Modern Foreign Languages

Curriculum Intent Statement for: Modern Foreign Languages at COLAI

The curriculum we offer our students reflects the aims and aspirations we have for them.

We aim to:

Give students the knowledge, understanding and skills to communicate in and understand the target language. This will allow students to progress onto the next stage of their education, irrespective of their prior attainment, background or ethnicity.

  • The Modern Foreign Languages Department aims to produce confident, capable and articulate linguists who can work independently.
  • Our students are able to use and understand a range of vocabulary, tenses and complex structures as well as express opinions and offer justifications in the target language.
  • Learning is themed around real world topics and issues which gradually introduces increasingly complex levels of language to stretch and challenge students.

Produce students with high aspirations, resilience and independence so that they can maximise the opportunities they are given to progress.

  • We aim for the majority of students at KS3 to continue with MFL at KS4.
  • Students are provided with a well-planned and challenging curriculum.
  • High expectations set the tone in lessons.
  • Students are expected to learn from their mistakes and are constantly encouraged to do so.
  • Students are able to achieve and be successful in lessons. We celebrate the achievements of our linguists because learning a language is a great achievement.
  • Our curriculum is disciplinary, and not heavily influenced by the examination specification. In this way we can be confident that it is future-proof. Our emphasis is on developing the key skills and knowledge to ensure our students become effective communicators, both orally and in writing, in the foreign language that they study.

Provide an ambitious, progressive curriculum to allow students to maximise their attainment by developing the skills and talents they already hold.

  • We have a spiral and cumulative curriculum, which means that we revisit content and skills regularly to ensure that they are learned well. Our curriculum maps and schemes of work make use of published textbook resources, but these are only used to the extent that support effective pedagogy in terms of second language acquisition.
  • It is through the spiral and cumulative structure that we ensure an appropriate level of depth in our curriculum. Our units of work are thematic, but content (vocabulary, phonics and grammar) is interleaved throughout them, with ample opportunity for spaced retrieval.
  • Our KS3 Curriculum is designed around Mastery of the four modalities of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students have clear descriptors for each mastery strand in order to track their progress.
  • Students are regularly afforded opportunities to learn and work from memory to ensure they are fully prepared for the demands of GCSE.
  • The essential vocabulary, knowledge, grammar and phonics are introduced at KS3 and deepened at KS4, progressing cumulatively and revisited regularly

Provide students with a range of enrichment opportunities to help them become responsible citizens who can make a positive contribution to society.

  • European Day of Languages is celebrated each year to celebrate diversity and difference.
  • The MFL Department organises trips abroad to develop an awareness and understanding of France and Spain, their people and culture. Learning a language is important. We aim to challenge the view that learning a language is not necessary.
  • We offer after-school, holiday and weekend revision sessions to highlight the importance of hard work, independence and co-operation in order to be a successful and productive member of society.
  • Turkish is a part of our KS4 and KS5 offer, which reflects our local community.

MFL Curriculum Maps 2023-24

French

Spanish

Turkish

City of London Academy Islington

Prebend Street | Islington | N1 8PQ

Telephone: 020 7226 8611

Registered in England: No 6426966, City of London Academy Islington Limited is a Registered Charity no: 1121962