Modern Foreign Languages

Modern Foreign Languages Overview

The languages currently taught at Trentham Academy are French and Spanish, Spanish having been introduced in September 2021 for Year 7 alongside French. The Academy aim in delivering French and Spanish is to ensure that students are given the opportunity to discover other customs and cultures whilst developing a grammatical understanding of different languages.

From Year 7 onwards the MFL curriculum is mapped to follow the AQA specification and students are continually exposed to GCSE materials and exam content in order to fully prepare them to achieve the necessary outcomes within lessons and formal assessments. Lessons are planned to cater for the 4 skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking.

The MFL department is committed to supporting the whole school literacy focus, ensuring that students are taught to use and understand grammatical terminology and are encouraged to proof read work in order to check and correct errors independently.

Students are given opportunities to take part in foreign language visits in order to give them a real life insight into the language they are studying. Visits from local colleges and former students are also arranged to show students how language learning can be taken beyond GCSE and into the world of travel and work.

Learning a language builds up students’ resilience and self-confidence. Students are encouraged to develop an interest in and enjoyment of Languages, exploring skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students learn to express themselves creatively and to communicate with others confidently.

Students learn individually, in pairs and in groups. Students are challenged to achieve the highest academic standards they can. They are supported by regular next-steps advice, which students are required to respond to. In addition, we aim to encourage students to be independent in their learning.

The MFL department aims to:

  • Enable students to read, write, speak, listen and translate in French.
  • Develop students’ abilities to express themselves effectively through writing, listening, speaking and reading.
  • Encourage students to speak confidently in a range of contexts and listen attentively in order to respond appropriately.

Where can Modern Foreign Languages take me?

MFL poster

Languages Department

Mrs F Hissey – Subject Leader, Senior Lead Practitioner

Mrs L Griggs – Teacher of MFL, Progress Leader for Year 10

Mrs S Martin – Teacher of MFL

Mrs V Hammersley – Teacher of MFL

Y9 & 10 French

Y11 French

The Academy believes in developing the person as a whole so they can accomplish educational excellence."