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MFL Curriculum Intent
Through our MFL curriculum at Sidmouth College we ensure that students develop and practise their knowledge of French or German.
We follow an engaging and culturally enriching curriculum incorporating the different skills required for learning a language.
We foster pupils who are independent and curious and who have the skills and confidence to learn any language needed in their career.
Our intent is to instil confidence and enrich vocabulary thus developing oracy and widening horizons for all.
Regardless of ability or background all students have an entitlement to experience the enjoyment of learning a language.
Our vision is that all pupils in Yr 9 are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for at least a grade 4 at GCSE
At Key Stage 4 webuild on the strong foundation and enter the vast majority of pupils at Higher Level.
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More on our curriculum intent
The focus of our curriculum is heavily directed to the development of students’ communication skills, self-efficacy, strong and durable retention of language, independence and autonomy. Through the 3 pillars of progression – phonology, vocabulary and Grammar, students will gain a strong phonetic knowledge that enables them to converse (and pronounce new vocabulary) confidently and provides a reinforcement of many literacy skills from their first language. They will learn how to manipulate grammar to allow them to personalise information and retain core phrases that can be recycled in a large number of real-life situations. Through this knowledge and confidence, they will become resilient and competent linguists who are open-minded and versatile communicators.
By the end of KS3, students will understand what it is to be a linguist. Pupils will have a curiosity and fascination in discovering the world and its people, as well as having an interest and intention to travel in order to deepen their understanding of different cultures and societies. They will have an understanding of the ways in which languages are interconnected and in which languages play a part in our daily lives. Students will develop an extensive core of vocabulary and grammatical structures which will be learned and regularly practised and retrieved so that students are confident communicators in a variety of contexts across all 4 language skills.
Placing Listening first
When communicating 75% of the time is spent listening and speaking (Adler, R., Rosenfeld, L. and Proctor, R., 2001) - L:45%, S: 30% and 25% on reading (16%) and writing (9%), therefore our curriculum will focus on these 2 skills before progressing onto the written production. Language will be taught in chunks (not individual words) as this supports fluency and LTM recall.
“Language learning is not simply about combining words and applying grammar rules but rather the retrieval of the patterns and combinations we are primed for.” (Micheal Hoey – Lexical Priming 2005)
“L2 research has shown that making use of formulaic expressions and memorizing long chunks of text (and making substitutions within them) is far more efficient and effective than learning to assemble new linguistic strings in the process of language production.” (Nation,2013 Ellis,2015)
Chunks can then be manipulated.
" A chunk is a frequently recurring, meaningful string of two or more words either fixed or with variable slots which can be learned as a single unit, without the need to analyse its elements. Once committed to (long term) memory; a chunk can be retrieved and used 'as is' or with modifications, if necessary, bypassing the need to generate it from individual words and grammatical rules." (Selivan, 2018).
Through a thorough and frequent exposure to the language of that topic or the communicative function, students will be able to pick up subtleties such as phonemes, syllables, meaning, lexis, Grammar and syntax.