Modern Foreign Languages

FRENCH

This is a two year course with examinations at the end of Year 12.

Pupils will be tested in four skills:

The great thing is that you are able to choose to do Foundation or Higher in any of the four skills listed above.  For example, if you feel confident in Reading and Writing, you can do the Higher Tier in both those skills, but still do the Foundation Tier in Listening and Speaking.  You only have to do one Higher Tier to be able to achieve a B grade at GCSE.  Also 30% of the overall marks for this subject are coursework based therefore you have a great chance of getting a high final grade.

In Year 11 we study 10 units, most of which have been covered in Key Stage 3 such as hobbies, house, region, school, transport, hotel and clothes.

In Year 12 we study a further 10 units on subjects such as the environment, jobs/careers, health and personal relationships.

Why should you choose this subject?

This is a very useful subject if you like travelling and meeting new people.  In today’s society we meet people from all over the world and it is valuable to be able to speak their language. Also, in general, this subject has a high percentage of pupils gaining a Grade A*-C.

Every year there is an opportunity to visit Paris where young people have the opportunity to practise their French speaking skills and experience authentic French lifestyle and culture.  During this trip we visit all the main Parisian sites such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre Museum, as well as Disneyland Paris!

Career relevance

Most employers judge languages to be very useful and those who operate across Europe may see it as a necessity and therefore you would be more likely to get a job with that company if you spoke another language.  If you intend going to university, most courses now have one module of language studies, therefore you would already have a sound basic knowledge if you had a GCSE.  You could even choose to spend a year in France as part of your studies.

SPANISH (LINEAR A)

This is a two year course with examinations at the end of Year 12. Pupils will be tested in four skills:

The great thing is that you are able to choose to do Foundation or Higher in any of the four skills listed above.  For example, if you feel confident in Reading and Writing, you can do the Higher Tier in both those skills, but still do the Foundation Tier in Listening and Speaking.  You only have to do one Higher Tier to be able to achieve a B grade at GCSE.  Also 30% of the overall marks for this subject are coursework based and therefore you have a great chance of getting a high final grade.

In Year 11 we study 10 units, most of which have been covered in Key Stage 3 such as hobbies, house, region, school, transport, hotel and clothes.

In Year 12 we study a further 10 units on subjects such as the environment, jobs/careers, health and personal relationships.

Why should you choose this subject?

Over the last number of years Spanish has become more and more popular for young people to study.  Lots of families visit Spain or other Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico for their holidays and some are lucky enough to have second homes there! Therefore it is very useful to be able to speak Spanish when you go on holidays for simple tasks such as ordering food in a restaurant or explaining what is wrong with you to a doctor.

If this applies to you, you will absolutely want to study Spanish next year for GCSE.  In this two year course, we will extend your knowledge from items previously learnt in Junior school so that you feel much more confident when dealing with all types of situations in Spanish.

Career relevance

If you see yourself working in the leisure/tourism sector then this is the subject for you.  People who take GCSE’s in languages often forge careers in tourist offices/ travel agencies/ airports/ as cabin crew or combine languages with business studies at university and go into areas such as export sales and marketing which due to the European Union expansion is becoming increasingly important.

“Broaden your horizons, learn a new language!”