Modern Foreign Languages
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From Nelson Mandela who said that “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart” to Federico Fellini who saw ‘A different language as a different vision of life’, it is not hard to find inspiring quotations celebrating the learning of languages.
The Modern Foreign Languages department is committed to broadening pupils’ understanding of the world and developing strong, long-life linguistic skills. All of our pupils study French in Year 7 and start their second Modern Foreign Language in Year 8, with a choice of Spanish or German. We also offer French bilingual classes in KS3. There is a club for native speakers in Spanish, German and Italian.
At the end of Year 9, all pupils must choose at least one foreign language as part of their GCSEs, many opt for two languages. We offer A Level courses in French, Spanish and German.
We support GCSE early entries for minority and community languages in Year 10. Although we do not teach them at school, it is possible, on request, to use school as examination centre.
It has become more important than ever to show how much we value international opportunities, language-learning, and ensuring our young people have a global outlook. We feel that studying a new language offers variety and challenge, develops skills and facilitates understanding of other cultures and societies. Employers value languages, as they are increasingly important to make sure we can compete in the global market. Because of this, languages are increasingly becoming a requirement for many graduate schemes.
Pupils are given the opportunity to direct their own learning as they often work in groups or pairs and they are always taught in an atmosphere of mutual respect where they can experience success and enjoyment in their work, irrespective of difference in academic ability. FHS pupils are always extremely enthusiastic and confident and, because the same emphasis is placed on the different skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, our examination results are invariably amongst the very best in the school.
French
French is a compulsory subject in Year 7. All girls study a foundation course based on Tricolore, 5th edition. In Year 8 and Year 9, we offer a detailed, progressive grammar and skills coverage, plus a focus on sound-spelling links to support pronunciation, spelling and transcription.
French native speakers are taught separately. They follow a bespoke curriculum that includes culture study, literary texts and advanced grammar.
Studying the IGCSE Course (Edexcel), our girls are encouraged to develop their linguistic skills in a variety of contexts in order to be able to understand and provide information and opinions about their own experiences and those of people in countries and communities where French is spoken. The girls are opened to both the importance of learning a modern foreign language, and to francophone culture. The qualification is designed primarily for students who are studying French in order to enhance their future education or employment prospects. The aim of the qualification is to test French language competence through realistic and contextualised tasks based on authentic texts covering the following topics:
- Home and abroad
- Education and employment
- Personal life and relationships
- The world around us
- Social activities, fitness and health
Going forward with the A Level Course (Edexcel), our aim is to enhance students’ linguistic skills and promote and develop their capacity for critical thinking on the basis of their knowledge and understanding of the language, culture and society of the country or countries where French is spoken. The French A level course offers a well-balanced and inspiring content that includes cultural topics, literature, film study, and mastering of language manipulation. This course is open to pupils with varied linguistic backgrounds, from second language learners to native speakers. A Level groups are usually small enough to offer individualised support. This class is supported by a French language assistant who offers conversation sessions.
German
Pupils can choose to study German in Year 8. This is a beginner’s course, which covers a range of interesting topics whilst securing an excellent grasp of basic German grammar. Girls will practise the main four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing and learn about the culture in German speaking countries. The course follows the Pearsons Stimmt textbook and covers a range of topics such as hobbies, health, school, media and holidays, all of which can then be built on at GCSE.
In recent year there has been an increased uptake in pupils choosing GCSE German at FHS. German can be chosen at GCSE by those who have studied the subject in Years 8 and 9. The German GCSE builds on many of the skills introduced during the first two years of learning and develops a better command in all four skill areas (reading, writing, listening, speaking). The GCSE covers a wide range of interesting topics and gives an insight into central aspects of German-speaking cultures. Pupils gain the confidence to exchange information and opinions with speakers of German in many different social situations.
We follow the Edexcel IGCSE Course and study the following topics:
- Home and Abroad
- Education and Employment
- Personal life and relationships
- The world around us
- Social activities, fitness and health.
After GCSE, pupils then have the opportunity to take A Level German, where our aim is to enhance their linguistic skills and to develop their ability to interact effectively with users of the language. In addition, the study of German at A Level will equip our students with a range of transferable skills that will enable them to proceed to further study or employment. A range of topics are studied including German reunification, political and artistic culture in German speaking countries, societal developments in Germany and immigration. Pupils also have the opportunity to study both a German film and novel, where they can develop their understanding of literary devices and cinematography whilst deepening their knowledge of key aspects of German culture. Previous cohorts, who have taken German have achieved excellent grades at A Level.
Spanish
Spanish is the third most widely spoken world language after English and Chinese. Not only is it spoken in Spain and Latin America, but it is now the second language of the USA. Spanish iGCSE (Edexcel) can be studied by girls who have completed the foundation course in Year 8 and are keen to develop a better command of Spanish in all four skill areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking). The study of a wide range of topics at GCSE and A Level gives an insight into central aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures and promotes linguistic ability as well as the confidence to converse with natives in a variety of different situations.
The broad topics of study at GCSE are:
- Home and abroad – comparing life in the UK to Hispanic countries
- Education and employment
- Personal life and relationships
- Environmental issues
- Social activities, fitness, and health
The study of Spanish at A Level provides a deeper dive into the history of Spain, as well as providing pupils with the opportunity to study Spanish film and literature. Recently we have studied El Laberinto del Fauno by Guillermo del Toro and La Casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca.
Students from Francis Holland quite frequently go on to university to read Spanish, often as a Joint Honours subject in combination with subjects such as Drama, Management, Film and, of course, other languages or Latin American Studies.
Discovering the wider context in which a language is used is very much part of the syllabus and contributes to the independent study skills that help our students to achieve their linguistic potential. Our students have access to educational digital resources, used either in class or independently.
The department is also equipped with magazines, novels and reference books for our pupils to consult or borrow for enjoyment or study.
We are very keen to provide our students with a wide range of opportunities that will place languages in their more natural context and foreign travel is organised to France, Spain and Germany.
In addition to trips abroad we are lucky to have on our doorstep institutions such as the French, Spanish and German institutes, which provide our students with an easy access into foreign cultures. Sixth Form students regularly visit the cinema or the theatre which, in London, regularly show foreign productions. The MFL Department actively organises and encourages cultural outings.
We also organise a variety of events at school with the annual MFL poetry competition being the highlight of the year, showcasing the outstanding linguistic abilities of our students. We also take part in the linguistic Olympiads, and run co-curricular clubs such as decoding languages, European cinema and conversation sessions.
The MFL teachers are a very close team of experienced and dedicated professionals who are generous with their time and passionate about ensuring each pupil fulfils her potential. We feel that we achieve an exceptionally positive attitude towards languages. The expertise of staff cover all areas of language study, from language acquisition to sociolinguist, literature and social studies.
The department is run by Mr F Calvet.
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