Modern Foreign Languages

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. At University of Birmingham School, we strive to provide a high-quality languages education, to foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.

Our curriculum is structured to enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. We believe in the importance of providing opportunities for our pupils to communicate for practical purposes, whilst learning new ways of thinking.

At Key Stage 3, all of our pupils learn French and we equip them with the core skills they need to succeed as language learners. We cover a range of topics that prepare pupils for future study at GCSE and develop listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation skills in lessons. Almost all of our pupils go on to take French GCSE and we offer a fast-track German GCSE course in addition to this, which enables keen linguists to take up the exciting opportunity to study a second modern foreign language at the end of Year 9.

At Key Stage 4, we follow the AQA GCSE course in French and German. We continue to develop the range of skills needed to be a successful language learner: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Grammatical structures are developed in lessons to enable pupils to produce increasingly complex constructions and express themselves in a variety of ways. We continue to study the French-speaking world in all of its diversity, continuing the journey we embark on at Key Stage 3.

At Key Stage 5, we follow the AQA French course. The A Level is an opportunity to refine language-learning skills and become an expert linguist. We study a wide range of fascinating topics in relation to the French-speaking world, from music and cinema to politics and technology. As an A Level linguist, you develop your linguistic repertoire through more complex grammar and vocabulary, whilst gaining the confidence to express and justify your views on a variety of contemporary issues. We study Mathieu Kassovitz’s film La Haine in Year 12 and Albert Camus’ L’étranger in Year 13, developing the skills of close analysis through essay writing in French. A Level French offers students the opportunity to investigate an area of personal interest linked to the French-speaking world through the independent research project.

Throughout our curriculum, we explore film and literature in the original language, enabling the discovery of great works of art in other cultures. From the moment our pupils join us in Year 7, through to the end of our A Level course, our goal is to enable them to master the language-learning process. This therefore provides the foundation for learning further languages, equipping students to study and work in other countries in the future.

Language learning embeds skills that are highly valued in the academic and professional world. The subject trains our pupils to have an eye for detail and to communicate effectively in a range of contexts. At University of Birmingham School, we believe that language learning is a fundamental part of the curriculum, which all young people should access and enjoy. Language learning opens eyes and doors, enabling our pupils and students to enter the world as more eloquent, confident and open-minded global citizens.