Curriculum
AT SHIRELAND WE STRONGLY BELIEVE IN LANGUAGES AS A SKILL FOR LIFE AND WANT SPANISH AND FRENCH TO BE SUBJECTS THAT YOU REALLY ENJOY AND FIND REWARDING. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO ENABLE YOU TO DEVELOP YOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS TO YOUR FULL POTENTIAL, GIVING YOU THE KNOWLEDGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH CONFIDENCE IN SPANISH AND/OR FRENCH.
Learning Languages opens so many opportunities that you may never have even thought about, not just in business but in the fields of medicine, law, engineering, architecture, art, science and of course travel and tourism.
We also celebrate the diverse cultures and backgrounds our students are from and so they can choose to study a community language, in addition to the GCSE qualifications they choose.
curriculum overview
KS3 Spanish
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| 听 | Autumn 1, Autumn 2, Spring 1 | Spring 2, Summer 1, Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Todo sobre mi (All about me): THEMES & VOCABULARY: Phonics, Alphabet, Greetings, Numbers & Dates, Colours, Pencil Case items, Personal Information (Name, age, looks, personality) Where you come from, Family members, Pets GRAMMAR: 1st person singular moving to full verb (singular and plural) for the key verbs ‘tener鈥� and ‘ser/estar鈥� and adding more verbs throughout the term in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular and plural. Using regular -er verbs (Simple opinions to be introduced and complexity added as the year progresses.) Introduction to Gender, Present Tense, adjectives and their m/f/pl agreements, asking questions, adverbs of time and frequency, simple comparative (m谩s/menos… que), simple relative pronouns to use when talking about family members (e.g. a brother, who…) and simple imperfect tense of ‘tener’ and ‘ser/estar’ with ‘cuando’ to describe what we used to look like, possessive adjectives, negatives. | Mi tiempo libre (Free time): THEMES & VOCABULARY: Sports and Hobbies, Social Media Activities, TV and Film, Weather, Time, where you do activities (home/park etc) GRAMMAR: Present Tense (regular -er verbs and the irregulars of ‘hacer’ ‘ir’ 鈥榡ugar鈥�, prepositions after these verbs; Opinions and justifications, adverbs of frequency, (puesto que, dado que, etc.), Introduction to and use of the future tense in Spanish, complex opinions, time-markers, weather phrases. |
| 8 | Mi casa (My home): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: We will begin by looking at describing our house and its location, then move inside the house to look at rooms/furniture and prepositions. We will continue to revise opinion and justification vocabulary. The verb 鈥榲ivir鈥� where you live + location, number and type of rooms, basic activities you like/don’t like to do at home, furniture. GRAMMAR: (introduced/revisited) gender (m/f/pl) adjectives and endings, opinions (with infinitive) and justification with simple prepositions. | En mi ciudad (My town and area): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: Where we live, talking about our areas, buildings in town, what there is to do in our town (activities), why you like/don’t like where you live, and how we can be responsible citizens with regards to the environment around us, what you did recently in your town. We will spend some time different housing and types of lifestyles in Spain. GRAMMAR: opinions and justification, se puede + infinitive for 5 key verbs hacer/jugar/ir/ver/visitar. Introduction to past tense through SB with the same 5 key verbs and familiar vocabulary. |
| 9 | Las vacaciones (holidays): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: looking at different countries and holiday destinations and include information on accommodation, what you can do at your holiday destination – including places in town and transactional vocabulary for moving around. By the end of the unit, students should be able to describe their holidays confidently using at least 3 different time frames or 3 tenses from the 4 so far introduced. (Present, Imperfect, Perfect and Future). Vocabulary covered to include destinations, methods of transport, weather, accommodation and details of the area you are staying, travel transactions, directions, holiday activities, what to do if you are ill on holiday, spending money and buying souvenirs, opinions of the holiday GRAMMAR: Past, Imperfect, Present