Modern Languages

Modern Foreign Languages at The Marlborough School

Vision

At the Marlborough School, we are passionate about offering all our students the opportunity to experience two very different languages: French and German. 

We want our linguists to embrace the challenge of learning new languages, to be curious about how each language works and to be ambitious about learning new vocabulary and structures. In our lessons, there is a strong focus on comprehension, on decoding the language and on students learning the building blocks of the language that they can put together to form increasingly complex sentences. Our curriculum is designed to revisit and consolidate prior learning on a regular basis, and each year students extend their grammatical understanding of the language and further develop their comprehension and communication.

We believe that by studying a language, our students are opening their minds to different cultures and perspectives, broadening their horizons and demonstrating their ambition by challenging themselves to master a complex but highly rewarding and valuable skill.

Ultimately, for our linguists who continue to GCSE and beyond, they should gain the ability to express themselves confidently, both spoken and written, in their chosen language(s). This is a skill which will benefit them in both their personal and professional lives.

Curriculum Map

Each KS3 unit of work is linked to the Unit Overview which specifies core knowledge, vocabulary and forms of assessment. 

GCSE and A level courses are linked to the relevant exam board specification.

French Curriculum 

Year Group	Unit of Work
7	Introduction to French	School	Leisure	Family
8	Media	Paris	Interests	Where you live
9	Relationships	Technology	Leisure	Festivals
10 French GCSE Specification	Unit 1-4 - Revision		Unit 5 - Home	Unit 6 - Social issues	Unit 7 - Global issues
11	Unit 8 Holidays		Units 9-10 School	Units 11-12 Jobs
12 French A level Specification	Grammar	Relationships & Heritage	Technology  &  Music	Volunteering & Cinema	Multiculturalism & Politics
13	Integration & Industrial Action	Immigration & Crime	Cultural topics: Book & film & Individual Research Project

 

German Curriculum

 

Year Group	Unit of Work
7	Introduction to German	Family	Leisure	School
8	Leisure	Past Holidays	Health	Routines
9	Relationships	Leisure	Technology	Festivals
10 German GCSE Specification	Revision 1-4		Unit 5 Home	Unit 6 - Social issues	Unit 7 - Global issues
11	Unit 8 Holidays		Units 9-10 School	Units 11-12 Jobs
12 German A level Specification	Grammar	Relationships & Traditions	Technology  &  Architecture	Media & Berlin Culture	Immigration & Germany’s role in the EU
13	Integration & Politics	The Fight against Racism & Reunification	Cultural topics: Book & film & Individual Research Project

Departmental Team

Mr A Murphy (Head of Department)