Skip to content ↓

Modern Foreign Languages

Curriculum Intent

Modern Foreign Languages at Grace Academy Coventry provides students with the powerful knowledge they require in order to understand and communicate effectively over a range of topics, and become a capable linguist within a given language. Common words form the basis from which students will build their understanding, alongside grammatical structures, tenses, and the oracy and fluency required for authenticity. Retrieval practice is key in assessing student application of accents, definite articles and gender nouns.

The curriculum at KS3 is directly sequenced to provide a platform of key knowledge that helps students contextualise their future learning. Students study modules that are relatable, such as their careers, their family and their leisure time. 

Modern Foreign Languages at Grace Academy gives students the opportunity to experience different cultures, building inclusivity and confident learners. At its core is the idea of an experience: an experience that encourages students to celebrate diversity and have a tangible set of skills for life.

This term, we are studying…

Year

Topic(s)

Why this? Why now?

Year 7

How do I talk about my school?

This topic is building on knowledge to help you form opinions about school subjects which are essential for every topic we study.

 

This is so that students can:

  • Discuss which subjects they study
  • Discuss which subjects they study on each day
  • give justified opinions about school subjects
  • Describe teachers

 

Students should be able to give short spoken answers about this and write at least 40 words in accurate French/Spanish as well as understanding short spoken and written texts, and dictating and translating short sentences. 

Year 8

How do I talk about where I live?

This topic offers retrieval practice on  grammar Powerful knowledge (feminine/ masculine articles, present and future tenses, comparisons) alongside new powerful knowledge about town. 

 

This is so that students can:

  • Discuss the type of settlement and house they live in
  • Describe the rooms of their house and say what they do in each room
  • Describe what there is and is not in their town/area
  • Describe what you can and cannot do in your town
  • Describe the pros and cons of different places
  • Say where you will live in the future

 

Students should be able to give short spoken answers about this and write at least 60 words in accurate French/Spanish as well as understanding short spoken and written texts, and dictating and translating short sentences. 

Year 9

How do I talk about my relationships and future plans?

This topic offers retrieval practice on  grammar Powerful knowledge (future tense) alongside new powerful knowledge about relationships and future plans. 

 

This is so that students can:

  • discuss who they do and don’t get on with
  • Explain which job they would like to do in the future and why
  • Explain what job they wanted to do when they were little
  • Discuss their other plans for the future

 

Students should be able to give short spoken answers about this and write at least 60 words using three tenses in accurate French/Spanish as well as understanding short spoken and written texts, and dictating and translating short sentences. 

Year 10

Home, town, neighbourhood & region / the environment:

How do I talk about where I live?

This topic allows you to continue to build up on your knowledge of vocabulary previously studied in KS3 about town. You will also be required to talk about more extensive content such as advantages and disadvantages of your town. Each lesson has a Big Question that students will answer for both Writing and Speaking:

This is so that students can:

  • narrate what they do in their town and include the present tense, past tense and future tense
  • weighs the pros and cons of their town 
  • use complex structures with some success

 

Students should be able to give quite extended spoken and written answers (90 words)  about this topic in accurate French/Spanish as well as understanding longer passages of written and spoken texts in Foundation Tier.

Year 11

Mock Speaking

 

What is the biggest social issue facing the planet? What do you do to help others?

We start this term with a focus on the speaking exam. We will practise how to answer role plays and photo cards. We will also review an exhaustive list of questions for the General Conversations. These questions would have been previously seen in lessons (Big Questions) since Year 10.

 

The topic of social issues will allow you to be able to discuss the biggest social issues facing our world (e.g homelessness/ poverty) and use modal verbs and the future and conditional tenses to state what you could/should do to be able to help solve this.

 

This is so that students can:

  • express their views on homelessness / charity
  • narrate what they have done and will do to help others
  • use complex structures successfully

 

Students should be able to give extended spoken and written answers (90-150 words)  about this topic in accurate French/Spanish as well as understanding longer passages of written and spoken texts in Foundation Tier and Higher Tier.

Qualification information:

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/french-8658

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/spanish-8698

Curriculum content:

Attached are the curriculum maps which outline the sequence we use in order to structure our learning. If you would like to support your child's learning, we have attached links to Oak National Academy who provide lessons, activities and resources for commonly taught topics. Please use the curriculum map for this subject before visiting:

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/french/key-stages/key-stage-3

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/french/key-stages/key-stage-4

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/spanish/key-stages/key-stage-3

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/spanish/key-stages/key-stage-4

Our Values

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL 
We can achieve so much more than we think we can

INTENTIONAL EXCELLENCE

Success doesn’t happen by mistake

MUTUAL RESPECT

Everyone deserves to feel valued and important

GENUINE INTEGRITY

Honesty and doing the right thing are what really counts

AMAZING GRACE

Life is better with fresh starts and second chances