Academic Departments - Modern Languages

At St. David’s we value the teaching of Modern Languages very highly and at present offer the experience of three languages, French, Spanish and German to all girls in years 7,8 and 9. All study French from years 7 to 9. German is also taught in years 7 and 8 with Spanish being introduced for a term and a half in year 8. Girls continue with French but can choose between German and Spanish in year 9. They can choose to take one or both of their languages for GCSE. We hope to foster a love of communicating in a foreign language and to promote understanding of other cultures by learning about the different customs and traditions.

We aim to motivate pupils with enjoyable and interactive lessons. Activities may include listening to dialogues on tapes or watching scenes on video. They will practise speaking by taking part in surveys or role-plays and other interactive games. An interactive whiteboard is used in many different ways to enhance learning and is a great motivator. Reading skills are developed by studying a variety of texts and written work is developed by both tasks in class and homework assignments. Many homework tasks are creative or are based on work using ICT for example designing a brochure, writing short articles or poems. PowerPoint presentations are used as a powerful teaching and learning tool. We encourage girls to make full use of the many websites, which are available on the Internet. The learning of formal grammar is within the framework of a topic and we encourage girls to use grammar as a structure for their learning.

At GCSE the areas studied are self and family, home and abroad, school and work experience, leisure and the media. The written element of the exam takes the form of coursework.

At Advanced level, students begin to develop their language and use it in a more sophisticated way. They learn to present an argument by studying controversial issues including crime and punishment, politics, the media and racism. The oral exam at AS and at A2 encourages students to acquaint themselves with several aspects of culture and coursework at A2 further develops their knowledge of the chosen country. Lessons are presented through different media, including topical magazines and newspaper articles, film and the Internet. Homework will include written exercises, preparing oral presentations, researching on the Internet for news items on which to report, listening to self-study tapes and reading and writing short articles.

There are several study days arranged throughout the course and the French, Goethe and Spanish Institutes are visited for research. A number of our students study two languages and continue with them at university.

There are annual trips abroad, including a French trip to Normandy in the lower school, a further trip to France in years 10 and 11, a flourishing German exchange, a visit to Barcelona for the Spanish students as well as work experience in the country of their choice for Sixth Formers. Every opportunity is used to practise speaking the foreign language. We also host an annual visit by a Spanish school, which often result in firm friendships being made.

Back to Academic Departments