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Languages

The study of Modern Languages challenges students to communicate in another language and think in new ways, it inspires a love of language learning and an intellectual curiosity about how language can both influence and be influenced by a diversity of culture.

Our intent is to create independent life-long language learners who can use their knowledge and skills to continue to learn languages, communicate across cultures and enjoy the intellectual challenge beyond their time with us.

Languages

Intent

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” ‒ Nelson Mandela


At Tor Bridge High, our intent is to create independent life-long language learners who can use their knowledge and skills to continue to learn languages, communicate across cultures and enjoy the intellectual challenge of language acquisition well beyond their time with us.

Learning a language is vital in order to develop citizens who can compete in an increasingly globalised workplace and society.  The skills and knowledge gained through the study of Modern Languages nurture global citizens, who appreciate the value of a culturally diverse society and who can leave school with valued qualifications which prove they are equipped with the skills to work in a variety of cultural contexts.


The study of Modern Languages challenges students to communicate in another language and think in new ways. It inspires a love of language learning and an intellectual curiosity about how language can both influence and be influenced by a diversity of cultural factors.

We also aim to deliver a curriculum which enables students to discover and develop an appreciation of another language whilst deepening the understanding of their own. By making explicit links between English and the language being studied students are able to critically analyse and improve their literacy and oracy skills. We encourage students to “Speak Like a Linguist” and want them to be both excellent communicators and grammatically aware.


We are proud to offer both French and Spanish as language options and we know this is valued by our school community. Plymouth is a city with strong links with France and Spain and these are the languages most valued by our local employers. As part of the transition process, students choose to study either French or Spanish in Year 7. This allows students to have agency in their chosen language and to build on any prior knowledge from KS2. Parents/Carers and students are strongly advised to continue with the language they have studied in KS2 (if applicable)


Though, we are also pragmatic. We believe that students will make the most progress as linguists if they focus their efforts on one language. Going into more depth in one language is of greater long-term value than learning the basics of communication in multiple languages. Being able to choose that language fosters students’ intrinsic motivation to embrace their language learning.


We intend that ALL students have the opportunity to experience language learning - whatever their ability - and we actively encourage students to choose a language for their GCSE options in Year 10 and Year 11.

We also support students in a range of community languages including Russian, Arabic, Polish and Turkish. Our intent is to widen all students' appreciation of each other's cultures and languages by celebrating our most able linguists. This is also supported through our Language Leader Programme.

Implementation

Our curriculum is forged on a set of four Big Ideas: Pronunciation, Accuracy, Tenses and Fluency. These are broken down and sequenced to ensure maximum impact. 


In Year 7, the curriculum builds upon the foundations of language learning introduced in KS2 and introduces metacognitive approaches so students begin to understand how they learn languages and the value of language learning.


Each Year also has a specific ‘Big Idea’ focus:

  • Year 7 Big Idea – My Life

  • Year 8 Big Idea – World Around Me

  • Year 9 Big idea – Identity and culture

  • Year 10 Big Idea - Spontaneity and Independence

  • Year 11 Big idea – Confident linguists >> Exam ready

Vocabulary development is front and centre of our Modern Languages pedagogy and an intrinsic part of our Schemes of Learning and day-to-day practice.  We explicitly teach the characteristics of target language vocabulary but also support this by referencing English linguistic features to highlight the similarities (e.g cognates) and differences (e.g gender of nouns and adjectives).


Our pedagogy is influenced by the work of Gianfranco Conti and Steve Smith and is founded on the core principles of their research based EPI approach Extensive Processing Instruction. Research shows that this approach is especially effective with our cohort who often have limited exposure to languages at KS2. They are quickly exposed to language at sentence level and encouraged to communicate meaningfully from their very first lesson with us.

In essence, this approach builds vocabulary acquisition skills from the bottom-up, focusing on comprehensible input, mindful of cognitive load theory and chunking language in transferable structures rather than focusing on individual words.


This communicative approach helps to engage students and motivate them to become expert linguists with authentic pronunciation. At KS3, we follow a (6 lesson) structure:

  • Lesson 1 = Pronunciation - Core phonemes

  • Lesson 2 = Pronunciations - Consolidation

  • Lesson 3 = Accuracy (Translation into English)

  • Lesson 4 = Accuracy (Translation into French / Spanish)

  • Lesson 5 = Expansion – Explicit Grammar

  • Lesson 6 = Fluency – manipulating language with minimal support

In practice, this means lots of learning activities to embed, rehearse and repeat sentence patterns so as to aid working memory and interleaving of vocab so it is seen in and out of context. Students will be exposed to Tier 2 cognates through the Knowledge Organisers and Sentence Builders (these words are indicated by being underlined) and there is a Tier 2 word of the week which is focusing on linguistics or Tier 2 cognates that students may not be able to access.


