Modern Languages
The study of Modern Foreign Languages teaches and encourages respect for others: it fosters an understanding of the interrelation of language and human nature. Foreign languages expand a student’s view of the world, liberalise one's experiences, and makes them more flexible and tolerant. With France and Spain remaining the most visited countries for British tourists French and Spanish continue to be relevant subject for students today.
KS3 French & Spanish
Modern Foreign Language lessons at Oaks Park High School are centred around interactive and creative games and teamwork led by a successful team of skilled teachers. Key Stage 3 French students build on their existing knowledge of Modern Foreign Languages by enhancing their skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. By the end of the course our students grow in confidence and create the best foundations for GCSEs in French as well as many other subjects. This is because the course helps them to develop various transferable skills for communication, literacy and problem solving. The topics covered enable students to enhance their cultural awareness, engage in critical thinking and explore their creativity.
Year 7 French
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Year 8 French
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Year 7 Spanish
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Year 8 Spanish
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How will pupils be assessed?
Students complete weekly homework. This will consist of spelling/phrase learning for class tests or a worksheet designed to consolidate classroom learning.
Students complete continual, formative mini-assessments in class and termly summative assessments which assess five skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. For these assessments, students will receive a grade for each of the skills.
How can you support your child?
Checking what homework they have been set/when it is due and offering assistance in completing this. Testing your child on vocabulary and grammar using vocabulary lists they have been given and notes they have made in class.
KS4 French
The current cohort of Year 9 and 10 students are following the AQA GSCE French 2024 specification.
The current cohort of Year 11 students will be the final cohort to sit exams under the Edexcel 2016 specification.
All topics have a focus on listening, speaking, reading and writing. We will also develop our skills of translation and literature comprehension within each topic.
Year 9 AQA (2024 Specification)
The speaking exam consists of three tasks. Task 1 is a role play, task 2 is a read aloud task with follow up questions requiring a personal response and task 3 is a discussion about a picture which leads on to a further conversation.
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GCSE transition begins Discussing extra-curricular activities Describing your friends using 3rd person Describing birthday celebrations Discussing what you are going to wear in the future Talking about your future plans and ambitions
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Talking about musical tastes Talking about ourselves when we were younger Comparing primary school to secondary school Describing how things have changed over the years Discussing eating habits Talking about animals and the natural world Talking about the environment and how to help the planet in the future Discussing where you would like to visit in the future and travelling the world |
Full GCSE course begins
Discussing friends and friendship Describing your favourite celebrity Talking about positive role models Talking about special celebrations and traditions |
Year 10 AQA (2024 Specification)
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Year 11 25/26 (AQA 2024 Specification )
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Consolidation and revision of Themes 1 - 3 in preparation for PPEs Theme 1 - People & Lifestyle: Identity and relationships with others; Healthy living and lifestyle; Education and work Theme 2 - Popular Culture: Free time activities; Customs, festivals and celebrations; Celebrity culture Theme 3 - Communication & the World: Travel and tourism, including places of interest; Media and technology; The environment and where people live Module 8 (Themes 1 and 2) Talking about summer plans Talking about plans and hopes Talking about reality TV and influencers |
Talking about possible future career paths Discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different jobs Consolidation and revision of Themes 1 - 3 in preparation for PPEs and summer exams |
Consolidation and revision of Themes 1 - 3 in preparation for public exams AQA GCSE Paper 2: Speaking Week of 19th April 2027 (tbc) AQA GCSE Paper 1: Listening and Paper 3: Reading - 26th May 2027 AQA GCSE Paper 4: Writing - 8th June 2027 |
How will pupils be assessed?
Students complete weekly homework. This will consist of either online homework or spelling/phrase learning for class tests.
Students complete continual, formative mini-assessments in class and termly summative assessments which assess five skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. For these assessments, students will receive a grade for each of the skills.
At the end of the course, students will sit four papers. All four exams will be either at foundation level or higher level. Paper 1 is listening and understanding in French, paper 2 is speaking, paper 3 is reading and responding in French and paper 4 is writing in French.
