Languages
Key Stage 3 French
As a department, we want to develop students who are resilient, confident and independent learners of French. In each module there is a strong teaching and learning focus on grammatical knowledge and awareness and students should be able to understand and use the perfect, present and immediate future tense by the end of KS3. Lessons focus on a variety of activities which promote understanding through listening and reading tasks and which encourage practical communication in speaking and writing. Speaking skills are supported through a focus on phonics, to help students pronounce sounds with more confidence. Cultural awareness is a key theme in each module and students learn to appreciate and compare life here with life in French speaking countries.
Year 7
We review some of the language and skills covered in KS2. focusing on greetings, introductions, and using numbers for dates. Students will also learn about the French speaking world. Students will learn how to describe their likes and dislikes, family and pets, and describe physical appearance and personality in the present tense. Students then study about schools in France and give opinions on school subjects and teachers. They will learn how to tell the time in French and use a range of verbs in the present tense to describe a typical day at school.
Year 8
Students will learn how to describe their hobbies using present and future tenses. They will learn how to talk about holidays; where they go and what activities they do. They will learn how to use reflexive verbs to describe their daily routine. We then have an extended topic about Paris, where students will learn about cultural and touristic places of interest in Paris, and learn to describe a trip using the past tense.
Year 9
Students will develop descriptions of others using a wide range of adjectives and describe their tastes in music, clothes and going out. They will learn how to talk about social media and their weekend plans. They will use a range of past, present and future tenses. Students will learn how to describe what you must or must not do to be healthy in terms of food, drink and exercise. They will give advice and describe their health in the past, present and future. In our careers topic, students will describe what jobs they would like to do in the future. They will learn how to talk about the importance of languages for the future, and use a range of tenses which will prepare them for a wider range of expression at GCSE.
Enrichment opportunities
Year 8 students will have the opportunity to take part in a trip to Normandy in June 2024. We offer additional language teaching as after school clubs, currently Japanese and Spanish. We also run an after-school club for a number of students in Year 9 who wish to continue with both French and German throughout Year 9 and potentially at GCSE. We have good links with York University and York St John university and take groups of students there to the Language and Linguistics department in Year 9 to focus on careers using languages and language learning post 18.
Useful links:
Key Stage 3 German
As a department, we want to develop students who are resilient, confident and independent learners of German. In each module there is a strong teaching and learning focus on grammatical knowledge and awareness and students should be able to understand and use the perfect, present and future tense by the end of KS3. Lessons focus on a variety of activities which promote understanding through listening and reading tasks and which encourage practical communication in speaking and writing. Speaking skills are supported through a focus on phonics, to help students pronounce sounds with more confidence. Cultural awareness is a key theme in each module and students learn to appreciate and compare life here with life in German-speaking countries.
Year 7
Topics in Year 7 begin with an introductory unit which looks at names, ages, greetings and where you are from. We then move on to the topic of family and pets, where students develop their written skills and add opinions to their work. The third topic in Year 7 is free time. Students learn how to say what sports and hobbies they like to do and become more confident in using verbs in the present tense. Lessons include a variety of activities which practise all four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. As well as learning the language and the grammar that underpins it, the Echt coursebook that we follow has a strong emphasis on the culture of the German-speaking countries.
Year 8
Students start with the topic of school. In this topic they will learn to tell the time in German and also extend their opinions by giving reasons. The next topic in Year 8 is all about food. Not only will the students learn the words for foods in German, they will also learn what people typically eat in German-speaking countries. Students will learn the conditional tense to be able to say what they would like to eat. We then do a short topic on literature and look at some German/Austrian authors. The final topic in Year 8 is holidays. Students will learn the past tense and be able to write an extended account of a past holiday. We continue to follow the Echt textbook in Year 8.
Year 9
In the autumn term students start with the topic of where they live. This includes describing your house and what furniture you have in your bedroom. Students also use the past and conditional tenses to compare what their room used to be like and what they would like it to be like. The next topic in Year 9 is holidays. Students will learn the past tense and be able to write an extended account of a past holiday. Finally, students meet reflexive verbs in the topic of daily routine and compare daily life with students in the German-speaking world.
