Useful Links

Useful Links

Modern Foreign Languages

“You live a new life for every language you speak. If you only know one language, you only live once.”

Czech proverb.

At BGGS we are passionate about the benefits that learning a language can bring. We offer languages for all as we strongly believe in languages as a skill for life and something students should enjoy and find rewarding.

Stephen Fry, the celebrated actor, comedian and writer is a renowned polyglot, (able to speak several languages).  Please click here to see why he, like us, believes passionately that languages are important.

Our curriculum allows students to develop intercultural understanding, embrace their own culture and celebrate diversity. We aim to develop confident, resilient learners who can thrive in the world of work using the transferable skills that they have learned. Our objective is to enable students of all abilities to develop their language skills to their full potential, equipping them with the knowledge to communicate in a variety of contexts with assurance.

Here at Bordesley Green Girls' School and Sixth Form, our aim is for students to enhance their intellectual curiosity, their open-mindedness and their engagement, in order to take their place in the world as global citizens.  

For marking and assessment information, click here.  Click on a language to see our curriculum. 

Arabic

French

Spanish

Urdu

Year 7 French

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Basics - Numbers, calendar, classroom language, talking about my age and someone else's, saying when my birthday, and that of another family member, is, describing hair and eyes, Christmas

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Spring

 Saying where I live and am from, talking about my family members, saying their age and how well I get along with them, counting to 100, describing myself and another family member, saying why I like/dislike them, être and avoir.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

  Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Summer

Talking about pets (I have and would like to have), asking key questions, saying what jobs people do, why they like/dislike them and where they work, comparing people's appearance and personality, saying what's in my school bag/classroom, describing colour.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work 

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Year 8 French

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Talking about food, likes/dislikes and why, mealtimes, talking about clothes and accessories I wear, how frequently and when.
Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Spring

Saying what I and others do in our free time, talking about weather and free time, talking about my daily routine.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

  Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Summer
Describing my house, indicating where it is located, saying what I like/dislike about it, saying what I do at home, how often, when and where, talking about future plans for holidays.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

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Year 9 French

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Recap of personal details - talking about name, age, birthday, saying how you are, talking about your nationality and where you live, members of the family and physical description of them, how well you get along with someone and why, your life when young, what makes a good friend, opinions on marriage.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Spring

Talking about activities you do online and why, advantages/disadvantages of life online, activities last weekend and why, free time activities such as sport, music, games, books, tv, film, activities next weekend and why, Easter.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Summer
Talking about festivals you do/do not celebrate and why/how you celebrate, last year's and next year's celebrations, discussing school subjects, likes/dislikes and why, discussing teachers, school rules, differences between French/UK schools.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

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Year 10 French

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Describing town/area where you live, compass directions, saying what is in your town/village, opinions of town/village and future living plans, describing your house/rooms of the house, transport, directions around town, the city of Paris.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

 

Spring
Talking about where you normally go on holiday, how you usually travel, where you stay, usual holiday activities, ordering in a restaurant, describing a past holiday, problems on holiday, where you plan to go for a future holiday, regions of France.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Summer

Discussing school location, facilities, clubs, discussing daily routine and school timetable, giving opinions about uniform, your ideal uniform, plans post-GCSE, other future plans, discussing Work Experience, famous French-speaking people.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

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Year 11 French

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Talking about charity work and volunteering, discussing illnesses, issues such as healthy eating, obesity, smoking, alcohol, drugs, environmental and other global problems, what we should do to help the environment/resolve global problems.

 

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Spring

Discussing plans for later life, plans for travel, where you would like to live and why. Revision of all topics/past paper practice for mock exams.

 

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work

Summer

Exams

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of Term Combined Assessment Tasks - on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work 

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Year 8 Arabic

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Alphabet, word formation, myself and family, pets

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and Sept & Oct work

End of term combined assessment task on the whole term’s work.

Spring

Classroom objects, where do you live, school, school subjects

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and January & February work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

Interests, sports, Music

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and April & May work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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Year 9 Arabic

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Free time activities, socialising with friends and family, likes/dislikes

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and Sept & Oct work

End of term combined assessment task on the whole term’s work.

Spring

Preferences; experiences; destinations

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and January & February work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

Customs and everyday life; food and drink; shopping

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and April & May work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Extra-Curricular Activities

 

Year 10 Arabic

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Reading; music; sport; film and television, everyday life, celebration

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and Sept & Oct work

End of term combined assessment task on the whole term’s work.

Spring

Food and drink; shopping; social media and technology

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and January & February work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

Town, region and country

Holidays, school

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and April & May work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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Year 11 Arabic

Term

Topic  Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Local area, Holiday preferences; experiences; destinations, accommodation, dealing with problems.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and Sept & Oct work

End of term combined assessment task on the whole term’s work.

Spring

School types; school day; subjects; rules, school trips

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and January & February work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

Jobs; careers and professions

Ambitions, further study; volunteering, environment

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and April & May work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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Year 8 Spanish
Term Topic Enquiry Questions/  Key Skills Type of Assessment
Autumn

Basics - Numbers, calendar, classroom language, talking about my age and someone else's, saying when my birthday, and that of another family member, is, describing hair and eyes, Christmas

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Spring

Saying where I live and am from, talking about my family members, saying their age and how well I get along with them, counting to 100, describing myself and another family member, saying why I like/ dislike them.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Summer
Talking about pets (I have and would like to have), asking key questions, saying what jobs people do, why they like/dislike them and where they work, comparing people's appearance and personality, saying what's in my school bag/classroom, describing colour.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

 

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Year 9 Spanish
Term Topic Enquiry Questions/ Key Skills Type of Assessment
Autumn