Themes, topics, skills and assessment foci are interleaved across KS3 and KS4 so as to provide opportunities to embed and develop prior knowledge and skills. Memory strategies are explicitly taught from the very first day of Year 7 and referred to throughout. Low stakes testing of core vocab and structures are enabled and supported by Knowledge Organisers for every topic from Year 7 to Year 11. Dual coding (such as of verb paradigms / TAILORED success criteria) is consistent across the department and across key stages to assist in retention of knowledge and links between concepts. Translations into and out of the target language are used as low stakes silent starter activities to ensure students revisit core language regularly. We have a strong set of ‘Universals’ which are structures which are repeated across all Knowledge Organisers and our Home Learning and lesson content is parallel.


All lessons are created centrally and curated by our team of specialist teachers. This enables staff to focus on ensuring individual lessons are adapted to reflect the specific needs of each class.


The Year 7 curriculum develops core language learning skills such as micro-listening , grammatical awareness and strategies for tackling unfamiliar language. The first ‘Excellence Task’ is a challenging creative writing task which allows those with little prior experience of ML to adapt a model and more advanced learners to show their prior knowledge through a series of drafts. This has been more effective in identifying more / less able students than a one-off baseline test as had been used in the past.

Students continue to study either French or Spanish in Year 8. In Year 8 the curriculum builds on the skills developed in KS2 >Year 7 and applies them to a range of topics which relate to the wider world around them. Where they live, buying clothes, food and shopping and going on holiday. They are challenged through a series ‘Pit Stop Tasks’ to communicate orally and in written form about the wider world around them.


In Year 9, the curriculum builds on the skills developed in KS2 >Year 7 > Year 8 and applies them to a range of cross-curricular themes, wherever possible exploiting an aspect of French/Spanish speaking culture. They are challenged through a series ‘Pit Stop Tasks’ to communicate orally and in written form about themselves and their relationships with others, and explore the TL culture. Effectively, these topics mirror much of Theme 1 of the new AQA GCSE specification.


At KS4, Students opt to study either GCSE French or GCSE Spanish.

In Year 10 the curriculum focus is on spontaneity and independence so as to achieve our aim of creating independent life-long learners. All three GCSE themes are interleaved and prior knowledge is interleaved with any new vocab areas or linguistic concepts.  In Year 11 the curriculum focus continues to revisit prior knowledge and skills but with a systematic emphasis on how to apply these to exam specific tasks so that they achieve excellent results in valued GCSE qualifications.


Mixed ability teaching in KS4 allows students to develop beyond their target grades before decisions are made about tiering (towards end of Y11). Students are prepared for what GCSE success looks like – both at their target grade and beyond. Our weekly lesson structures ensure explicit use of exam material is sequenced to ensure we are assessing students' progress and identifying any gaps in learning promptly.


We explicitly teach KS4 students self-efficacy strategies to ensure they focus on clear, accurate communication and eliminate ‘unforced errors’. We continue to use TAILORED criteria but expand these to include 7+ criteria.

Our repeated mantras for all productive language are “Quality not Quantity” and “Beautiful lies not Ugly Truths”.

Impact

Learning walks, book looks and assessment outcomes will show that students have learnt these skills and knowledge. We will see evidence of students manipulating language structures, using grammar confidently in order to express, explain and justify their ideas in the form of conversations and written work across a range of topics. They will also demonstrate evidence of an in-depth understanding of complex texts and speeches through dialogue with teachers and each other in both English and French / Spanish and be able to communicate with a degree of fluency in practical situations.


Internal data from assessments and external exam data will show evidence that disadvantaged students are making progress in line with that of their peers and that all students are making at least expected progress and students are achieving in line with departmental WIGs.


GCSE results will be in line with or higher than national outcomes for students, both overall and within different subgroups.


Student voice surveys will show evidence that students enjoy learning a language and feel confident in being able to pursue further language studies. This will be reflected in the numbers choosing to study a language at GCSE and A level. They will also show an interest in travel and the opportunity to experience different cultures and using their linguistic abilities throughout life. They will be keen to participate in trips and visits and talk to their tutors, other teachers, parents and peers positively about these experiences after the event. Parents at consultation evenings will report that their children are keen to learn French / Spanish and to travel to French / Spanish-speaking countries on family holidays, and to participate in school trips to France and Spain.