The reading paper includes a translation task from French into English.
The writing paper includes a description of a photo, translation from English to French, a 60-word response and a 90-word response at the foundation tier. At higher tier, students complete translation from English to French, a 90-word task and a 150-word task.
How can you support your child?
Checking what homework they have been set/when it is due and offering assistance in completing it. Testing your child on vocabulary and grammar using vocabulary lists they have been given and notes they have made in class.
Ensuring your child has purchased the AQA revision workbooks and guides and completes independent learning from them.
KS4 Spanish
AQA (2024 Specification)
Our course builds practical communication skills and real-world language confidence across three core themes:
Theme 1 - People & Lifestyle: Identity and relationships with others; Healthy living and lifestyle; Education and work
Theme 2 - Popular Culture: Free time activities; Customs, festivals and celebrations; Celebrity culture
Theme 3 - Communication & the World: Travel and tourism, including places of interest ; Media and technology; The environment and where people live
Students master essential tenses and grammar while developing key skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
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GCSE Transition begins Talking about things you like Talking about your week Talking about films Talking about a birthday Talking about life as a celebrity Saying what you have to do at work Saying what job you would like to do Talking about your future Describing your job Talking about diet Talking about an active lifestyle Talking about your daily routine Talking about getting fit Talking about ailments and illnesses. |
Talking about children’s rights Talking about fair trade Talking about recycling Talking about how a town has changed Full GCSE course begins GCSE Module 1 (Themes 2 and 3 ) Talking about life Talking about sports and free-time activities Talk about what you do at the weekend Talking about days that went wrong |
GCSE Module 2 (Themes 2 - 3 ) Discussing travel plans Talking about festivals in the Spanish-speaking world Saying what you did on holiday Describing where you stayed Talking about holidays using different tenses Cultural capital and preparing for Year 10 |
Year 10
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Recap and revision of GCSE Modules 1 and 2 GCSE Module 3 (Themes 1, 2 and 3 ) Talking about a typical day at school Talking about your studies Talking about how you would change school Discussing students and teachers Describing a school trip in the past GCSE Module 4 (Theme 1 ) Describing healthy daily routines Talking about meal times and food trends Comparing old and new habits Talking about injuries and illnesses Talking about plans to improve health and wellbeing |
GCSE Module 5 (Theme 3 )
Talking about studies Talking about how I would change school Talking about students and teachers Describing a school trip in the past GCSE Module 6 (Theme 3 ) Describing cities Describing how a city has changed Describing shopping preferences Giving preferences about where you live Talking about your area |
GCSE Module 7 (Theme 3 )
Talking about climate change Talking about actions to help the environment Talking about solutions |
Year 11
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Consolidation and revision of Themes 1 - 3 in preparation for PPEs Theme 1 - People & Lifestyle: Identity and relationships with others; Healthy living and lifestyle; Education and work Theme 2 - Popular Culture: Free time activities; Customs, festivals and celebrations; Celebrity culture Theme 3 - Communication & the World: Travel and tourism, including places of interest; Media and technology; The environment and where people live Talking about global issues and solutions GCSE Module 8 (Theme 1 ) Talking about plans for the future Talking about getting a part-time job |
Talking about future career intentions Talking about the importance of learning languages Talking about changes in the world of work Talking about the impact of artificial intelligence Consolidation and revision of Themes 1 - 3 in preparation for PPEs and summer exams |
Consolidation and revision of Themes 1 - 3 in preparation for public exams
AQA GCSE Paper 2: Speaking Week of 19th April 2027 (tbc)
AQA GCSE Paper 1: Listening and Paper 3: Reading - 9th June 2027
AQA GCSE Paper 4: Writing - 16th June 2027 |
| Course | A-Level Spanish |
| Examining Board | AQA |
| Specification | Link |
| Why study this subject? |
The course is great for those who enjoy Spanish, History, Politics, Sociology, Film and Literature. It includes stimulating content to develop their linguistic skills and understanding of the culture and society of countries where French is spoken.
