Vision & Aims

At Deer Park School we are committed to developing strong, lifelong linguistic skills and to encourage students to become curious and interested in the world. We want all our students to feel successful in, and proud of their language skills and begin a lifelong learning journey that can open doors and take them around the world.

In the Modern Foreign Languages department at Deer Park School, we aim to ensure that all language learners develop the skills and confidence to consider themselves as ‘World Citizens’ who belong in a multicultural, mutually respectful world. We aim to support students to understand other countries and cultures so that they can be more open and adaptable to new experiences; ensuring that each topic contains an element of cultural reference to not only the target language country, but also the wider world. 

Ultimately, we want our students to have a love of languages, and aim to achieve this by nurturing a linguistic curiosity and an intrinsic motivation to explore, respect and communicate with other cultures and people.

KS3

At KS3 (Years 7 and 8), students will have five lessons a week.  Students will begin their linguistic journey by learning the basics such as introductions, numbers and talking about their family.  The scheme of work is then designed to quickly build upon this knowledge, incorporating other topics such as school, home and local area and holidays.  Throughout all five years of study, students are expected to develop their skills in four essential areas: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Although our study is topic-based, the curriculum interleaves opportunities to develop essential grammar that can often lead to a better understanding of the grammar in their mother tongue.  The department at Deer Park is committed to delivering both facets of language learning whilst remembering the importance of cultural capital - we strive to include authentic resources such as songs, poems, stories to ensure students can see the ‘real-world’ impact of their studies. As students develop competency in both grammar and a variety of topics in the target language, they will then continue their studies onto GCSE.

ASSESSMENT AT KS3

At KS3, students are assessed regularly, both formally and informally. There are weekly vocabulary checks to monitor students’ vocabulary power - reflect and review lessons every 3 weeks and a formal assessment prior to each Report Data collection. Students are assessed on their listening, reading and writing/translation skills.  In class, there are quizzes, activities and recall tasks that allow students to demonstrate all the language they have learnt and to help them feel proud of their progress, lesson by lesson.

SELF STUDY AT KS3

In years 7 and 8, students are set weekly self study to prepare them for their lessons and consolidate their learning. Self study is vital in building students’ vocabulary and practising new language so that they can master their skills. In the Autumn Term of year 7, students take part in the Year 7 Vocabulary Challenge, and get to grips with learning to recall, spell and use new words. After Christmas and for the rest of KS3, students self study alternates between learning new vocabulary and putting their language into practice with online exercises to really embed the structures they are learning.

Here at Deer Park, we use online websites such as Memrise and Sentence Builders to support student learning and give them a rewarding and interactive tool to really master vocabulary and structures.

KS4

Once students begin the 3 year GCSE course, they develop their ability and ambition to communicate with native speakers in speech and writing. GCSE MFL learning also broadens students’ horizons and encourages them to step beyond familiar cultural boundaries and develop new ways of seeing the world; becoming a compassionate and resilient Global Citizen.

The GCSE course incorporates the latest GCSE specifications and enables students to:

• develop their ability to communicate confidently and coherently with native speakers in speech and writing, conveying what they want to say with increasing accuracy
• express and develop thoughts and ideas spontaneously and fluently
• listen to and understand clearly articulated, standard speech at near normal speed
• deepen their knowledge about how language works and enrich their vocabulary in order for them to increase their independent use and understanding of extended language in a wide range of contexts
• acquire new knowledge, skills and ways of thinking through the ability to understand and respond to a rich range of authentic spoken and written material, adapted and abridged, as appropriate, including literary texts
• develop awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where the language is spoken
• develop language learning skills both for immediate use and to prepare them for further language study and use in school, higher education or in employment
• develop language strategies, including repair strategies

Context and purposes

The MFL GCSE requires students to understand and use language across a range of contexts, appropriate to their age, interests and maturity levels. Each theme, as outlined below, is taught across one year; year 9 – identity and culture, year 10 - local, national, international and global areas of interest and year 11 - current and future study and employment. Within these themes students are expected to:

• use language for a variety of purposes and with a variety of different audiences, including for personal, academic and employment-related use
• make use of appropriate social conventions, including informal and formal address and register, as relevant to the task and language studied
• understand different types of spoken language, including recorded input from one or more speakers in public and social settings and recorded material from authentic sources and the media
• understand different types of written language, including relevant personal communication, public information, factual and literary texts

Grammar requirements at GCSE

GCSE MFL students will be expected to develop and use their knowledge and understanding of grammar progressively throughout their course. By the end of year 11 students will be able to:

• Use verbs in the past, present and future
• Use modal verbs to say what they want, must and can do
• Give their opinion in a variety of ways, always explaining why
• Link their sentences together with a range of conjunctions
• Use a range of complex, higher level structures, such as the passive, impersonal verbs and the conditional

EXTRA-CURRICULAR AND TRIPS

• KS3 students can use and develop their linguistic skills  through joining the Languages Club which runs on Wednesday lunchtimes in room 106. In this club, we explore language, vocabulary and grammar and other aspects of culture from around the world. 
• Students at Deer Park are encouraged to learn other languages in their spare time through Duolingo and Memrise; such as German, Deutch, Chinese and Japanese.