Senior School - Modern Language Studies
Staff
Mr Clive Wright (Head of Department), MA, MPhil, Cert Ed, ALCM
Mrs Dawn Haughton, MA, PGCE
Frau Dagmar Braun – Mackle, BA, PGCE
Mlle Myriam Crosse, BA, MA, PGCE
Transition-S2 Courses:
Course in Transition to S2 are designed to build on the primary start which most pupils will have experienced in J3 – J6. Oral work continues to be a point of emphasis, however formal exercises in reading, listening and writing also come into play from Transition. onwards and a course book is used.( In French Encore Tricolore and in German Klasse and Lernpunkt Deutsch) The proper use of a dictionary is taught at this stage as pupils progress from the Usborne publications to standard Collins publications in French and German. In these years pupils are taught to develop a grammatical understanding of the foreign language which will enable them to express their thoughts and ideas in an ever more flexible and confident way.
S3-S6 Courses:
French and German are both studied as a matter of course by pupils until the end of S4 when they will sit either Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2 .Pupils may then progress to Higher and Advanced Higher Italian and Spanish.are also made available as options in S6. A wide variety of media , both technological and traditional, are used to enhance learning. The standard course books at Higher are Au Point and Brennpunkt, however many other materials come into play also. The Department is equipped with satellite reception facilities in French, German, Italian and Spanish and has a range of state of the art digital facilities embracing not only internet but also digitised listening posts and smartboard and digital projectors. Course are designed both for academic excellence and for fluency in a practical context. Senior pupils are encouraged not only where appropriate to consider pursuing their language studies beyond school at university and also to travel to Europe to improve their skills, whether in a work placement or for pleasure.
Extra-Curricular Activities:
The Department also lays emphasis on foreign visits: in S3 a German Exchange is offered ( now in its 12th year) while plans are currently in place for a cross curricular visit to Paris (S5/6) embracing both French and Art.
Within school the Department promotes in particular a cultural awareness of European countries and their languages. Recently we held a European Day in which pupils all through the school enjoyed a wide range of Europe based activities, from food to costume to drama. Visiting speakers are an important part of this programme and we have had visits recently from representatives of the German Consulate and the Alliance Francaise.
For younger pupils also in the Junior School the Department arranges a variety of events to stimulate cultural awareness. There is a French afternoon with songs, food and games and in German an annual celebration of the Sankt Martin legend – as well as of course celebrations of both Noel and Weihnachten!
In all these ways we seek to place the languages we learn in their cultural context.
