GCSE French/Spanish

What does the course involve?

Teaching at GCSE French/Spanish builds on the key skills and topic areas that have been taught at Key Stage 3. Within the classroom we use a variety of teaching strategies; whole class, group work, individual work and ICT.  The four assessed areas are:

• Listening:   Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language

• Speaking:   Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes

• Reading:     Understanding and responding to different types of written language

• Writing:      Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes

How is work assessed?

Exam board: AQA

For GCSE French/Spanish, a terminal rule applies.  Students will follow a linear course where they will be externally examined in May/June of Year 11. Students are either entered at higher or foundation level and will sit exams in listening, speaking, reading and writing - each is worth 25% of the overall grade.  Decisions for level of entry will be made in January of Year 11.

The GCSE course is divided into three main themes:

1. Identity and Culture
2. Local, national, international and global areas of interest
3. Current and Future Study and employment

What courses can this lead to in Post-16?

To progress onto an A Level course in French or Spanish, you will need to achieve grade 6 or above in your chosen language.

Languages can be used in a variety of different sectors such as law, accountancy, marketing, teaching, translation and interpretation, medicine and can be studied at university as a standalone subject or many courses offer it as a combined honours course, for example:  Law and Spanish.

Trips

For Spanish, students are offered the opportunity to accompany us on a visit to Cadiz, Spain. The itinerary will be tailored to suit the students that are accompanying us.

Year 10 Schedule of Work

During Year 10, we concentrate on Identity and Culture (Theme 1) and part of Local, National, International and global areas of interest (Theme 2).

We focus on key grammar points as we teach and ensure that students are competent in these whilst also ensuring that we cover the four main skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Translation is also another key focus.

We assess on a termly basis and use GCSE style questions so that students familiarise themselves with them over the two years, leading up to the final GCSE in the Summer of Year 11.  At the end of Year 10, all language students will have a mock speaking exam so that they can become more confident in the style of examination.