The Faculty
Modern Foreign Languages is a rapidly growing and well-resourced department at OSA. In order to support this students will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. In school they can pick up a little Latin or Mandarin, they can work on cross curricular projects such as creating altars in art to celebrate the festival of the “the day of the dead” or they can get involved in the Oxford German Network (a collaboration between Oxford University and local schools) where they have opportunities to use their German in a range of ways from baking to producing videos. OSA has a strong track record of winning prizes for these events. Staff are always on the lookout for exciting opportunities for our students to participate in and we have been involved in film writing competitions, ancient Japanese drama events … A level students have the chance to consolidate their own language skills by working alongside teachers in the classroom supporting younger students. Outside of school they can join the PGL trip to Paris, an art and culture visit to Barcelona or the German exchange.
Parents can support their children throughout their language learning experience at OSA by encouraging them to use resources provided by their teachers and online resources on a regular basis. Some we would recommend are: Activelearn (all students have access and are provided with login and password details by out ICT department), Duolinguo, YouTube “Easy French/German/Spanish”, BBC bite size, and any others that students themselves may find. Additionally, parents will be able to log into “Show my Homework” where the MFL teachers regularly post homework tasks and support materials.
All students will also be provided with relevant grammar and vocabulary sheets to support their progress through each Module of work (there are 4-5 throughout each year). At the end of each Module students will sit assessments in a combination of skills. They will take these when they have successfully completed a Module so this will vary from class to class. To support your child to be well prepared for these assessments please encourage them to use all the resources provided and recommended.
Y7 & 8 Curriculum
Students will start learning either French, German or Spanish when they join us in Y7. They are given a strong foundation of language learning irrespective of which language they study and also an understanding of the culture of all the countries where their language is spoken. They have opportunities to be creative and independent with the language they learn across the key skill areas of Speaking and Writing and to hear and read authentic texts in their language. This is all supported by the latest interactive resources which also prepare them for the ultimate rigours of the GCSE.
GCSE
The majority of students at OSA will take a Modern Foreign Language at GCSE with Edexcel.
From the start of Y9 all students begin a more specific preparation for the GCSE, again focusing strongly on developing the ability to manipulate the language confidently in order to be effective communicators. They continue to have the support of the latest resources with both in class and at home access.
A Level
We continue to offer all 3 languages up to A level where students can develop their language skills to a high level and also develop a deeper appreciation for the culture, history and literature of the countries where their chosen language is spoken.