Studying French at Bloomfield Collegiate School

Curriculum Leader: Mrs A. Polley

Our vision

Through the teaching and study of Modern Languages at Bloomfield Collegiate School we aim to:

instill an understanding of language-learning and its benefits, creating lifelong language learners;

enable students to develop essential literacy, communication and critical-thinking skills;

develop students as citizens of a multicultural world, with an awareness of and an appreciation for other countries and cultures;

promote a spirit of tolerance and inclusion, within the classroom and beyond;

equip students with the resilience and adaptability to succeed in the modern workplace;

create a positive and dynamic learning environment which inspires students to broaden their perspective and realise their linguistic potential.

Key Stage 3 Topics & Summary

Our KS3 Curriculum aims to establish a basic understanding of the target language, focusing on the four core skills of Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening. In year 8, basic vocabulary and structures are introduced, which are then reinforced and built upon in subsequent years.

The topics covered centre around these main areas:

Personal information
Local environment
School Life
Career & Future Plans
Travel & Tourism
Sport & Leisure

By the end of KS3, students will have acquired a basic repertoire of vocabulary on these topics; they will be also able to recognise and manipulate a variety of basic grammatical structures. They will be capable of understanding a range of short spoken & written passages in the target language. They will be able to express basic ideas and opinions both orally & in writing in response to stimuli, with a reasonable degree of confidence, clarity and accuracy.

GCSE Specification and Summary

We follow the CCEA GCSE Specification, which is a linear course taught over 2 years and based around 3 contexts:

Identity, Lifestyle & Culture

Local, National & Global areas of interest

School Life, Studies & the World of Work

The GCSE course comprises 4 assessed units, each worth 25%:

Unit 1: Listening

Unit 2: Speaking

Unit 3: Reading

Unit 4: Writing

Foundation & Higher Tiers are available in all skills except Speaking.

The course aims to develop these core skills while also teaching valuable transferrable skills relevant to further study & the world of work, namely:

Communication

Using ICT

Self-management

Working with others

Managing information

Being creative

A Level Specification and summary

The CCEA A level Specification is a 2-year course comprising the following components and weightings:

AS: 40% of A Level

Unit 1: Speaking

Unit 2: Part 1 – Listening Part 2 – Reading / Use of Language

Unit 3: Extended Writing

A2: 60% of A level

Unit 1: Speaking

Unit 2: Part 1 – Listening Part 2- Reading / Use of Language

Unit 3: Extended Writing

The specification equips students with a range of valuable skills for progression to further study, higher education and employment.

The course aims to:

develop the students’ ability to understand and communicate at a high level, when engaging in discussions on aspects of society, politics and culture in the target language;

hone students’ listening and interpersonal skills, through oral interaction;

enable students to assimilate new information and identify or summarise salient points;

develop higher order thinking skills, for example independent learning and analytical and evaluative thinking;

allow critical engagement with intellectually stimulating films or literary texts in the language; developing their ability to produce succinct and accurate written responses

Independent learning opportunities

The MFL department has high expectations of all students and the climate for learning we aim to achieve, nurtures the contributions of all abilities. We endeavour to make learning languages fun and meaningful, providing students with many opportunities for both collaboration and independent learning:

KS3: Pair work in class; Project work in groups; Preparation for Speaking tasks / oral presentations.

KS4: As above. Plus, access to independent-learning resources on the OneNote Platform. We subscribe to the Pearson ActiveLearn website which gives students access to audio & written texts at home.

KS5: As above. One-to-one conversation sessions with the Foreign Language Assistant each week. Students are given the opportunity to engage in independent research into areas of personal interest related to the target-language-speaking countries or communities and to present their findings orally.