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Subjects

Modern Foreign Languages

Modern Foreign Languages

Course Overview

(Curriculum intent for Modern Foreign Languages)

The MFL ITT programme seeks to:

Develop strategies and teaching ideas for teaching the four skills; Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Share good practise and teaching resources for specific topics, develop an understanding of assessment at all key stages, including AFL strategies and the importance of feed forward tasks. Develop an awareness of inclusion in the classroom and ideas on how to cater for the needs of all students. Find engaging and motivating activities to make language learning fun.

As a result, it is intended that MFL trainee teachers will be able to:

  • Develop their subject knowledge to a depth and breadth that enables them to teach their subject at KS3-KS4 with confidence and competence
  • Understand the pedagogy of their subject and be both deliberate and judicious in their choice of methods and approaches
  • Be able of the curriculum requirements for the age range they teach and have awareness of how content is chosen to be broad, balanced and deliberately sequenced
  • Understand how learning happens in their subject and be able to use a range of approaches to ensure that knowledge is more likely to be retained
  • Learn about the statutory assessment arrangements for MFL and be able to guide and prepare students for both internal and external assessment
  • Anticipate and address common misconceptions within planning and lesson delivery
  • Develop students’ hinterland knowledge and intellectual curiosity
  • Use a wide range of subject terminology and be aware of strategies to help students use these terms for themselves
  • Provide learners with actionable, motivational and manageable subject specific feedback in order for them to make progress in their learning
  • Create classroom climates that are inclusive for all learners regardless of ability or background through an awareness of potential barriers to learning and how to overcome these
  • Learn how to activate hard thinking in their subject as a result of a deliberate approach to structuring, explaining, questioning, interacting and embedding knowledge

Useful Websites

Exam boards:

AQA - German

AQA - French

AQA - Spanish 

Edexcel Pearson

Eduqas - German

Eduqas - French

Eduqas - Spanish

Explore changes to the GCSEs for MFL

Gov.UK

AQA

Pearson


Details of Subject Association

The Association for Language Learning - www.all-languages.org.uk

Entry Requirements

Mandatory


A degree in Languages or a related subject, at class 2:2 or above
Maths and English GCSE at grade 4/C or above

Recommended


Involvement with young people in some capacity
An awareness of issues in Art & Design Education

Reading List

Below are the essential texts you should read:
  • Pachler, N., Evans, M., Redondo, A. and Fisher, L. (2013) Learning to teach Foreign Languages in the Secondary School. A companion to School Experience (4th edition). London and New York: Routledge
  • Maxwell, J (2019) Making Every MFL Lesson Count: Six Principles to Support Modern Foreign Language Teaching, Crowne House Publishing
Textbooks for the examination board you will be teaching:
  • GCSE specifications for each language (AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas/WJEC)
  • MFL textbooks (dependent on school) Studio/Metro/Dynamo, Viva/Listos/ Claro and Stimmt.
The following texts are not essential reading but would be worth becoming familiar with:
  • Barton, A (2006) Getting the Buggers Into Languages. London: Continuum
  • Conti, G., Smith, S., (2019) Breaking the Sound Barrier: Teaching Language Learners How To Listen
  • Macaro, E (2005) Teaching and Learning a Second Language.
  • Macaro, E., Graham S., Woore R,. (2015) Improving Foreign Language Teaching: Towards a Research-Based Curriculum and Pedagogy 
  • Warren, D., (2019) 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding MFL Lessons. Bloomsbury

Course Funding

For 2024-2025, if you are eligible, you will receive a bursary of £25,000 to train in Modern Foreign Languages

Course Codes

QTS with PGCE, full time or part time - 3DDZ