Recap of personal details - talking about name, age, birthday, saying how you are, talking about your nationality and where you live, members of the family and physical description of them, how well you get along with someone and why, your life when young, what makes a good friend, opinions on marriage.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Spring

Talking about activities you do online and why, advantages/disadvantages of life online, activities last weekend and why, free time activities such as sport, music, games, books, tv, film, activities next weekend and why, Easter.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Summer

Talking about festivals you do/do not celebrate and why/how you celebrate, last year's and next year's celebrations, discussing school subjects, likes/dislikes and why, discussing teachers, school rules, differences between Spanish/UK schools.
Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

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Year 10 Spanish
Term Topic Enquiry Questions/ Key Skills Type of Assessment
Autumn

Describing town/area where you live, compass directions, saying what is in your town/village, opinions of town/village and future living plans, describing your house/rooms of the house, transport, directions around town, the city of Madrid.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Spring

Talking about where you normally go on holiday, how you usually travel, where you stay, usual holiday activities, ordering in a restaurant, describing a past holiday, problems on holiday, where you plan to go for a future holiday, regions of Spain.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Summer

Discussing school location, facilities, clubs, discussing daily routine and school timetable, giving opinions about uniform, your ideal uniform, plans post-GCSE, other future plans, discussing Work Experience, famous Spanish-speaking people.
Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

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Year 11 Spanish
Term Topic Enquiry Questions/ Key Skills Type of Assessment
Autumn

Talking about charity work and volunteering, discussing illnesses, issues such as healthy eating, obesity, smoking, alcohol, drugs, environmental and other global problems, what we should do to help the environment/resolve global problems.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Spring

Discussing plans for later life, plans for travel, where you would like to live and why. Revision of all topics/past paper practice for mock exams.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half termly assessment on the skill of Writing, from this half-term's work

End of term combined assessment task on all skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Translation, on whole term's work.

Summer

Examination preparation and revision

External Examinations

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Year 8 Urdu

Term

Topic  Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Alphabets, Jor tor, word formation, Myself

Developing the skills of reading, writing, forming three and four letter words and grammar.

 

Half term assessment on reading and writing skills. Topic: Alphabets and Jor Tor.

End of term combined assessment task Alphabets and Myself

Spring

Classroom, subjects

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- Reading, Writing and listening test on My house and My class room, focus on Translation and writing simple sentences.

 End of term assessment- on Physical appearance, classroom and My House.

Summer

My hobbies, Likes and dislikes

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- Speaking and listening about Hobbies.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September.

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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Year 9 Urdu

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

 

My family, extended family and friends

Developing the skills of reading, writing, translation and grammar.

 

Half term assessment- on family and friends

End of term combined assessment task on Daily routine, My family and friends.

Spring

My Town, Food and drinks

Developing the skills of reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on My Town,reading,writing,Translation and Grammar

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

My school, Subjects and opinions

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on My school, subjects and opinions. Writing short sentences and reading.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September. Also numbers, months and days of the week.

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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Year 10 Urdu

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

My school, facilities and subjects.  Professions and Work Experience.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar and Exam style questions. (40 and 90 word tasks)

Half Term Assessment.  My school, facilities and subjects.  Reading, writing and grammar test.

End of term combined assessment task on the whole term's work.

Spring

 

Technology in Everyday Life/ Use of Mobile Phones.  Lifestyle and Healthy Eating

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- On Technology and use of Mobile phones. Reading, writing and speaking, (Role Play)

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

TV and Cinéma

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- TV and Cinéma

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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Year 11 Urdu

Term

Topic   Enquiry questions/ Key skills

Type of Assessment

Autumn

Travel and Tourism - My Holidays.  Celebrations and Festivals.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- A Holiday Abroad

End of term combined assessment task on the whole term’s work.

Spring

Global Issues, Poverty and Pollution.  Weddings

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- Global Issues, Poverty and Pollution. Weddings

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Summer

Revision and Preparation for exams.  Questions from past papers.

Developing the skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation and grammar.

Half term assessment- on two skills and April & May work.

End of term assessment- on all work so far since September

Extra-Curricular Activities 

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MFL Marking & Assessment

How will classwork be marked/

monitored/

graded/

self-assessed?

KS3

Once every 3 weeks; combination of verbal feedback, teacher monitoring using red pen, peer assessment and self-assessment.

KS4

Once every 3 weeks; combination of verbal feedback, teacher monitoring using red pen, peer assessment and self-assessment.

KS5

Once every 3 weeks; combination of verbal feedback, teacher marking using red pen and self-assessment.

What classwork will be marked?

KS3

Teachers will comment using red pen and/or praise stickers and improvement stickers, e.g. spelling, accents, etc.

 

KS4

Teachers will comment using red pen and/or praise stickers and improvement stickers, e.g. spelling, accents, etc.

KS5

Teachers will comment using Red pen.

 

How will students ‘reflect’ on marking/ feedback?

KS3/KS4/KS5

Students complete SMART Marking DIRT tasks and respond to feedback once a half term

How will Homework be marked/

monitored/

graded?

KS3

Peer and self-assessment. Marks recorded by teacher. 

KS4

Exam questions will be marked by teachers as well as self-assessment marking. Marks recorded by teacher.

KS5

Essays will be marked by the teacher and marks recorded

What are the formal Assessments? When are they marked?

KS3- End of Unit assessment completed termly. End of Year exams for Years 7-9 students in the summer term. All assessments are teacher marked and student feedback.

KS4- past exam question paper once every half term.

Year 11 winter and spring Mock exams with feedback given to the students. Students also provide feedback.

Year 10 End of Year exams in the summer term, including a formal speaking exam. Teacher feedback given to the students. Students also provide feedback.

KS5- past exam question paper once every half term, as well as Spring Trial exams.