We aim to provide students with the expertise of practical communication and understanding of ideas through four key skills: Reading, writing, listening and speaking.
At Beckfoot, students will study either German or French across Key Stage 3. Both languages follow the same scheme of learning. Students may then choose to continue studying the language at GCSE and A level too.
We believe that learning a foreign language should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world, as well as providing opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes. In addition, we aim to help students learn new ways of thinking and access authentic materials (including access to culture, film and literature) in the original language. It should provide the foundation for further language learning, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
Enrichment
We consciously thread schemes which provide cultural capital through our curriculum maps.
All students deepen their knowledge of German, and are therefore familiar not only with German customs and traditions, but the customs and traditions of the world around them.
Assessment
In years 7, 8 and 9, internal assessments will take place throughout each year to monitor student progress and further inform teaching and learning.
At GCSE, students will be assessed in four written exams at the end of Year 11, with mocks and internal assessments over two years to monitor progress.
KS4 Specification
Careers
We provide the the opportunity for students to discuss their future ambitions in the target language. We keep them up to date with the career opportunities that languages can provide and support them language learning outside of school.
- Translator
- Writer/Author
- Teaching professional
- Public Relations professional
- Diplomat
Curriculum Overview
| Year | Cycle 1 | Cycle 2 | Cycle 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Meine Welt und ich: Learning and using key sounds and letters of the German alphabet, numbers and days of the week. Learning to discuss your characteristics with others. Familie and Tiere: Exploring discussing families and pets. | Meine Freizeit: Students will learn to conjugate present tense verbs and express opinions about a range of free time activities. Mein Schule: Students will learn key vocabulary around the topic of school and give their opinion on subjects. | Gute reise: Students will discuss future and current holiday plans and gain insight into German-speaking tourist areas. Cultural capital: Students will have the opportunity to explore a German film. |
| Year 8 | Oracy: Revision of adjectives and opinions to describe a photo and give opinions on it to allow students to speak with increased confidence and better pronunciation. Die Ferien: Students will gain a cultural insight into places in Germany while using new vocabulary and grammatical concepts. | Bist du ein Medienfan? Pupils will express views and opinions about books, TV shows, films and the internet. Bleib gesund! Pupils will express opinions on a healthy lifestyle and what one should and shouldn’t do. | Klassenreisen machen Spaβ: Students will learn key vocabulary to do with the house and home. Berlin – cultural capital: Pupils are able to explore the sights of modern day Berlin and become familiar with key features of the city while discussing the cities complex history. |
| Year 9 | Oracy: Revision of adjectives and opinions to describe a photo and give opinions on it. Musik – music: This unit allows students the opportunity to explore German music using new vocabulary and grammatical structures to share their opinions and talk about preferences. | Vorbilder – role models: Students have the opportunity to discuss who their role models are and why. Meine Ambitonen – ambition: The conditional tense is revisited here, with the students focusing on student ambitions. | Die Kindheit – Childhood: This topic lays the foundations of key grammar to talk about childhood experiences. Rechte and Pflichten – age limits: This unit focusses on giving students the opportunity to explore their rights and responsibilities in the world. |
| Year 10 | Grammar: The main aim is to ensure basics, using high frequency present tense verbs and identifying patterns in the 4 tenses. Free time and activities: Free time activities such as sport, live events, film and TV. | Identify relationships with others: Family, descriptions and relationships with others. Environment, healthy living and festivals: Students will identify environmental problems, how they can stay healthy and festivals and German traditions. | Where people live: Students will talk about their town/village/neighbourhood, discussing what there is to see and do and the weather. They will also describe their ideal town and use prepositions to say where things are. Travel and tourism: Talking about holidays in present, past and future and describing an idea holiday. Destinations, transport, accommodation, weather, activities and opinions. |
| Year 11 | Im Urlaub: Talking about holidays in present, past and future tense and practising the conditional tense. Rund um die arbeit: Students will explore future job and career opportunities and share their own desires for the future. | Eine wunderbare welt: Students will cover environment, global issues, and social issues such as homelessness. Oral exam preparation: Students will begin to prepare for their speaking exam. | Exam period and revision covering all four key skills: Students will have ample opportunity to prepare for the listening, reading and writing exam. |