Modern Foreign Languages

MFL Subject Statement: 

‘Teaching should enable students to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.  It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language.  Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping students to study and work in other countries’ (The Curriculum:  Gallimaufry to Coherence.)

St Peter’s School aims to develop linguists who are open-minded and adaptable to new experiences and who belong in a multicultural world. Some students will develop their language skills to a greater extent than others and continue language learning to GCSE and beyond.  We are aiming to increase the numbers of students taking GCSE through increasing the number of specialist teachers, developing the quality of our teaching and improving student engagement and learning.  For many of our students, there has been only limited exposure to language learning at primary level, and developing better primary liaison is a focus for the future with support from the Trust. 

We are following the requirements of the MFL National Curriculum and are aiming to apply the findings of the MFL Pedagogy Report: 

• Students need to gain systematic knowledge of the vocabulary, grammar, and sound and spelling systems (phonics) of their new language, and how these are used by speakers of the language. They need to reinforce this knowledge with extensive planned practice and use in order to build the skills needed for communication.
• The content taught through the new language should be stimulating and widen students’ knowledge of the culture, history and literature of speakers of the new language, without compromising the necessary sequencing of vocabulary and grammar.
• Spoken and written language are closely connected and overlap. Therefore speaking, writing, listening and reading should be taught together, rather than as separate skills.
• Assessment should use a range of tasks, including those focused on specific aspects of the language taught, such as vocabulary or grammar. Some tasks should require students to compose sentences, short pieces of writing and oral presentations of their own. (Teaching Schools’ Council ‘Review of MFL Pedagogy’)