Some students will continue to seek teachers’ support with learning additional languages such as Arabic to develop further as linguists.

Participation in Language Leaders Programme and other extracurricular activities and events will be active and positive.


Classrooms will be purposeful and students and staff will celebrate the intrinsic joy of learning languages.

KS3 Curriculum Content

What Will I Study?

Students choose to study either French or Spanish in Year 7. In Year the curriculum builds upon the foundations of language learning introduced in KS2 and introduces metacognitive approaches, so students begin to understand How they learn languages and the value of language learning. Topics focus on talking about your life and expressing yourself.

Students continue to study this language in Year 8 where the topics cover talking about free time, travel and tourism and food. The focus is strongly on Listening and Speaking in full sentences – right from Lesson One! This approach then translates to Reading and Writing and ensure learners have confidence in their spoken and written language and use authentic pronunciation and are accurate in their written language.


How Will I Be Assessed?

Students will have the opportunity to take part in food tasting, European Week of Languages, Careers lessons and throughout lessons students will learn about French and Spanish cultures and festivals. Our regular European Film Club session are also very popular! We also run a very successful Challenge Week trip to Brittany (Isle de Batz / Morlaix) and have e-pal links with schools in Spain and France to ensure students have an authentic experience communicating with peers in French / Spanish.



Languages

Year 7

Languages

Year 8

Languages

Year 9

KS4 Curriculum Content

What Will I Study?

We follow the AQA GCSE French / Spanish course.

Student can opt to study either GCSE French or Spanish in Years 9 –11. In Year 9 the curriculum builds on the skills developed in KS2 / KS3 and revisits some topics in greater detail whilst also introducing new topic and linguistic concepts. The focus is on GCSE Theme 1 – Identity and Culture and further developing metacognitive approaches so that learners understand how building on and embedding prior knowledge is key to success.

Students continue to study either GCSE French or Spanish. In Year 10 the curriculum focus is on spontaneity and independence so as to achieve our aim of creating independent life-long learners. All three GCSE themes are interleaved and prior knowledge is integral to any new vocab areas or linguistic concepts. Students are prepared for what GCSE success looks like – both at their target grade and beyond.

Students continue to study either GCSE French or Spanish. In Year 11 the curriculum focus continues to revisit prior knowledge and skills but with a systematic emphasis on how to apply these to exam specific tasks so that they achieve excellent results in valued GCSE qualifications. Mixed ability teaching in KS4 allows students to develop beyond their target grades before decisions are made about tiering (towards end of Y11).


How Will I Be Assessed?

What methods will be used to assess work, when are key assessment points? etc.

In Y9 and Y10 there are fours key assessment points which are aligned with our learning cycles. This includes a full mock at the end of Year 10. Key Assessments comprise listening and reading exam questions, and a mixture of writing assessments to include translation and 40/90/150 word writing questions. Speaking assessments alternate between Roleplay / Photo Card and General Conversation questions.

In Y11 assessment focuses on continuous rigorous assessment of ALL Skills – Listening / Reading / Speaking / Writing and mirror GCSE exam papers (or parts of papers). These are identified through question level analysis of key assessments and mocks.

There are two Speaking Mocks (December and March) and 3 x Reading, Listening, Writing Mocks in Exam Conditions. (November / January / March).


Other Languages Experiences

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” ‒Nelson Mandela

Immersing our students in language and culture enriches their knowledge not only of their chosen language but also of the world around them. Our curriculum covers cultural topics such as Festivals and Customs in France / Spain, Debates on controversial issues (Bullfighting / La Voile) and a Y9 Challenge Week trip to Brittany (Isle de Batz / Morlaix)

At GCSE we have debates on environmental impact of tourism, the pros and cons of differing school systems and ensure students can talk about a range of Social issues including the role of charities and volunteering and Homelessness and Poverty in both the UK and French and Spanish speaking countries.

Languages

Year 10

Languages

Year 11

KS5 Curriculum Content

No Course Available

Languages

Year 12

Languages

Year 13

Love     Courage     Ambition    Love     Courage     Ambition    Love     Courage     Ambition    Love     Courage     Ambition    Love     Courage     Ambition    Love     Courage     Ambition    Love    Courage     Ambition   Love     Courage     Ambition    Love     Courage

© Tor Bridge High, Miller Way, Estover, Plymouth, PL6 8UN

TEL: 01752 207907

General Enquiries: reception@torbridge.net

Attendance/Absence: TBH-Absence@torbridge.net

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