Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

Section 1: General Principles

In a rapidly changing world, our aim is to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to thrive as global citizens. We teach students how to learn languages through reinforcement, repetition, and secure knowledge foundations.

Our curriculum fosters linguistic proficiency and cultural awareness, encouraging independence, resilience, and curiosity—ultimately inspiring a love of languages.

Judgemeadow Community College has a strong reputation for Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in the city and community. Unlike many county schools, our inclusive approach is widely embraced by students. All our Ofsted reviews have been consistently positive, reflecting the high standards we maintain. As a beacon school in Languages, we are regularly chosen to showcase best practices through observations and learning walks—something we’re proud to share with visiting educators and parents. Your child is learning in a setting recognised for excellence.

Language skills are becoming increasingly valuable in today’s global job market. We’re proud to be a 'Language for All' school, which means our students are entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). Research shows that the EBacc plays a key role in opening doors to university and future career opportunities. Research from UCL and the Sutton Trust shows that studying EBacc subjects improves educational outcomes and supports achievement in English and Maths.

Principles at Key Stage 3

• At KS3, MFL introduces students to the core skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing, which are expected by the end of KS4. These skills are embedded in both lessons and assessments.
• Students are introduced to foundational vocabulary across a range of topics, alongside common words and grammar structures that support effective communication and comprehension in the target language.
• The scheme of work (SoW) for French and Spanish are aligned at KS3. Each unit clearly outlines the vocabulary, structures, and grammar to be taught, with built-in opportunities to challenge the most able. Content is designed to build knowledge for GCSE while fostering curiosity and enjoyment.
• Knowledge organisers and booklets are provided for each unit. Students are informed that this vocabulary is essential for GCSE, helping them understand the purpose and long-term value of their learning.
• Assessments are conducted at the end of each unit, with results recorded in a central mark book. All four skills are assessed across each year group. Students keep an assessment feedback sheet in their exercise books to track progress over time, which is also accessible to parents and guardians. Each assessment is cumulative, reinforcing prior learning and supporting long-term memory retention.

Section 2: Connectedness (linking and co-ordinating)

The MFL curriculum is built on three core principles: grammatical knowledge, rich vocabulary, and linguistic skills—underpinned by cultural awareness, appreciation, and empathy.

Grammar structures are carefully sequenced to ensure each new concept builds on prior learning, supporting mastery and long-term understanding.

• Year 7: Students learn key vocabulary and classroom language for sustained use of the target language. Phonics and spelling are introduced to support pronunciation and word recognition. The curriculum progresses to sentence-level work, developing speaking, writing, and comprehension skills. At least two tenses are introduced.
• Year 8: Builds on Year 7 with expanded vocabulary and grammar, including a third tense. Sentence-level work continues to develop productive and receptive language skills.
• Year 9: Consolidates learning from Years 7 and 8, with topics such as careers, jobs, and future plans—linked to the options process. Students revise all three tenses and begin practising key GCSE exam skills, including picture tasks, role plays, and comprehension-style questions.
• Assessments: Each unit assessment includes vocabulary and structures from previous units to support retrieval practice. Challenge elements (e.g. unseen vocabulary in reading) stretch the most able, and lessons equip students with problem-solving strategies.
• KS4 Curriculum: The KS3 curriculum is designed to ensure smooth progression into KS4. The Edexcel/Pearson specifications for French and Spanish cover the following topic areas: My personal world, Lifestyle and wellbeing, My Neighbourhood, Media, Technology, and Gaming, Studying and My Future. At KS4, assessments are designed to build confidence and familiarity with GCSE-style questions.

Section 3: MFL five year plan

Curriculum Overview

The five-year MFL curriculum is designed to ensure progression in vocabulary, grammar, and linguistic skills, preparing students for success at GCSE and beyond.

french & spanish at ks3
year	unit 1	unit2	unit3	unit 4
year 7	Intro & Phonics	Family	School
year 8	Food and Drink	Hobbies & Leisure	Town
year 9	Holidays	Jobs	Clothes & Fashion	Festivals

french & spanish at ks4
year	unit 1	unit2	unit3	unit 4
fr 10	Hobbies & Tech	Family & Friends	School	Food & Health
sp 10	Hobbies & Tech	Holidays	Family & Friends	Food & Health
fr 11	Holidays	Environment	Town	Future Plans
sp 11	School	Town	Environment	Future Plans

Cultural Capital Opportunities

Across all year groups, students are offered enriching experiences to deepen their cultural understanding and language skills:

• Residential trips to France and/or Spain in Years 8 and 9.
• Sessions with Foreign Language Assistants (French/Spanish) to develop speaking skills in small groups or one-to-one.
• Film studies in the target language to encourage curiosity and engagement with foreign cinema.
• Access to Languagenut, a digital platform offering interactive language learning resources, games, and activities.
• Day trips, such as visits to the University of Leicester, to explore language learning beyond GCSE.

 

Section 4: Teaching and Learning

Our scheme of work is structured around core grammatical components and vocabulary. The curriculum is vocabulary-rich, incorporating both topic-specific and high-frequency words to help students express themselves beyond basic needs. Knowledge organisers, booklets, and high-frequency word lists support literacy development in MFL.

Teaching is balanced across all four key skills—listening, reading, speaking, and writing—through classwork, homework, and assessments. These are central to the success of our MFL curriculum. Lessons are planned to include questioning, oracy, guided practice, and structured frameworks to support progression and understanding. Retrieval practice is embedded in every lesson, linking prior learning to current content.

We uphold whole-school behaviour for learning practices, using positive reinforcement to encourage participation and progress both in class and at home.

MFL teaching at JMCC follows the school’s shared principles of effective learning

• Interleaving – we will use in lessons fortnightly a starter, homework or activity that is based on prior learning topics (linked closely to retrieval practice)
• Dual Coding – image and word/phrase is the basis of MFL teaching (embedded). An effort is now made to simplify certain materials where appropriate.
• Retrieval Practice - used as titles on ppt/sheets for activity and starters
• Elaboration is promoted to encourage extension/development of language development
• Concrete examples (former modelling) used frequently for pre written work, as well as writing frames and are common in language lesson planning. Models are used and Dr Gianfranco Conti MFL training has lead to more use of concrete examples to build languages learning.

Through our carefully sequenced curriculum, inclusive teaching strategies, and rich cultural experiences, students develop the confidence, competence, and curiosity to use languages in real-world contexts. Our outcomes demonstrate strong progress and engagement across all key stages.