Languages at North Gosforth Academy

At North Gosforth Academy, our aim is to:

• Enthuse and inspire our students within a stimulating and welcoming learning environment.
• Support our students as they build up a range of language skills including use of verb tables and dictionaries, phonetics and grammar so that they become more independent and resilient learners.
• Celebrate the culture and history of the target language countries within the topics that we cover and at key points in the year.
• Enable our students to have a positive learning experience which will develop their wider skills including a deeper understanding of their own language.

Key Stage 3

We begin in year 7 by building on the experience that the students have had at their feeder primary schools through appropriate transition activities to prepare them for KS3.

Our year 7 and 8 courses seek to develop the ability to understand and use the foreign language effectively for the purpose of practical communication. At the same time they aim to develop a sense of linguistic and cultural awareness in students. The skills practised and developed in MFL serve to support and enhance our whole-school ethos.

Areas of experience covered include everyday activities, personal life and the world around us. Progress is measured across the four skill areas – listening, reading, writing and speaking through formal and informal assessments that mirror the GCSE examination.

Key Stage 4

The GCSE course aims to extend the students’ language skills through listening, reading, speaking and writing. By studying a language students develop communication and memory skills as well as improving logical thinking skills.

We follow the AQA specification and students are entered for either foundation level papers which could lead to achievement at grades 1 to 5 or higher which could lead to achievement at grades 4 to 9. The course being divided into three broad themes with a range of topics within each:

• Theme 1: Identity and culture
• Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
• Theme 3: Current and future study and employment

To find out more please get in touch with Mrs Gharraie on giovanna.gharraie@northgosforth.co.uk