Languages are important EBacc subjects. At Risedale, pupils are introduced to French in Year 7 and then have the opportunity to become dual linguists in Year 8, during which German is introduced. Both Key Stage 3 pathways lead to GCSE courses and pupils can take either language – or both – forward at Key Stage 4.
Our Key Stage 3 and 4 provision teaches pupils a range of practical language themes and gives them real ‘tools’ for communication. We listen to native French and German speakers, study authentic texts and practise speaking and writing skills on a range of meaningful topics, ranging from family and hobbies to school life, future plans and holidays and the environment. Pupils are encouraged to become increasingly independent and creative in their language learning and gain confidence through this. We focus on vocabulary acquisition through regular testing and put extra emphasis on French and German grammar, the ‘glue’ that holds the language together. More than anything, we aim to make language learning really engaging – we play, we collaborate and we have FUN: The atmosphere in our Languages classrooms is unique.
We use IT creatively to support and enrich our pupils’ learning. All pupils have access to our school subscriptions for Vocab Express, Active Learn and Quizlet, and also use Memrise, Duolingo and Languages Online for further practice.
At Risedale we prioritise giving our pupils authentic experiences of other cultures. We run regular residential trips to Normandy in France and visits to Berlin and also to Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, where we have a link with a local secondary school. Through our collaboration with Most Education, we have previously welcomed pupils from Russia, Kazakhstan and China to join our Risedale family. We also run a range of in-house cultural experiences, ranging from supporting the European Day of Languages (26th September) to celebrating a range of national days and traditions.