MFL Curriculum
Intent, Implementation and Impact
Intent
Learning languages is a brilliant way of stretching your mind and opening doors to new friendships, fresh cultures, exciting ways of life and a refreshing perspective on the world. In MFL, we nurture cultural awareness, enable our students to be socially adaptable and help them to foster a respect for different cultures. At ABT, we aim for students to leave MFL not only with proficiency in a modern language, but also with a framework that enables them to learn additional languages and become conscientious global citizens.
The Christian Ethos of the school is represented in our department through our nurturing of principles such as kindness, tolerance, consideration and care. We have prayers in French and German and we enjoy making thoughtful connections with French and German cultures.
At KS3, our curriculum aims to inspire our young learners through cultural learning and providing them with a foundation of knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. This requires us to put our learning into context, by showing our curious learners the countries in which French and German are spoken and engaging them in typical French traditions such as the carnival in Martinique, Mardi Gras and Les Trois Rois.
At KS4, we help students to develop their language skills to communicate effectively in a range of tenses, in particular scenarios and to express complex opinions confidently. We want our students to gain confidence in their ability to communicate and to improve their comprehension significantly.
By KS5, our language enthusiasts are communicating relatively fluently. They are inspired by both the language and culture, often carrying out research on their topics of choice. We encourage our learners to express opinions on complex political, social and economic matters. The students are motivated to engage with French and German media, such as newspapers, podcasts, literature and film. It’s a thrilling insight into life as a multilingual person.
Implementation
Students are taught in mixed ability classes, providing an inclusive environment for progress. High attaining pupils are encouraged to develop independent learning skills, whilst low attaining pupils are supported through scaffolded pedagogy.
From Year 7 to Year 12, our students engage with language learning through four key skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Lessons typically practise one to two skills to narrow the focus.
To ensure high-quality language teaching, our department maintains a continuously updated bank of resources. As a team of native and excellent speakers of French and German, we share our expertise collaboratively to enrich our teaching. Our pedagogy is enhanced by having native teachers combined with non-native teachers, whose often separate but valuable knowledge and experience complements the other, helping us to improve our teaching.
Teachers have the flexibility to adapt lessons to their own interests while ensuring that learning objectives are met. Across all key stages, students are assessed through both summative and formative assessments. Pupils complete standardised, moderated assessments throughout the course of the year, receiving feedback to support their progress, as well as informal assessments in the form of vocabulary and grammar quizzes. Regular feedback is provided in various forms, including class discussions, written marking, and Dedicated Improvement Time (DIT) after assessments.
Impact
Our assessment outcomes reflect significant success, particularly at Key Stage 4, where many students excel in additional languages studied at home. French results align with school-wide performance (considering national trends in MFL), while efforts are continuing to improve German GCSE outcomes, with lessons learned from previous results.
At A-Level, MFL consistently achieves strong results. Many students develop a lasting passion for languages, continuing their studies at university or pursuing careers in countries in which they have studied the language. Most importantly, they leave with a desire to explore new languages, travel widely and engage with cultures beyond their own.
Pupils across all key stages are curious language learners. We succeed in nurturing the essential appetite for language and cultural learning, shown for example by pupils’ keen interest in both domestic and foreign school trips. We are delighted to see pupils asking considered questions, and learners who want to enhance their cognitive abilities in a way which no other subject can offer.
Curriculum Overview
• Years 7 & 8: Students receive two weekly lessons in both German and French, progressing from fundamental vocabulary and greetings to mastering the basics of three tenses. Pupils learn language to introduce themselves and discuss their hometown, talk about family and friends, pets, hobbies and television and media.
• Year 9: Students refine their skills by selecting one or two modern languages, consolidating grammar while expanding their ability to express detailed ideas and opinions with increasing confidence in spoken communication. Throughout the course of Year 9, pupils’ language abilities develop at a fast rate as they are challenged to talk about more complex issues, such as the world of work, study, future ambitions and childhood memories.
• Key Stage 4 (GCSE): For the past few years, studying a modern language has been compulsory at GCSE. This year, however, we offer a choice for French and German, encouraging pupils with genuine interest to pursue the subject. High-achieving linguists can study both languages, with additional time dedicated to their learning in twilight sessions. By the end of the course, students will be proficient in transactional and conversational discourse, with a strong grasp of grammar and sentence structure. Those who speak a modern language at home are encouraged and supported in pursuing a GCSE in that language if it is offered by the exam board.
• Key Stage 5 (A-Level): A-Level linguists develop near-fluency, confidently engaging in spontaneous conversation and mastering complex grammar structures. In addition to language proficiency, students gain a deep understanding of the target culture through an independent research project and analytical essays on both a literary text and a film from the French and German speaking worlds.
MFL
Keystage 3
Year 7
· There are 2 lessons of French and 2 lessons of German each week.
· Both French and German courses start with basics such as greetings and numbers, moving on to describe things such as family and animals, school, home and free time activities.
· We follow the Expo1 textbook in French and the Echo 1 textbook in German.
Year 8
· There are 2 lessons of French and 2 lessons of German each week.
· In French we follow the Expo 2 textbook and cover topics including family, clothes, shopping as well as food and drink.
· German – we follow the Echo 2 textbook and cover topics including the weather, the body, countries, and clothes.
Year 9
· In Year 9 students choose to study two languages out of Latin, French and German.
· There are 2 lessons of each language per week.
· In French we follow the Expo 3 textbook and cover topics including TV and film, sports, injuries as well as future careers.
· In German, we follow the Echo 3 textbook and cover topics including school, language learning, work, and the environment.
· For information regarding the KS3 Latin content, please see the Latin Curriculum page here.
AQA French GCSE / AQA German GCSE
Listening (25%)
· Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier)
· Respond to audio in the target language
Speaking (25%)
A speaking exam including…
· A roleplay (for example, a scene in a shop) where the student uses appropriate target language
· A description of a photo in target language
· A general conversation based on set topics
Reading (25%)
· Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier)
· Respond to texts in the target language: Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English; Section B – questions in target language, to be answered in target language; Section C – translation from target language into English
Writing (25%)
· Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier)
· Foundation: one photo question, 2 bullet point questions on a range of topics (1x 40 words; 1x 90 words), translations into target language from English
· Higher: 2 bullet point questions on a range of topics (1x 90 words, 1x 150 words) a paragraph in English to translate into target language
AQA French A Level / AQA German A Level
Paper 1 (50%)
· 2hrs 30 mins exam
· Listening to texts in the target language and responding
· Reading texts in the target language and responding
· A paragraph translation from target language into English
· A paragraph translation from English into target language
Paper 2 (20%)
· 2 hr exam
· students write one analytical essay of about 500 words (with a choice of 2 questions) on a target language film they have studied during the A level course
· students write one analytical essay of about 500 words (with a choice of 2 questions) on a target language book they have studied during the A level course
Paper 3 (30%)
· Speaking exam – 20 minutes
· 6 minutes – responding orally to a card to a theme from the A level course book (choice of 2) including teacher questioning of opinion/standpoint in target language
· 12 minutes - a presentation of your individual research project in target language - a project you will have chosen and researched over the course of the year with a central analytical theme – introduction 2 minutes then 9-10 mins of teacher questioning on the project in target language