Languages Faculty
Photo: Year 7 pupils taking part in activities for European Languages Week 2009
French
The French Department is part of a lively, energetic and forward thinking Faculty which achieves very good GCSE and A level results. The A level percentage A/B rate in 2009 was 89% and there was a 100% AS pass rate with 63% A/B grades. Every year significant numbers of pupils go on to study languages at university. All members of the Department strive to provide a varied and interesting curriculum which equips pupils to take on the challenges of the future in terms of linguistic competence and confidence.
French is taught at Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 and numbers that opt for French are growing significantly. Pupils can opt to take French at GCSE but they must choose at least one foreign language GCSE. This is because St Edwards College is a Specialist Language College. To complement Key Stage Three and Four studies, Year Eight pupils have the chance to participate in the very successful Year Eight French trip and Year Nine and Ten pupils can take part in the annual French exchange to the outskirts of Lille, Northern France. This trip is very highly valued by all participants not only as a cultural exchange but also in terms of improvements made linguistically. Each year we also hold a European week of Languages where all faculties include a European dimension in their subject and help to raise awareness of European languages, the countries or famous Europeans in their field. The French Department organises extra lunchtime activities for the pupils in this week
To complement their studies KS5 pupils attend French lectures at Salford university each year and we also employ a dedicated French assistant who is able to work with small groups to improve their speaking.
German
German is taught as a third language and is offered in Year Nine to pupils who enjoy and have an aptitude for languages. Pupils can then opt to study German at GCSE and A level. To complement Key Stage Three studies, Year Nine pupils have the opportunity to participate in the Year Nine German trip to Cologne, where they visit the Christmas markets and practice their German. This is always a very popular and successful trip and in 2009 over half the pupils taking German will be participating in the trip. Pupils also have an opportunity to visit a chocolate factory and Beethoven’s birthplace and take a trip down the beautiful Rhine river. In 2008 pupils studying GCSE and A Level had the chance to take part in an exchange to Kleve in North Germany and there are plans to repeat this again in 2010.
To complement pupils' studies, there is a weekly German club, where pupils can pop in for help with homework, grammar and speaking. Pupils can also listen to German songs, watch videos and read authentic books and magazines. Upper school pupils have the opportunity to attend revision lectures in German at the Goethe Institute in Manchester each year.
Spanish
Spanish is a popular and well-established subject at St Edward’s, with a proven track record of success at both GCSE and A Level, and take-up in both examination courses high. For example, typically 30-40 pupils opt to study Spanish at A Level. The department prides itself on lively interaction between teachers and pupils in the target language, and it is this emphasis on speaking Spanish from the very outset which characterises lessons and gives our pupils the confidence and enthusiasm to succeed.
A carefully structured approach ensures that pupils have a solid grounding in the way Spanish works, enabling them to be creative and inventive in their use of the language. A wide variety of resources are employed to enhance teaching and learning, and additional support is offered in a lunchtime drop-in Spanish Club.
At St Edward’s, Spanish is firmly rooted in its cultural contexts, and pupils are encouraged to explore the rich diversity of the Spanish-speaking world through the study of a range of regions and countries and, at A Level especially, film and literature.
To complement work in the classroom, the department urges pupils to participate in its two annual trips to Spain. There is a hugely popular (and usually oversubscribed!) Year 7 visit to Catalonia, where highlights include tours of the architectural treasures of Barcelona and Gerona, as well as Nou Camp, home to Barcelona Football Club. In Upper School pupils can participate in an exchange with a school in the city of Palencia, north of Madrid, where they are immersed in the ‘real’ Spain, and return with renewed zest for their chosen language.
A host of other activities; study days at institutions in the north-west, conversation classes with a dedicated assistant, informal, fun classes in flamenco dancing, ensure that Spanish offers something for everyone at the College.
Modern Foreign Languages for All
St Edward’s is a Language College, and, as part of its enrichment programme for the Upper School, all Year 12 pupils have the enviable opportunity to study another ‘world’ language as well as the three ‘traditional’ language A levels (French, German and Spanish) usually available in sixth forms.
Languages currently on offer include Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Italian, Russian and Portuguese; all of them important languages globally, all of them exciting gateways to rich and varied cultures, and, sadly, all of them very largely neglected in most British schools. Happily, St Edward’s is a proud exception to such indifference elsewhere, and the menu of languages provided broadly reflects the in-house expertise of teaching staff at the College.
Pupils spend their year developing essential communication skills in their chosen language, focusing principally on speaking and listening, as well as exploring aspects of culture and society. However, reading and writing are integrated into the course, and pupils have fun tackling the different alphabets and scripts in languages such as Russian and Arabic. By the end of the course, pupils can confidently hold conversations in a variety of practical situations and have the foundations for more advanced study at a later date.
At the end of the year, pupils sit a short examination and, if successful (as almost all are), are awarded an ABC certificate at the appropriate level.
This rare programme of lesser-taught languages is greatly valued by pupils, who appreciate the additional breadth and diversity it brings to their studies. It complements their AS work while giving them the chance to do something quite different, and the College is pleased to take the lead in bucking the national decline in language learning by affording our pupils this opportunity to stand out.