Richmond School
School Departments | French & German
Skills for business, skills for life
The Modern Foreign Language Department is fortunate in having eight specialist language teachers, supported every year by French and German language assistants who are native speakers. Our language classrooms benefit from excellent audio and visual resources including interactive white boards and televisions.
One of our aims is to give students a feeling of enjoyment and success in using languages at any time. To do so we develop imaginative as well as creative talents through drama, rhymes and songs appealing to a variety of learners. Our students increase their cultural awareness by communicating with people who speak the language and by using materials from countries and communities where the language is spoken. We also aim to introduce pupils to other ways of life within Europe. Numerous oversubscribed French and German trips, exchanges and conferences are organised across the key stages.
The main languages of the curriculum are French and German which are both taught to students in Year 7, 8 and 9 and are also offered as options for KS4.
KS3
During KS3, all students begin to understand, speak, read and write at least one modern foreign language. They become familiar with the sounds, written form and grammar of the language and use this knowledge with increasing confidence and competence to express themselves.
In year 7 and 8 students may study both French and German giving them a good grounding in two main European and world languages.
In year 9, students continue with both German and French. They are assessed for their KS3 National Curriculum Level and they can opt to continue one or both languages to GCSE, gaining excellent exam results. Languages are not compulsory at Richmond School but we strongly advise all students to seriously consider continuing with at least one language as part of a balanced curriculum into KS4.
KS4
In year 10, students are put into new groups according to their options and start to work towards GCSE. At GCSE, each of the four skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) is examined at either Foundation or Higher Tier (or any combination thereof). Since the Speaking Test is mostly prepared and learned in advance and lessons taught by experienced teachers, all students have a good chance of achieving a high grade.
The German and French departments follow the AQA syllabus. (www.aqa.org.uk) Each of the four skills is worth 25% and the GCSE course splits into 4 themes:
• My world
• Holiday time and travel
• Work and lifestyle
• The young person in society
KS5
In the Sixth Form AS/A2 courses are available in French and German. They attract not only future students of languages in Higher Education, but, increasingly, those wanting a language to enhance their career prospects in other fields. Beginners’ courses are also available in Italian or Spanish.
The French department follows the AQA syllabus. The students cover 6 modules over AS and A2 which are:
AS modules: Young people today, Aspects of society, People and society
A2 modules: Contemporary issues, The cultural and social landscape, Yesterday, today and tomorrow
The German department follows the EDEXCEL syllabus. ( www.edexcel.org.uk )
The AS and A2 topic areas are:
AS topics: Day-to-day matters, Society, The working world
A2 topics: The environment and citizenship, The international context
Practical communication skills are emphasised through a range of listening, speaking, reading and writing tasks. The language skills acquired are also ones that are directly transferable to other subject areas.
• How to learn facts, language skills, vocabulary
• How to use your own language to help you understand another language
• How structure and grammar make a language work
• How style can help you get your message over
The study of MFL helps to create more open-minded, flexible and tolerant young people, able to prosper in today’s society in both a social and working context.
Contact Information
Mrs C Norman - CNorman@richmondschool.net or by phone (01748) 850111
Mr T Potter - APotter@richmondschool.net or by phone (01748) 850111
Miss F Dutton - FDutton@richmondschool.net
Mrs A Garnett - AGarnett@richmondschool.net
Miss E Merckx - (01748) 850111
Miss L Bainbridge - (01748) 850111
Miss V Roberts- VRoberts@richmondschool.net or by phone (01748) 850111