Enrichment opportunities
We offer additional language teaching as after school clubs, currently Japanese and Spanish. We also run an after-school club for a number of students in Year 9 who wish to continue with both French and German throughout Year 9 and potentially at GCSE. We have good links with York University and York St John university and take groups of students there to the Language and Linguistics department in Year 9 to focus on careers using languages and language learning post 18.
Useful Links:
GCSE French
Our KS4 curriculum aims to build on the work done at KS3. Students learn how to express their own views and describe their own interests and backgrounds in the foreign language. We also discuss wider global issues like the environment and social issues and we continue to devote time to grammar, in order that students can manipulate the language, leading to a greater degree of independence and creativity. The development of communication skills, together with understanding the structure of the language, lay the foundations for future study of other languages and also support the development of literacy skills in a student’s own language.
GCSE French Specification:
GCSE German
Our KS4 curriculum aims to build on the work done at KS3. Students learn how to express their own views and describe their own interests and backgrounds in the foreign language. We also discuss wider global issues like the environment and social issues, and we continue to devote time to grammar, in order that students can manipulate the language, leading to a greater degree of independence and creativity. The development of communication skills, together with understanding the structure of the language, lay the foundations for future study of other languages, and also support the development of literacy skills in a student’s own language. There are eight topics in the GCSE course, which are taught over Years 9, 10 and 11. The topics are school, free time, family and relationships, healthy living, where I live, holidays, our world and the future.
GCSE German Specification:
Useful Links
A Level French
Our A-level course is a two year course following the AQA syllabus and is assessed at the end of Year 13. Students continue to develop and deepen their communication skills, their understanding of grammatical structures, and culture and lifestyle in the French-speaking world.
In Year 12, they will study topics about changes in family life, Internet usage, volunteering, the importance of cultural heritage, music and cinema.
In Year 13 they will study topics about diversity, young people and their involvement in politics, the role of protests and strikes in French society, attitudes to crime and issues surrounding immigration and politics.
They will also study a film – ‘La Haine’ by Mathieu Kassowitz, and a novel: ‘L’Etranger’ by Albert Camus.
A Level French Specification:
A Level German
Our A-level course is a two-year course following the AQA syllabus and is assessed at the end of Year 13. Students continue to develop and deepen their communication skills, their understanding of grammatical structures, and culture and lifestyle in the German-speaking world.
In Year 12, they will study topics about changes in family life, Internet usage, fashion, the festivals and traditions, music and cinema.
In Year 13 they will study topics about diversity, young people and their involvement in politics, racism and issues surrounding immigration.
They will also study a film – ‘Goodbye Lenin’ by Wolfgang Becker, and a novel: ‘Der Vorleser’ by Bernhard Schlink.
A Level German Specification:
Enrichment opportunities
We run study visits to Berlin for KS4 and KS5 in December, Paris for KS4 and KS5 in October.
Year 8 students have a study visit to Normandy in June
We offer additional language teaching as after school clubs, currently Japanese and Spanish.
We offer study support and revision sessions (Study +) for our Year 11 students on a weekly basis after school.
We have also set up links with the Language and Linguistic Science department at the University of York and take groups of students there from KS3 and KS4 for language taster sessions and talks by students and lecturers about the value of languages beyond school and career opportunities in languages beyond further education.
Useful links:
- https://learngerman.dw.com/de/langsam-gesprochene-nachrichten/s-60040332 Audio practice - news in slow German!
- www.kerboodle.com - you will be registered with this in sixth form for extra audio, reading and grammar practice
- https://www.pasch-net.de/de/lernmaterial.html Texts and audio by topic.
- https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/slow-german/id1085828103 Podcasts on different themes.
- https://www.20minutes.fr/ Short news articles
- https://www.newsinslowfrench.com/ Audio practice - news in slow French!
- https://www.hellofrenchpodcast.com/ A news article published every week with key words in English