and Future Tenses, conditional tense with ‘si’ to say what you would do next time, modal verbs, complex opinions and justifications, a selection of conjunctions, prepositions, imperative for instructions. | La m煤sica, el cine y los libros (Music, Film and Books): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: A cultural-based unit of work, selected to allow students to experience the effect of a civil war in a Spanish speaking country (El Salvador). Thus, students will increase their awareness of social, economic and historical developments in the Spanish-speaking world and to increase their cultural knowledge through a more tangible topic. The outcome is for students to be able to review the connection in between Spain and South America regarding their: languages, customs, religion, traditions. GRAMMAR: Revision of adverbs, adjectives, 5 tenses so far covered. |
KS4 Spanish
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| 听 | Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F : La dieta mediterr谩nea H: Los institutos en Espa帽a THEMES & VOCAB Introductions Personality Family Relationships Types of Family Friends and Friendship GRAMMAR: Present Tense (-er, -ir, -re) Reflexive Verbs Using que Adjectives -agreement and position Comparative Adjectives Future Tense of regular -er verbs Present participles of regular verbs | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F : La dieta mediterr谩nea H: Los institutos en Espa帽a THEMES & VOCAB Food Preferences Health Problems and Addiction Lifestyle choices and habits Recent Activities Challenges of healthy lifestyle GRAMMAR: Negatives Near Future Modal verbs Obligational verbs Preterit and imperfect tense (regulars) Positions of adverbs Plural Nouns Present & Future together Irregular present participles | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F : La dieta mediterr谩nea H: Los institutos en Espa帽a THEMES & VOCAB School Rules Studies Post16 Discussing Jobs Jobs in the creative industry Dream School Work Experience GRAMMAR: Obligational verbs Negatives Auxiliary verbs (haber) Ordinal numbers Nouns Feminine personal nouns Indefinite adjectives Conditional of regular verbs | THEME 2: Popular Culture F El mundo TikToker / Los premios 铆dolo H: Los premios Goya THEMES & VOCAB Hobbies and Sports Leisure Activities in the Past Plans for Leisure activities TV, Cinema, Music GRAMMAR: Imperfect Tense (regular verbs) Preterit and imperfect tense (irregular verbs) Adverbs ending in -mente Emphatic pronouns (yo/tu) Near Future | THEME 2: Popular Culture F El mundo TikToker / Los premios 铆dolo H: Los premios Goya THEMES & VOCAB Leisure activities around the world Customs and Celebrations Birthdays and other special days Extreme Sports Popular Culture in the Past GRAMMAR: Present Tense (Irregular verbs) Revising Preterit and imperfect tense Questions + inversion Irregular plural nouns y + en Imperfect Tense Modals in the perfect tense | THEME 2: Popular Culture F El mundo TikToker / Los premios 铆dolo H: Los premios Goya THEMES & VOCAB Past and Future Festivals Routes to Fame Tips on becoming famous Planning a trip to a festival How and why people might become famous GRAMMAR: Using 2 tenses together Past and future Using infinitives as nouns Future AND conditional |
| 11 | V谩monos de vacaciones | Los problemas sociales / El calentamiento global | Mis futuras aspiraciones | Fiestas y costumbres en el mundo hisp谩nico | Las redes sociales y la tecnolog铆a | 听 |
KS3 French
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| 听 | Autumn 1, Autumn 2, Spring 1 | Spring 2, Summer 1, Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | C鈥檈st perso! (All about me): THEMES & VOCABULARY: Phonics, Alphabet, Greetings, Numbers & Dates, Colours, Pencil Case items, Personal Information (Name, age, looks, personality) Where you come from, Family members, Pets GRAMMAR: 1st person singular moving to full verb (singular and plural) for the key verbs ‘avoir’ and ‘锚tre’ and adding more verbs throughout the term in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular and plural. Using regular -er verbs (Simple opinions to be introduced and complexity added as the year progresses.) Introduction to Gender, Present Tense, adjectives and their m/f/pl agreements, asking questions, adverbs of time and frequency, simple comparative (plus/moins… que), simple relative pronouns to use when talking about family members (e.g. a brother, who…) and simple imperfect tense of ‘avoir’ and ‘锚tre’ with ‘Quand’ to describe what we used to look like, possessive adjectives, negatives, depuis+present tense. | Mes passe-temps (Free time): THEMES & VOCABULARY: Sports and Hobbies, Social Media Activities, TV and Film, Weather, Time, Where you do activities (home/park etc) GRAMMAR: Present Tense (regular -er verbs and the irregulars of ‘faire’ ‘aller’, prepositions after faire (du) and jouer(au), Opinions and justifications, adverbs of frequency, (car + parce que + ), Introduction to and use of the future tense in French, complex opinions, time-markers, weather phrases. |