It's an opportunity to study technological and social change, looking at diversity and the benefits it brings. You will study highlights of Spanish-speaking artistic culture, including francophone music and cinema, and learn about political engagement and who wields political power in the Spanish-speaking world.
Students also explore the influence of the past on present-day Spanish-speaking communities. Throughout their studies, they will learn the language in the context of Spanish-speaking countries and the issues and influences which have shaped them. Students will study texts and film and have the opportunity to carry out independent research on an area of their choice. |
| Unit 1 |
Aspects of Hispanic society Modern and traditional values (Los valores tradicionales y modernos) |
| Unit 2 |
Artistic culture in the Hispanic world Modern day idols (La influencia de los ídolos) |
| Unit 3 |
Multiculturalism in Hispanic society Immigration (La inmigración) |
| Unit 4 |
Aspects of political life in Hispanic society Today's youth, tomorrow's citizens (Jóvenes de hoy, ciudadanos del mañana) |
| Assessment AS- |
3 Exams Listening, reading & writing Writing Speaking |
| Assessment A-Level |
3 Exams Listening, reading & writing Writing Speaking |
| Next steps - Careers/HE courses | Any career in a country where the language is spoken. Linguistics Translation Journalism and publishing Hospitality Sector Economics Social and Political Sciences Research |
| Suggested links to resources |
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How will pupils be assessed?
Students complete weekly homework. This will be set on Google Classroom and consist of either online homework, a worksheet designed to consolidate classroom learning or spelling/phrase learning for class tests.
Students complete continual, formative mini-assessments in class and termly summative assessments which assess five skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation. For these assessments, students will receive a grade for each of the skills.
At the end of the course, students will sit four papers. All four exams will be either at foundation level or higher level. Paper 1 is listening and understanding in Spanish, Paper 2 is speaking, Paper 3 is reading and responding in Spanish and Paper 4 is writing in Spanish.
The speaking exam consists of three tasks. Task 1 is a role-play, Task 2 is a read-aloud task and task 3 is a photo card followed by a conversation in Spanish.
The reading paper includes a range of comprehension tasks, as well as a translation task from Spanish into English.
The listening paper consists of listening to extracts in Spanish and answering a range of questions in English or Spanish.
The writing paper includes a description of a photo, translation from English to Spanish, a 60-word response and a 90-word response at foundation tier. At higher tier, students complete translation from English to Spanish, a 90-word task and a 150-word task.
How can you support your child?
Checking what homework they have been set/when it is due and offering assistance in completing it. Testing your child on vocabulary and grammar using vocabulary lists they have been given and notes they have made in class. Ensuring your child has purchased the AQA revision workbooks and guides and completes independent learning from said guides.
| Course | A-Level French |
| Examining Board | AQA |
| Specification | Link |
| Why study this subject? |
The course is great for those who enjoy French, History, Politics, Sociology, Film and Literature. It includes stimulating content to develop their linguistic skills and understanding of the culture and society of countries where French is spoken.
It's an opportunity to study technological and social change, looking at diversity and the benefits it brings. You will study highlights of French-speaking artistic culture, including francophone music and cinema, and learn about political engagement and who wields political power in the French-speaking world.
Students also explore the influence of the past on present-day French-speaking communities. Throughout their studies, they will learn the language in the context of French-speaking countries and the issues and influences which have shaped them. Students will study texts and film and have the opportunity to carry out independent research on an area of their choice. |
| Unit 1 |
Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends The changing nature of family The 'cyber-society' The place of voluntary work |
| Unit 2 |
Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues Positive features of a diverse society |
| Unit 3 |
Artistic culture in the French-speaking world A culture proud of its heritage |
| Unit 4 |
Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment |
| Assessment AS- |
3 Exams Listening, reading & writing Writing Speaking |
| Assessment A-Level |
3 Exams Listening, reading & writing Writing Speaking |
| Next steps - Careers/HE courses | Any career in a country where the language is spoken. Linguistics Translation Journalism and publishing Hospitality Sector Economics Social and Political Sciences Research |
| Suggested links to resources |
Coming soon! |
