Welcome to the MFL Department page!

Listen to some examples of our work:

Radio Espana Immigration 1
Radio Espana Immigration 2
Radio Espana Immigration 3

The department comprises of 5 full time language teachers and 3 part time.

HoD Mr D Thorne
Assistant HoD Miss E Goss
Miss F Garside (raise tutor) Teacher of Spanish and French
Miss S Ladson Teacher of Spanish and French
Mr. S Barber Teacher of Spanish and French
Mrs P Clayton (School inclusion) Teacher of French
Mrs G Martinez  Part Time teacher of Spanish and French
Mrs L Barton Part Time teacher of Spanish and French

The department also has a Spanish foreign language assistant and a French foreign language assistant.

An introduction to the department:
For the academic year the MFL team comprises six full time members of teaching staff and one part time member. There are 6 full time MFL classrooms in J block that are permanent teaching bases for MFL. We also have use of a smaller study room for use in J17. Two MFL classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards and associated technologies. The four other classrooms all benefit from the use of data projectors.

The MFL Department endeavours to ensure that all students regardless of ability have a positive learning experience. Lessons are interactive and incorporate the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Visits are planned to France and Spain to enhance students’ learning experience. New and exciting opportunities to exchange emails and work with students in France and Spain are planned for the future.

Why learn languages?
In a world that is increasingly getting smaller the need to speak another language and understand other cultures is becoming more important.

One of the most popular TV adverts of late has been the HSBC advert, the one where the traveller offends the monk by showing him his feet in Thailand and the Chinese boy is happy to receive a red card. The internet and cheap flights bring us into contact with speakers of another language more than ever before.

Consider the following facts:
One in five companies is losing business because they need to communicate better in another language.
• 90% of the world’s population live in a country where English is not the native tongue.
• Internet users are 3 times more likely to buy when addressed in their mother tongue.
• 60% of British trade is with no-English speaking countries.
Learning a language is fun and rewarding but perhaps more importantly it develops a whole host of life skills; using our memory, literacy, numeracy, cultural understanding, interacting with others and expressing oneself with confidence.

What can a student expect when learning Modern Foreign Languages at The Streetly Academy?
● Interesting, fun, fast-paced, interactive lessons
● Friendly, enthusiastic and helpful staff
● The chance to improve many essential life skills
● Opportunities to participate in trips to France and Spain
● The opportunity to learn key language to use when travelling abroad

The courses we follow …

At Key Stage 3...
Students have 3 hours of languages per week and most study both French and Spanish. Students are assessed on four language skills; Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. In French the textbook Expo is used and in Spanish we use Caminos. Here is a broad outline of the topics covered …

Year 7
Greeting people and introducing yourself, the alphabet, numbers, colours, days, months, saying when your birthday is, classroom equipment and bag items, describing appearance and personality, describing family and pets, giving your opinion, telling the time, academy, clothes, Christmas and Easter in Spain and France.

Year 8
Talking about where you live, the weather, sports and hobbies, describing your house, arranging to go out with friends, daily routine and chores, TV programmes and films, transport, European countries and the Euro.

Year 9
Food and drink, shopping, body, illnesses and medical advice, talking about what you need to do to lead a healthy lifestyle, holidays, jobs and careers.

At Key Stage 4...
Students in Key Stage 4 follow the new OCR GCSE course. The course gives students the opportunity to develop their understanding of the spoken and written forms of French or Spanish in a range of contexts and develop the ability to communicate effectively in the target language using a range of vocabulary and structures. Students also develop their knowledge and understanding of French and Spanish grammar and they develop their knowledge of countries and communities where the language is spoken.

Students are assessed on the four language skills – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Listening & Speaking are each worth 20% of the final GCSE grade and both Speaking and Writing are worth 30%. For the writing element students submit 2 pieces of coursework which they prepare over the two year course.

At Key Stage 5...

Students take the AQA AS course in year 12 and can then carry on to the AQA A2 course in year 13 if they wish. The main aims of the French and Spanish AS and A2 courses are to help students to;
● develop their understanding of spoken and written French/Spanish from a variety of registers;
● develop their understanding and application of the French/Spanish grammatical system.
● communicate confidently, clearly and effectively in the target language through speaking and writing, using increasingly accurate, complex and varied language;
● develop the ability to be creative and imaginative when communicating in speech and writing;
● learn to manipulate the language accurately to organise facts and ideas and to present explanations, opinions and information in speech and writing;
● develop their appreciation of cultural aspects of France/Spain and French/Spanish speaking countries by exploring aspects of the society, culture and communities. (Students study topics based on the country, its geography, institutions and contemporary culture.)

The English Baccalaureate.
The English Baccalaureate includes the study of a language, where research has shown that there are clear advantages in terms of cognitive skills and understanding. A foreign language is part of the essential knowledge and understanding which all pupils should have to take their places as educated members of society. The English Baccalaureate pleasingly recognises languages as a key discipline, common to national curricular across the globe and it’s vital importance for our national and international economy. More and more universities are now requesting that students have post 16 qualifications in the English baccalaureate subjects as these facilitate university entry.