| 8 | Ma maison (My home): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: We will begin by looking at describing our house and its location, then move inside the house to look at rooms/furniture and prepositions. We will continue to revise opinion and justification vocabulary. The verbs 鈥榟abiter鈥� and 鈥榲ivre鈥�, where you live + location, number and type of rooms, basic activities you like/don’t like to do at home, furniture. GRAMMAR: (introduced/revisited) gender (m/f/pl) adjectives and endings, opinions (with infinitive) and justification with ‘car’ and ‘parce que’ simple prepositions. | En ville (My town and area): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: Where we live, talking about our areas, buildings in town, what there is to do in our town (activities), why you like/don’t like where you live, and how we can be responsible citizens with regards to the environment around us, what you did recently in your town. We will spend some time looking at the French capital, Paris, and what there is to see and do to increase our cultural capital, as well as focussing on one other French-Speaking region outside of France. (La Francophonie) GRAMMAR: opinions and justification, on peut + infinitive for 5 key verbs faire/jouer/aller/voir/visiter. Introduction to past tense through SB with the same 5 key verbs and familiar vocabulary. |
| 9 | Les vacances (holidays): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: looking at different countries and holiday destinations and include information on accommodation, what you can do at your holiday destination – including places in town and transactional vocabulary for moving around. By the end of the unit, students should be able to describe their holidays confidently using at least 3 different time frames or 3 tenses from the 4 so far introduced. (Present, Imperfect, Perfect and Future). Vocabulary covered to include destinations, methods of transport, weather, accommodation and details of the area you are staying, travel transactions, directions, holiday activities, what to do if you are ill on holiday, spending money and buying souvenirs, opinions of the holiday GRAMMAR: Past, Imperfect, Present and Future Tenses, conditional tense with ‘si’ to say what you would do next time, modal verbs, complex opinions and justifications, a selection of conjunctions, prepositions, imperative for instructions. | La musique, le cin茅ma, la po茅sie (Music, Film, Poetry): THEMES AND VOCABULARY: A cultural-based unit of work, selected to allow students to increase their awareness of literature, film and poetry from the French-speaking world and to increase their cultural knowledge through a fun topic. The outcome is for students to be able to review of a concert or a film they have seen or describe their favourite story/poem/pop-group. Vocabulary covered to include Television programmes and viewing habits, Films and reviews, Describing favourite actors/actresses, Features of Poetry, French poetry/literature, writing a poem/fairy tale in French, French songs, Reacting to songs and giving opinions GRAMMAR: Revision of adverbs, adjectives, 5 tenses so far covered. |
KS4 French
