Modern Foreign Languages values statement

The focus of our curriculum is strongly directed towards the development of pupils' communication skills, self-efficacy, strong and durable retention of language, independence and autonomy.

Through the 3 pillars of progression – phonology, vocabulary and grammar, pupils will gain strong phonetic knowledge that enables them to converse 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 many 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 to deepen their understanding of different cultures and societies. They will have an understanding, of the way in which languages are interconnected and in which languages play a part in our daily lives. Pupils 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 four language skills.

Pupils will leave the school with the knowledge and understanding that enables them to apply what they know to both familiar and unfamiliar contexts from celebrity culture to environmental issues. This will help them to go on achieve their potential, not just at A Level and in Higher Education but as a global citizen living and working in a dynamic and interdependent world. Linguists of Fulwood Academy will have an appreciation for the world they live in and a deep understanding of their place in an everchanging multi-cultural society. Through a knowledge rich curriculum, which maintains skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the target language. The invaluable communication skills and creativity developed through learning a foreign language will foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of other cultures on a local, national, and international stage.

When communicating 75% of the time is spent listening and speaking and 30% and 25% on reading and writing, therefore our curriculum will focus on these two skills before progressing onto the written production. Language will be taught in chunks within modules as this supports fluency and Long-Term Memory (LTM) recall. Chunks can then be manipulated. Through a thorough and frequent exposure to the language of that topic or the communicative function, student will be able to pick up subtleties such as phonemes, syllables, meaning, lexis, grammar, and syntax.

There is ambition and opportunity for all pupils to study a language up to the age of 16. Every pupil is studying either Spanish or French up until the end of Year 9, then approximately 50 – 60 % of pupils choose to study languages at GCSE level as part of a strong EBacc offer.

EAL students can complete a GCSE in their own language as well as either Spanish or French.