| Mission Statement |
The Mount School exists to provide
a high standard of education for girls to help them
to discover and develop their talents. We have high
expectations of all our girls in all activities.
We ensure a well-rounded, academic, balanced environment
for girls to develop their full potential. We give
firm and friendly support in a co-operative atmosphere
enabling girls to make positive contributions as
good citizens in all realms of their future.
Three European languages are taught at The Mount
School, French, Spanish and German. Spanish is currently
offered to all pupils in Year 8. Japanese is offered
at GCSE and A Level to native speakers. The department
is committed to ensuring the full achievement of
all its pupils.
All girls in Years 7-8 take French and Spanish is
re-introduced in Year 9. At the end of Year 9 pupils
choose their options, whether to continue with French
or Spanish as their compulsory core language and
whether to take the other as an extra option. They
can also add on German which is studied to GCSE
in two years. All three languages are currently
being studied at AS/A2 level in years 12 and 13.
Students in the Sixth form attend courses organised
by the examination boards to improve study skills
and background information. We use the Edexcel examining
board to both levels.
There are four teachers in the department and a
language language assistant who does the oral work
with GSCE and A level pupils.
We have strong links with the Junior school where
French is taught from year 2. All girls in Year
7 are therefore, settled for French to enable those
who have already studied French to build on their
knowledge but to allow those coming in from feeder
schools to learn the language from scratch. Sets
continue thereafter from Year 10 in both French,
Spanish and German. Some able pupils have the opportunity
to take GCSE a year early in Year 10, as do bi-lingual
girls.
We have two residential cultural visits for Year
9 pupils to Lille in France and Valencia in Spain
during the autumn half-term and Spring half-term.
There is a day trip to Boulogne for Years 4, 5 &
6 in the Summer.
We encourage the use of ICT wherever possible and
find the internet an invaluable source of information
and help. Teaching resources include textbooks,
Mary Glasgow and Authentik magazines, videos, DVD’s,
CD’s, tapes, games. The library is well stocked
with reference books for all levels including juniors.
We also aim to keep the profile of the subject as
high as possible within the school, to emphasise
that language learning is not only vital in today’s
society but also a rewarding and fun activity in
its own right.
Head of Modern Languages.
June 2008 |
Sixth Form
We are always encouraging students
to take A Levels in MFL as there are various reasons
for this: |
| • |
The awareness
of the importance of knowing another European
Language as citizens of a member country of
the European Union |
| • |
The opportunities
offered to Modern Linguists in business, both
in Great Britain and around the world |
| • |
The wider variety
of courses available at universities in Modern
Languages or subjects combined with them,
for example, Law or Business Studies |
| • |
The change in
the Syllabus content so as to complement to
GCSE Syllabus |
| • |
The great emphasis
on the 4 skills of listening, speaking, reading
and writing |
|
The Mount School offers French, Spanish, German,
Japanese and any other language on request at Advanced
Level. For the exceptional linguist, languages can
be combined. It is also possible in some circumstances
to take a GCSE in a second language during the A-Level
course.
The new syllabus (first examination 2009) for A
Level has been modified. They are now modular based
and consist of 4 units: |
| • |
2 at Advanced
Subsidiary Level |
| • |
2 at Advanced
Level |
|
NB: Advanced Subsidiary Level is
now a 1 year course and may be taken by students
who do not intend to continue with the Advanced
Level course, as well as students who do.
The A2 course is a progression from the Advanced
Subsidiary and entails another year’s study.
The structure of the 2 examinations is as follows:
AS provides a logical progression from GCSE offering: |
| • |
Discrete skill-specific
testing |
| • |
Focus on language |
|
| A2 provides a realistic progression
from AS that: |
| • |
Rewards advanced
research/reading skills |
| • |
Features integrated
skills assessment |
| • |
Acknowledges importance
of knowledge and understanding of the target-language
culture |
| • |
Facilitates literary
study |
|
AS Units |
| |
1. |
Spoken expression
and response in target language |
Externally
set and assessed – 8-10 mins
Responding to set questions
Discussion |
| |
2. |
Understanding
and written response in target language |
30%
of GCSE Grade |
|
| A2 Units |
| |
1. |
Spoken expression
and response in target language |
Internally
conducted – 11-13 minutes
5 minutes speaking on chosen issue, adopting
a stance and justifying opinions
Discussion |
| |
2. |
Research,
understanding and written response in target
language |
Externally
set and assessed – 2 hours
Translation into target language
Target language essay
Research-based essay |
|
| European day of Languages
26th September |
The Modern Languages Department
celebrates the European Day of Languages every year
on the 26th September. This is part of a series
of events designed to encourage a greater awareness
of the importance of studying a foreign language
and the ways in which the ability to speak a foreign
language can increase career opportunities.
The Department organized exhibitions, games, competitions,
demonstrations and food sampling during the afternoon. |
| |
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