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| 听 | Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F: Mon m茅tier francophone H: Les sites sacr茅s dans le monde francophone THEMES & VOCAB Introductions Personality Family Relationships Types of Family Friends and Friendship GRAMMAR: Present Tense (-er, -ir, -re) Reflexive Verbs Using qui Adjectives -agreement and position Comparative Adjectives Future Tense of regular -er verbs Present participles of regular verbs | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F: Mon m茅tier francophone H: Les sites sacr茅s dans le monde francophone THEMES & VOCAB Food Preferences Health Problems and Addiction Lifestyle choices and habits Recent Activities Challenges of healthy lifestyle GRAMMAR: Negatives Near Future Imperative (tu) Perfect tense with avoir (regulars) Positions of adverbs Plural Nouns Interrogative adjective (quel) Indirect object pronouns (sing.) avant de.. Present & Future together Irregular present participles | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F: Mon m茅tier francophone H: Les sites sacr茅s dans le monde francophone THEMES & VOCAB School Rules Studies Post16 Discussing Jobs Jobs in the creative industry Dream School Work Experience GRAMMAR: pouvoir/devoir Negatives il faut + infinitive il y a / il y aura Ordinal numbers Nouns ending in -ation Feminine personal nouns Indefinite adjectives Conditional of regular verbs 锚tre en train de.. venir de鈥� | THEME 2: Popular Culture F: Les Jeux de la Francophonie H: Des 茅crivains francophones THEMES & VOCAB Hobbies and Sports Leisure Activities in the Past Plans for Leisure activities TV, Cinema, Music GRAMMAR: Imperfect Tense (regular verbs) Perfect Tense with avoir (irregular verbs) Adverbs ending in -ment Emphatic pronouns (moi/toi) Near Future Partitive Articles (du / de la / de l鈥� / des) Perfect Tense with 锚tre | THEME 2: Popular Culture F: Les Jeux de la Francophonie H: Des 茅crivains francophones THEMES & VOCAB Leisure activities around the world Customs and Celebrations Birthdays and other special days Extreme Sports Popular Culture in the Past GRAMMAR: Perfect Tense with 锚tre C鈥檈st / Il y a Present Tense (Irregular verbs) Revising perfect with avoir/锚tre en /脿 with places Questions + inversion Direct object pronouns (me/te/vous/le/la) Irregular plural nouns y + en Imperfect Tense Modals in the perfect tense | THEME 2: Popular Culture F: Les Jeux de la Francophonie H: Des 茅crivains francophones THEMES & VOCAB Past and Future Festivals Routes to Fame Tips on becoming famous Planning a trip to a festival How and why people might become famous GRAMMAR: Using 2 tenses together Perfect of avoir, 锚tre, prendre, faire Imperative (tu/vous) Functions of definite/indefinite articles de for possession Using infinitives as nouns Future AND conditional of 锚tre, avoir, aller, faire |
| 11 | On part en vacances | Des probl猫mes sociaux : L鈥檈nvironnement /la pauvret茅 | L鈥檕rientation/Le travail b茅n茅vole | On fait la f锚te | Les r茅seaux sociaux/On se marie? | 听 |
KS3 German
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| 听 | Autumn 1, Autumn 2, Spring 1 | Spring 2, Summer 1, Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Die Ferien (Holidays): GRAMMAR: Past, Imperfect, Present and Future Tenses, conditional tense with ‘wenn’ to say what you would do next time, modal verbs, complex opinions and justifications, a selection of conjunctions, prepositions, imperative for instructions CULTURAL CAPITAL: Holidaying in German Speaking Countries | Feste und Freude! (Festivals and Joy!): GRAMMAR: Revision of the 5 tenses introduced so far 鈥� Present, Future, Conditional, Perfect and Imperfect, revising likes/dislikes and opinions. CULTURAL CAPITAL: Festivals and Traditions across different German-Speaking Countries |
KS4 German
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| 听 | Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F: Sport macht Spa脽 H: sprachliche Identit盲t THEMES & VOCAB: Describing me Family Friendships Family relationships Family & Social Life GRAMMAR: Present Tense Separable Verbs Reflexive Verbs Gender of nouns | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F: Sport macht Spa脽 H: sprachliche Identit盲t THEMES & VOCAB: Healthy Lifestyle Healthy Eating Health & Happiness Lifestyle choices GRAMMAR: Perfect Tense ein/kein Nom/Acc cases Possesive Adject鈥檚 zu + infinitive reflexive pronouns nicht & sondern | THEME 1: People and Lifestyle F: Sport macht Spa脽 H: sprachliche Identit盲t THEMES & VOCAB: School Life Comparing school Experiences School routine School rules Work Future Plans Jobs GRAMMAR: Imperfect (h + s) Perfect & Imperfect You Coordinating conjunctions Subordinating conjunctions Weak and strong imperfect verbs Direct and indirect object pronouns 耻尘鈥耻.. Relative clauses (nom + acc) | THEME 2: Popular Culture F: Ein Besuch in den Schweizer Alpen H: Mehrsprachig und ber眉hmt THEMES & VOCAB: Sports Extreme Sports Free time activities Arranging a day out Making Plans GRAMMAR: werden future ich m枚chte Present tense (R) weil / wenn gern/Lieber Questions and inversion Present Tense of 