KS3 COURSE OVERVIEW

French / German

In Year 7 students are introduced to France / Germany, and the wider French / German-speaking world. They learn to speak about themselves, their families and their likes and dislikes, and to use the language for real purposes of communication.

Through a number of topic areas students have the opportunity to develop the passive skills of listening to and reading authentic texts, and the active skills of speaking and writing in the foreign language. As well as giving and requesting information, students start to learn how to give their own opinions. They are introduced to the basic language patterns and grammatical features which give them an understanding of how the language works. The course is based on the MFL Framework for KS3.

In Year 8 students are encouraged to be more independent in their language use. Through the study of a number of topics they explore more advanced grammatical concepts, according to the ability of the set they are working in, and learn how to make their productive language more interesting by using a greater variety of vocabulary and sentence structure, and by using “connectives”.

By Year 9 students are expected to use the language more creatively. They learn to write longer, more sophisticated texts, and to understand material which contains more unfamiliar language. By the end of the year students should be capable of communicating information about their everyday life, as well as past events and future plans, using the correct tense, giving them a firm foundation for study at GCSE.

Students selected to be part of the “Fast track” group for French / German start their study of the GCSE course in Year 9. Details are given in the KS4 section.

Spanish

Students take up the study of Spanish as a second Modern Foreign Language in Year 8. The course builds upon their prior knowledge of French / German, drawing upon the generic language-learning skills which they have developed in Year 7. This means that, although the KS3 Spanish course is taught over two years rather than three, progress is accelerated.

Students are introduced to Spain and the wider Spanish-speaking world. Their linguistic development follows the same pattern as that described above for French and German.

Year	FRENCH*	GERMAN	SPANISH
7	Personal information School bag objects Numbers, days, months Alphabet Family and pets Descriptions House / Bedroom Activities The time Places in town Directions Opinions Ordering snacks / drinks School subjects Daily routine Sports and games	Personal information School bag objects Numbers, days, months Alphabet School subjects Opinions The time Breaktime snacks Clothes / School uniform Family and pets Descriptions Sports and hobbies Making arrangements House / Bedroom Household chores Places in town Ordering snacks / drinks
8	Self and family Jobs Weather Leisure activities / TV Past tense activities Making arrangements Shopping Meals / Restaurants Holidays Future plans	Personal information Weather and seasons Past tense activities Holidays Travel and transport Lost property Health / Illness Daily routine Meals Shopping / Pocket money Staying with a family Future plans Directions	Personal information School bag objects Numbers, days, months Alphabet Family and pets Descriptions School subjects Opinions The time School Meals Travel to school House / Bedroom Daily routine
9	TV / Cinema / Reading Future plans Health / Illness What you used to do Travel and transport Accommodation Sight seeing World issues	Personal information Past tense activities Buying souvenirs School – opinions Future plans Comparisons The environment Cinema / Music / Reading Jobs Shopping for clothes Family life	Places in town Directions Weather and seasons Sports / Leisure activities Making arrangements Future plans Household chores Tourist information Holidays Shopping for clothes School uniform

* from September 2006