Modern Languages

Courses

S1-3 Curriculum for Excellence

In S1 pupils have 2 periods of French and 2 periods of Spanish each week. In S2 pupils have 3 periods of French and 2 periods of Spanish each week. The pupils are developing their skills in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing in the foreign language as they work through a variety of topics. In S1 Spanish we cover units which include: greetings and classroom language, myself and others, family, physical descriptions and animals. In S2 Spanish pupils cover numbers, time, daily routine and pastimes and school.

In S3, for pupils who choose to continue with French and/or Spanish, we follow the principles of Curriculum for Excellence by adhering to the Broad General Education format. Topics covered in depth include: Where I live, Family and Friends, Lifestyle - Healthy Living - Media, School - Education, Jobs - The World of Work and Holiday - Planning a trip.

Senior Phase S4-6

In S4 pupils will work at National 4 or National 5 depending on their performance over S1-3.

Both National 4 and National 5 courses are based around 4 theme areas: Society, Learning, Employability and Culture.

Assessment

The National 4 course is assessed entirely in school. There is no final SQA exam. The National 4 course contains compulsory units and an Added Value Unit in which pupils will apply their language skills to investigate a chosen topic in a familiar context in the foreign language.

The compulsory units are:

· Understanding language – developing skills in Reading and Listening, and

· Using language which develops Talking and Writing skills.

At National 5 there will be a formal SQA exam which will consist of a Reading and Writing paper [50marks: 30 + 20] and a Listening paper [20marks]. There is also coursework which consists of the Assignement - Writing [20marks] done in class and under exam condition and the Performance - Talking [30marks], where the pupils must deliver a presentation or take part in a short conversation. This will be recorded and assessed by the class teacher.

In S5/6 pupils continuing with a Modern Language will be able to do Higher or Advanced Higher.

Homework

Pupils will need to learn vocabulary and grammar points thoroughly. Vocabulary should be learned little and often.

They will also have to do written homework and prepare for internal assessments.

They should try to expose themselves to the foreign language as much as possible, watching foreign films, reading foreign newspapers or listening to music.