Curriculum Aim

The Modern Foreign Languages curriculum at Callerton fosters a genuine enthusiasm for language learning and world culture.

Through lessons linked regularly to the countries and regions in which our languages are spoken, our pupils will develop an understanding and appreciation of cultures different from their own in an increasingly interconnected and multicultural world, allowing them to approach new people and places with curiosity, respect and empathy. We use our target languages frequently in the classroom from day one and encourage our pupils to do the same. This feeds into our aim for our pupils to communicate and understand language independently in the four skill areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening, with focus maintained on the ability to use the language in real-world contexts. Becoming experts in our subject means that pupils will gain a deeper understanding of how languages work, which in turn will improve their accuracy in the use of their own language and broaden their English vocabulary, contributing to our school culture of literacy.

At Callerton, the vast majority of students study Mandarin from Year 7, which is a rare opportunity in a comprehensive school that makes our pupils stand out in a competitive world. By Year 8, pupils learn both Mandarin and Spanish, which, for many of our pupils from feeder primary schools, allows us to build upon foundations of language learning established at Key Stage 2. Our pupils emerge with a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding in the two most spoken languages in the modern world.
 

Highlights of our KS3 curriculum

Some of the highlights our students will experience in Mandarin in Years 7 to 9 are:

• An introduction to the Chinese system of language, including pinyin, tones, radicals and characters.
• Talking about their own lives, including their family, pets, likes and dislikes, hobbies, school, home and town.
• Discovering China and its culture, including tackling stereotypes, learning about Lunar New Year and other festivals, and linking learning about our own town to places in the Chinese-speaking world.

Some of the highlights our students will experience in Spanish in Year 8 and 9 are:

• Talking about their own lives, including their family, pets, likes and dislikes, hobbies, school and holidays.
• Learning language for real-life situations, including ordering food and drink in a restaurant, making reservations and explaining problems in a hotel. • Discovering Hispanic culture, including the Day of the Dead festival and quinceañera in Mexico and flamenco dancing and bullfighting in Spain.

Highlights of our KS4 curriculum

Students study AQA GCSE in both Spanish and Mandarin.

Some of the highlights our students will experience in Mandarin in Year 10 and 11 are:

• Delving deeper into themes covered in Key Stage 3 as well as tackling more challenging topics such as the environment, poverty, charity work and volunteering.
• Developing a more sophisticated use of grammar and reading, understanding and producing extended writing pieces in characters.
• Continuing to link GCSE topics to the Chinese-speaking world, including life in Chinese schools, the one-child policy, wealth inequality and standards of living in China, and social media and censorship.

Some of the highlights our students will experience in Spanish in Years 10 and 11 are:

• Beginning to talk about the world on a wider scale, including where people live, the environment, health and lifestyle, media and technology and celebrity culture.
• Continuing to link GCSE topics to the real world, including language for the pharmacy and at the shops.
• Considering topics in the context of the Spanish-speaking world, including conservation and sustainability in Costa Rica and the impact of over tourism in Spain.

Extracurricular opportunities

Extracurricular activities in MFL might involve learning more about the languages and cultures that we already know or discovering new ones altogether! 7UP clubs, past and present, have enabled Mandarin enthusiasts to delve deeper into Chinese culture by engaging in paper crafting and folk dancing, while staff across the school have lent their talents to offer taster courses in Italian, Norwegian and Irish.

Of course, international opportunities are highly important in enabling students to practise their language skills in an authentic environment, broadening their horizons, developing their view of the world, and gaining valuable cultural capital. This year, GCSE Mandarin students have the opportunity to travel to China, and we hope to offer similar opportunities for Spanish students in the coming years.

Progression – Where can MFL take me in the future?

Mandarin and Spanish are the two most spoken languages in the world and two of the most sought after by UK and international employers. Our students acquire a skill that offers them an edge in a competitive job market. Regardless of whether or not they use the specific languages they have learned, students will have learned excellent communication skills, be able to articulate and justify their ideas clearly, and have valuable analysis and decoding skills.

Modern Languages are highly regarded academic subjects respected by top-tier universities, and students who sit the higher tier GCSE exams will be well prepared to continue with their language(s) at A Level.

While many people will think immediately of language-specific careers like teaching, translating, and interpreting, knowledge of foreign languages opens up a world of opportunities. These include the civil and intelligence services, the charity and non-profit sector, journalism, law, the sports industry, aviation and cabin crew, to name just a few!

Useful Links

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Mandarin Overview