to these topics and most importantly grow in confidence. Students also learn about the culture and traditions of the countries in which the target language is spoken and gain the awareness and respect that they need to become a global citizen.

Impact

GCSE French results have remained at 72% 9-4 for the last 2 years. This is impressive given the high percentage of students that we enter for the exam and the recognised national negative residual of languages compared with other subjects. GCSE Spanish has seen a slight dip over the same time frame (84% –> 75%), but if the anomaly of 2022 where we had a particularly high number of native speakers were set aside, we are continuing on the upward trend and improving from the 70% 9-4 rate in 2019.

At A Level, we have had strong results as well and always aim to increase uptake. Several of our students continue to study languages at degree level and enjoy living abroad as part of their courses.

When students look back at their time at Woodroffe, trips are often something that sticks in their memory and we are proud to be a department that contributes to this. We are able to say that we have a positive impact on students’ understanding of the world and alongside formal examination results, we deliver confident and well-rounded individuals.

In spite of the widely-held belief that speaking English is enough, the ability to communicate with people in their own language will always be huge advantage – both personal and financial!

We currently teach French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Latin.

Learn languages and you will feel at home everywhere.

Assessment

French & Spanish

Students in years 7 – 9 will be assessed regularly on their knowledge of phonics, vocabulary and grammar. In addition, each of the skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing will be formally assessed at least once throughout the year.
In years 10 and 11, GCSE style assessments covering all four skills will take place regularly.

Latin

Assessments will cover reading comprehension, translation and grammatical knowledge.

Facilities

All of our rooms are equipped with an interactive whiteboard, and have audio equipment. We also have priority access to an IT room. Our specialist sixth form room houses a small library of foreign texts and films to enhance learning.

Additional Activities

We offer a cultural visit to Normandy to all students at the end of year 8, and a study trip to Barcelona for students in years 9 and 10.

Students taking French at A Level are encouraged to take part in our exchange visit to Vincennes, in the east of Paris.

Year 7

Students have five hours of French per fortnight and are taught in mixed ability groups.

Years 8 & 9

The majority of students start Spanish in addition to French, with three hours of each per fortnight. Those students who studied Mandarin in Year 7 will continue with both French and Mandarin in Year 8.

At the end of Year 8, students express a preference to continue with just French, French and Spanish, French and Mandarin or to continue French and pick up Latin as an enrichment option. These choices for Year 9 will pave the way for students’ language study in Years 10 and 11.

Mandarin Chinese

KS3 Overview

Some students will begin Mandarin in Y7 in addition to French, and will have 4 hours of lessons per fortnight.

Challenging but rewarding, the course of Mandarin Chinese will provide a solid foundation in Chinese grammar and sentence structures. Students learn to read and write simplified Chinese characters and use Pinyin, the Mandarin phonetic system, to develop speaking and listening skills. Students are also encouraged to use self-learning tools through technology.

Materials chosen will be focused on daily communication to make the learning more related to daily life. Topics including greetings, introducing oneself, family, countries, occupations, weather, food, hobbies, pets, transportation, counting, shopping, dates, time and daily routines will be covered and revisited with escalating complexity. In addition, Chinese culture will also be introduced to promote awareness of cultural differences.

Assessment

There will be weekly vocabulary and target sentences to learn. In addition, each of the skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing will be formally assessed at least once throughout the year.

Years 10 & 11

Students have five hours of teaching per fortnight in their chosen language(s).

We are currently using the AQA specifications for French and Spanish, and students will be tested in the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. All four skills are equally weighted (25%).

The textbook which we use in class is also available online, via Kerboodle. At the beginning of Y10, all students will be given a Kerboodle login, to enable them to access the textbook at home, and to complete homework activities.

As there is no longer any coursework, it is even more important that students are regularly revising topics and vocabulary, and homework will often be set from Quizlet, an online vocabulary learning site to which the department subscribes.

For Latin, the Eduqas specification is followed, and students will be tested in Language (50%), Literature (30%) and Civilisation (20%).