Languages

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Curriculum Maps and Overviews

• Year 7 French Curriculum Map
• Year 7 Italian Curriculum Map
• Year 7 Languages Curriculum Overview
• Year 8 French Curriculum Map
• Year 8 Italian Curriculum Map
• Year 8 Languages Curriculum Overview
• Year 9 French Curriculum Map
• Year 9 Italian Curriculum Map
• Year 9 Languages Curriculum Overview
• Year 10 French FT Curriculum Map
• Year 10 French HT Curriculum Map
• Year 10 Italian FT Curriculum Map
• Year 10 Italian HT Curriculum Map
• Year 10 Languages Curriculum Overview
• Year 11 French FT Curriculum Map
• Year 11 French HT Curriculum Map
• Year 11 Italian FT Curriculum Map
• Year 11 Italian HT Curriculum Map
• Year 11 Languages Curriculum Overview

Languages at St. Joseph’s Catholic College

We acknowledge and celebrate the fact that many of our students come to us with a rich experience and knowledge of languages other than English, providing them with a natural advantage in the languages classroom.

Most SJCC learners readily understand the importance of broadening their linguistic horizons and that in addition to opening many doors in their future, learning languages equips them with a wealth of skills that can be used throughout their lives.

Students’ literacy skills are usually the first to benefit from language learning: through their study of a new language, they become more aware of the grammatical function of different words and how they fit together. The exposure to new linguistic rules, be they similar or very different to those in one’s mother tongue, develops students’ ability to identify and follow patterns, thereby increasing their powers of analysis. This, combined with the frequent need to work out meaning from context strengthens students’ powers of deduction. The desire to express oneself and understand others in a foreign language often requires creativity and resilience as learners often need to find ways around the gaps in their knowledge.

It is all of these skills combined with the multilingualism that results from successful study of Languages that make the subject so attractive at universities around the world and employers from every industry.

However, most important of all of course, is the cultural enrichment and personal reward that the study of foreign languages brings. Trying out the language that one has learned in class for real purposes with native speakers and discovering that it works brings a huge sense of satisfaction and an understanding of how, with effective communication, barriers can be surmounted and doors opened.

It is our aim in the Languages Department to share our passion for languages with our students and for them to understand how valuable and deeply satisfying it is to become proficient in a language through study. We are committed to the communicative approach to teaching in order to expose students to as much target language as possible, modelling its effective use in lessons and encouraging students to do the same in order to lose the fear of making mistakes and build confidence.

Languages in Years 7 and 8

Students in Years 7 and 8 study two languages, French and Italian. All students are given the opportunity to work at a pace that is appropriate to their ability and make excellent progress as teachers differentiate activities and resources to meet their students’ needs.

Languages in Year 9

Students in Years 9 are given the opportunity to choose one language from a choice of French and Italian, with a view to developing the skills and proficiency required for study at GCSE and beyond.

Schemes of Work are designed to follow the textbooks listed in the grid below although teachers supplement these with a wide range of other teaching material.

Students are regularly assessed in order to allow teachers to gauge their attainment and to guide them effectively to identify strategies to make further progress. A wide number of assessment methods are used regularly in class from simple oral questioning, marking of homework, peer and self-assessment. However, common assessments take place once every half-term and, with the exception of end of year examinations, focus on one skill only from the four key skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing.

KS3 Programme of Study

Languages in Years 10 and 11

Students are prepared for the AQA GCSE in French and Italian. A variety of teaching resources are used in addition to textbooks in the grid below around which the Schemes of Work are designed.

In Years 10 and 11 students are assessed in one skill each term as follows:

Mock examinations are designed to replicate the format of the GCSE exam.

GCSE Programme of Study