Modern Foreign Languages
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Head of Department
Tori Murphy
Welcome to the Modern Foreign Languages Department at Ivybridge Community College.
We are a dynamic team of 10 MFL teachers and are also lucky to have a Language Resource Assistant and two Foreign Language Assistants. The Department strives to support, inspire and motivate students to embark upon a lifelong enjoyment and love of foreign languages and cultures.
In today’s increasingly globalised world, Modern Languages are assuming more and more importance and relevance to the lives of young people. Learning a language is not just simply about learning the language itself. The process of learning takes students out of their comfort zone, develops communication and memory skills whilst also encouraging perseverance and resilience, all key skills for the futures of our students.
The Modern Foreign Language (MFL) Department is committed to maintaining a stimulating and supportive learning environment in which all students can endeavour to achieve their very best. Learning goes beyond the MFL classroom at the College and students from Year 7 to Year 13 have opportunities to take part in trips abroad, competitions, projects and events in order to really bring languages alive. The MFL Department at Ivybridge Community College aims to produce confident, competent and culturally aware linguists who are able to use their linguistic and cultural knowledge and understanding in their future lives as global citizens.
Key Stage 3
Students in Year 7 will study either
French
or
Spanish
They study their language for 6 hours a fortnight in Year 7 and in Year 8.
Throughout Key Stage Three, teachers will develop cultural understanding and give students opportunities to use language by participating in cultural events and trips abroad.
We also would encourage parents to support students in their language learning, which can be done in a number of ways. For example...
Having a bilingual dictionary at home |
Encouraging them to access sites such as ‘Linguascope’
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Encouraging them to listen / watch foreign language radio, music
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Key Stage 4
Students have the opportunity to study
GCSE French or Spanish
(and study more than one language if they wish)
This is a two year course starting in Year 10 with the
AQA Examining Board
The GCSE is made up of the four key skills of...
Listening |
Reading |
Speaking |
Writing |
Each of these account for 25% of the final grade and are assessed with formal examinations at the end of Year 11.
Independent learning is extremely important at Key Stage 4 and we encourage students to make use of the MFL revision website.
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To access the Ivybridge Community College
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Key Stage 5
We offer two languages at A Level:
French and Spanish
We also offer
AS Level German
(one year course - Edexcel)
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For French and Spanish we follow the
AQA A Level GCE Specification
It is a linear course designed to last two years.
You can get more details of the specifications including lists of topics and grammar points following the links below:
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For more information on the
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Students have half an hour of conversation practice with the Foreign Language Assistant every week.
Independent learning is key to A Level study and students are expected to complete an Independent Study Log which will be monitored on a weekly basis.
We offer trips abroad for all three languages.