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An engineering specialism within a grammar school

Modern Foreign Languages Department at Ripon Grammar School
Ripon Grammar School Crest

 

Modern Foreign Languages

“A different language is a different vision of life”
(Federico Fellini)

Aims of the department

The languages we teach are French and German. Our philosophy is to help students develop their use of these languages for practical purposes and to help them develop a love of French and German language and civilisation and of language learning in general. We believe in an oral approach, supported by careful study and practice of grammar and vocabulary. We aim to develop the skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing through a wide range of activities including: class oral work, pair work, group work, acting out dialogues, vocabulary learning, oral and written grammar drills, listening to and watching recorded material, songs, playing language games, dictation, using interactive computer resources, memorising talks and writing compositions.

KS3

French is learned by all students. There are four lessons a week of 40 minutes in Y7, five in Y8 and 4 in Y9. Students have two pieces of homework a week in Y7 and Y8, with three a week in Y9.

The course followed from Y7 to Y9 is Encore Tricolore(Nouvelle Edition). We also use a wide range of other resources including interactive websites, in-house worksheets, flashcards, the interactive board (e.g. Boardworks) and overhead transparencies. Students are invited to subscribe to a French magazine and we often exchange penfriend letters with our partner school in France.

Assessment takes the form of regular end of unit tests in listening, reading and writing, along with end of year examinations which also include an assessment of oral proficiency. Every pupil is given a teacher-assessed level at the end of Y9. About 30% of any year group reach level 7.

Classes work in their form group until the end of Y8 when they are put into sets, one top (alpha), one middle (beta) and two lower (gamma).

KS4

French is continued by all students to GCSE. German is introduced as an option with 4 periods per week. Encore Tricolore(Nouvelle Edition) is the course used for French. The course used in German is Lernpunkt Deutsch. Assessment continues to be by end of unit test, regular vocabulary testing, along with two examinations in Y10 and a mock examination in Y11.

AQA is the examination group used. The large majority of students enter at Higher Tier in all the language skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing). There is no coursework.

Sixth Form

French and German are offered at AS and A2 level. Students have two teachers for French, one for German, plus one period with the foreign language assistant. Students enter for module exams in June of the Lower Sixth year and June of the Upper Sixth year. Students may retake AS modules in January or June of the Upper Sixth year. OCR is the examination board used for French, AQA for German. For one A2 unit students do coursework which involves the study of one or more pieces of modern literature and/or film. Our French course book at present is Objectif Bac (Collins).

Career opportunities

The outlook is very positive indeed for students who learn modern foreign languages. Employment rates after languages degrees are amongst the very highest. Employers particularly welcome graduates with good communication skills and who can offer one or more foreign languages.

Languages graduates may get involved in education or translating/interpreting, but it is much more likely that they would work in commerce or industry using languages as an extra skill.

Additional information

We offer a visit to Normandy every year for pupils in holiday time at the end of Y8 and we have a long-running exchange scheme, begun in 1988, for Y10 and A-level students with the Institution Saint Louis in Pont l’Abbé d’Arnoult in France. A-level German students take part in a work experience programme or exchange.

The department is housed in its own area and is equipped with two interactive whiteboards along with more traditional resources. Pupils make regular use of the school ICT rooms in MFL lessons. The school library is well-stocked with books, dictionaries and DVDs, whilst satellite television is also available to students.

Links

For a comprehensive set of links for French see www.frenchteacher.net/links.htm.

For both French and German we strongly recommend www.languagesonline.org.uk.

For examination specifications see www.aqa.org.uk and www.ocr.org.uk.


 

News
French Exchange
28.04.09
Student of the Month
26.03.07

Letters
French Trip 24th July (p.m) 30th July Medical Information Form
19.06.09
French Exchange 2009-10
15.06.09

Calendar
Second Form French Trip - Departs
25.07.09
Second Form French Trip - Returns
30.07.09