Languages
For an overview of the pathways through the curriculum, please see our information page here.
Welcome to the Languages Department
Our Vision
In Modern Foreign Languages we strive to enable our students to be effective language learners and communicators and to take their place as successful global citizens.
Curriculum
Click below to learn about how the Curriculum is planned, delivered and assessed in Languages.
Students at Admiral Lord Nelson have the opportunity to study both French and German in Year 7 and then choose which one of these languages they would like to continue with in Year 8. In Year 9, those students completing a GCSE in French or German also have the chance to pick Spanish GCSE as an additional language. Students across all year groups have five hours of languages lessons per fortnight.
Exam Board
In all three languages, we follow the AQA specification:
GCSE French (8658)
GCSE German (8668)
GCSE Spanish (8698)
Assessment
In Languages, students are assessed on both skills and content. The content is taken directly from The National Curriculum as well as the AQA GCSE specification and this has been incorporated into the Schemes of Learning. The skills that are assessed are based on the following key areas and are based on the skills that are tested in GCSE exams:
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading
- Writing
In the new GCSE exam criteria, each of these skills will be assessed at the end of year 11 and will be equally weighted at 25%. The skills above have been mapped out into individual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which break up each skill into what students need to be able to achieve at the end of each term in each year for KS3, based on an individual student’s flight path.
At the beginning of each year, students will be given an expected and challenge target. These targets are what each student should aim for at the end of Year 11.
Using this target grade an individual KPI sheet appropriate for each students’ GCSE target grade will be given to each student and will be stuck into the back of their book at the beginning of each term. This KPI sheet highlights the necessary skills that student needs to achieve at the end of each term in order to be on track to achieve their end of Year 11 expected or challenge targets. Students are encouraged to use their KPI sheets independently, identifying when they have met a certain KPI statement and therefore are also able to judge as to whether they are on, above or below target in each of the four skills and indeed overall.
When any of the skills have been met by the students, whether in assessments or during AFL tasks in class, the student must refer to the KPI sheet and tick off any of the specific skill criteria which they have met in that task.
During the school year students will be assessed on skills and content both formatively and summatively. Any summative assessment will then be recorded by each class teacher on our data tracking spreadsheet and saved into the department folder.
Quality Teaching and Learning Entitlement
All students are entitled to:
- a positive, safe learning environment that encourages the development of performance skills and the sharing of work within a culture of mutual respect and shared responsibility.
- be actively engaged in their own learning whilst being challenged and motivated to take responsibility for their own development and take risks!
- have the opportunities to apply their skills and knowledge to a variety of new situations and use the target language for communication with each other and their teachers.
- experience well planned lessons which challenge them, provide clear assessment and regular performance opportunities whilst reflecting upon their own learning and development.
- Develop a sense of worldwide cultural awareness and empathy to enable them to become successful global citizens.