Scheme of Work

Text Books

The department has a variety of resources and text books available. We mostly follow the Logo Textbooks for German and Métro Textbooks for French.

MFL Topics KS3

Pupils in KS3 study the following topic areas: 

  • Hello
  • Family
  • Freetime
  • House/ Housework
  • School
  • Daily Routine/ Numbers/ Time
  • Town & Region/ Directions/ Where you live
  • Eating out/ Fruit & Vegetables/ Food
  • Shopping/ Clothes
  • Health & Illness
  • Holidays/ Buying Tickets/ Transport/ Weather/ Booking into Hotel, Campsite, YHA, Postcards
  • Services/ Bank/ Post Office/ Lost Property
  • Jobs
  • Media

We aim to ensure that pupils fulfil their potential not only in having high expectations in terms of their achievement and behaviour but also by trying to cater for the different learning styles of individual pupils.

 On a very general level differentiation is undertaken both by task and outcome.
Activities can be set which are open-ended. These provide opportunities for pupils to work at a variety of levels. Differentiation can then be shown in the quality and range of language used.

Mixed ability form grouping means that there is a wide spread of ability in each class.
There are a number of additional worksheets / word searches / crosswords available within each topic area for the fast and slow worker.

Following the National Curriculum Council's  non-statutory guidance to MFL teachers our lessons tend to be organised into the following three categories :-

  • core: language,  structures and tasks that all pupils are expected to master.
  • reinforcement: extra practice for these pupils who need it in order to achieve the planned core outcomes.
  • extension:  language, structures and tasks for those pupils capable of carrying out more advanced and complex work than their peers.

We can also differentiate by offering different levels of support and by catering for differences of interest by allowing pupils to choose from a range of materials or activities.

Also the use of different teaching strategies/ activities represents a differentiated approach to our teaching.
When teaching any one class we should try to bear in mind the different learning styles of pupils.

 In the Lower school pupils are issued with booklets for each topic. These booklets contain exercises, vocabulary lists for homework use, level descriptors etc.

Additional Educational Needs KS3

Pupils in KS3 with Additional Educational Needs are taught German, French or Spanish in separate groups and are given less allocation of time compared with that of main stream pupils (i.e. only two one hourly lessons over the fortnightly cycle.)
They follow the course book pitched at a lower level, together with supplementary materials, as indicated in the main scheme of work. There is also a master file containing suitable worksheets for each of the three year groups. Staff are not expected to use all materials but to select those they consider to be of use and appeal to their particular class.

Pupils are encouraged to use as much target language as is within their capabilities. Language must be clear and simple at all times, with frequent checks to ensure the pupils understand.

In particular it is important to recognise the need for differentiation and variety in order that each pupil finds their study of the language a worthwhile experience. Therefore we should plan achievable goals, bearing in mind the limited attention span of some pupils./p>

Clear instructions are vital. In devising activities we should try to ensure that all pupils will benefit. Therefore activities should;-

  • Be interesting and enjoyable and promote self esteem.
  • Have clear short term and achievable objectives.
  • Avoid emphasis on memory and recall, but involve repetition and practice.
  • Be varied and offer different approaches such as group work, songs, video, games and puzzles, drama and acting out of scenes.
  • Use real objects as much as possible for pupils to touch.
  • Have clear visual reinforcement including pictures and symbols.
  • Should not be overweighted with written work, as such pupils find creative writing particularly difficult. (N.B. Use of cloze techniques).

Above all we must never lose sight of the importance of praise in motivating all pupils.
Special Needs pupils are given appropriate tests and examinations

KS4

In the Upper school pupils are given topic related booklets containing exercises, grammar notes and vocabulary. These are to be used at home and in class alongside the text books and are particularly useful for revision purposes.

The WJEC Curriculum is followed in both French and German.