Modern Foreign Languages

The languages department consists of three full time and five part-time teachers who specialise in French or Spanish but teach both languages. Each year we have two part-time Language assistants: one French and one Spanish.

Contacts:

Head of Faculty	Ms A Pau

Our Curriculum Vision

Year 7, 8 and 9 students at Hampstead School have the fantastic opportunity to learn both French and Spanish. We have devised a well-structured curriculum that enthuses students and builds a curiosity and love for learning languages in general, and French and Spanish in particular. We aim to:

• encourage and develop the ability to use the target language effectively for communication
• involve language genuinely needed to perform any task; offering an insight into the culture and civilisation of the foreign language countries
• provide enjoyment and to stimulate their awareness of languages
• encourage positive attitudes to foreigners and foreign languages as well as respect and understanding of foreign culture and civilisation to counteract prejudice
• enable learners to communicate effectively in everyday situations involving either foreign visitors in this country or themselves visiting a foreign country
• provide students with enough opportunities to experience success, enjoyment and feeling of acquiring a satisfactory linguistic knowledge

Key Stage 3 Curriculum Assessment:

In Year 7 each student begins either French or Spanish and then continues with that language until the end of year 9 and then hopefully to GCSE level.

We use Expo course books for French in yr. 7, 8, 9 and Mira 1, 2 and 3 for KS3 in Spanish

Please CLICK below to discover more about our curriculum

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 4 Curriculum and Assessment:

For KS4 French we use a mixture of Expo, Metro and Francoscope and for Spanish we use Mira GCSE.

Students are entered for GCSE French /Spanish with WJEC and are examined in speaking, listening and reading. Students must also complete 2 pieces of coursework in controlled conditions with the class teacher. All GCSE students have conversation practise with the language assistants through the course.

What will you study?

• Describing yourself and others
• Relationships with family and friends
• Helping at home
• Food and Healthy Living
• Shopping and fashion
• Illness and accident
• Free time        
• School and education
• The world of work
• Travel and holidays
• Describing your home town and local facilities
• Comparing your home town with other towns and regions
• Social issues
• Environmental issues

How work will be assessed:

The course is assessed through 4 skills, 2 of which are:

• Writing 30%
• Speaking 30%
• All students complete 2 pieces of Writing of 200 words each over the 2 years, which are worth a total of 30% of the final grade; this means there is no written exam at the end of Year 11
• Likewise, there are 2 Speaking tasks which last 5-7 minutes respectively and are completed over the 2 years
• The French course book is Expo GCSE
• The Spanish course book is Mira GCSE

Key Stage 5 Curriculum and Assessment:

We follow the AQA course for both French and Spanish at AS and A-level. Students are required to purchase their own course book as recommended by their teacher.

Students have access to our language assistants to improve their spoken language and are expected to spend 5 hours per week completing homework and doing their own private study in the language.

The board used is AQA.  Students study the following topics.

There are two units of study in Year 12:

These topics are the same for both the French and Spanish courses.

A-Level (A2)

Students study the following topics:

• Environment
• The multicultural society
• Contemporary social issues: La region Provence Alpes Cote D’azur
• The work of an author from a target language-speaking country: Faiza Guene: “Kiffe Kiffe demain”

In Spanish:

• The work of an author from a target language-speaking country: Gabriel Garcia Ma’rquez, El coronel, no tiene quien le escriba
• A period of 20th century history from a target language-speaking country: Spanish civil war