鈥歸issen鈥� Bei/am + infinitive as nouns | THEME 2: Popular Culture F: Ein Besuch in den Schweizer Alpen H: Mehrsprachig und ber眉hmt THEMES & VOCAB: Films Food and Drink Celebrations Traditions Christmas GRAMMAR: Question formation Modal verbs Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (R) Word Order T.M.P Subordinate clauses | THEME 2: Popular Culture F: Ein Besuch in den Schweizer Alpen H: Mehrsprachig und ber眉hmt THEMES & VOCAB: Typical Festivals Festivals around the world Role Models Past GS celebrities Famous GS people GRAMMAR: Modals (R) Perfect Tense (R) nicht/nie Adjectives endings after the definite article (nom+acc) Conditional Tense Adjectival Nouns after viel, etwas, nichts, alles Genitive for possession. |
| 11 | Reisen und Tourismus | Gesellschaftliche Probleme : Die Umwelt/Der Armut | Berufe/Freiwillige Arbeit | Feste und Traditionen | Soziale Medien/Heiraten oder nicht? | 听 |
KS4 COURSE
MORE INFORMATION
The aims of the course are to enable students to develop an understanding of world languages in a variety of contexts. It also allows鈥痽ou to increase鈥痽our knowledge of key vocabulary and structures, to transfer language learning skills and to communicate effectively. Finally, the course aims at helping students to understand counties and communities where world languages are spoken.
Students study all of the following themes on which the assessments are based:
Theme 1: Identity and culture
Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
Theme 3: Current and future study and employment
Each of these broad themes is broken down further into sub-topics which we cover over the 2-year course.鈥� Many of the topics will have been covered briefly in Years 7-9, allowing us to study and analyse a topic in much more depth over the GCSE.
A major feature of the GCSE is the emphasis placed on cultural awareness.鈥� You will be learning about the customs and traditions of world languages speaking countries alongside the more traditional language structures, vocabulary and grammar.
HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?
Scheme of Assessment (AQA German/French)
There are two tiers of entry: Foundation (Grades 1-5)听 or Higher (Grades 4-9)
Paper 1 鈥� Listening (F 35 Minutes / H 45 Minutes)
(25% of GCSE)
Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language.
Paper 2 鈥� Speaking (F 7-9 Minutes / H 10-12 Minutes)
(25% of GCSE)
Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of different purposes.
There are 3 parts to the speaking exam:
- Role-Play
- Describing a photo card
- Talking about 2 topics from the above Themes.听 (You get to choose one of them!)
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Paper 3 鈥� Reading (F 45 Minutes / H 1 Hour)
(25% of GCSE)
Understanding and responding to different types of written language.
There will be a selection of questions to answer in English and German/French and also a translation from German/French into English.
Paper 4 鈥� Writing (F 1 Hour / H 1 Hour 15 Minutes)
(25% of GCSE)
F 鈥� Describe a photo in 4 sentences, 40-word question, 90-word question, 5 sentences to translate from English 鈥� German/French
H 鈥� 90-word question, 150-word question and a short paragraph to translate from English to German/French.
WHAT SKILLS ARE REQUIRED?
The qualification requires students to:
- Develop the ability to listen to and understand spoken language in a range of contexts and variety of style
- Communicate in speech for a variety of purposes
- Read and respond to different types of written language
- Communicate in writing for a variety of purposes
- Understand and apply a range of vocabulary and structures
- Develop language learning and communication skills which can be applied broadly
Miss M Cid Blanco
Head of Languages
Born in Madrid (Spain) and moved to the UK in 2017. Studied Spanish at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), including a year spent abroad in Edinburgh teaching Spanish as a foreign language; followed by a PGCE in Spanish and French at Worcester University, Worcester. Began teaching in 2020 and joined Shireland in September 2024.
Born in Madrid (Spain) and moved to the UK in 2017. Studied Spanish at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), including a year spent abroad in Edinburgh teaching Spanish as a foreign language; followed by a PGCE in Spanish and French at Worcester University, Worcester. Began teaching in 2020 and joined Shireland in September 2024.
