Modern Languages
Modern Languages at Wellington
Modern Languages is a thriving and enjoyable subject at Wellington
Languages studied - Spanish, French, German
French and Spanish are studied by all pupils in Year 7. In Year 8 all pupils continue with Spanish and choose between French or German. In Year 9 pupils continue with their Year 8 language options. At the end of Year 9, pupils choose whether to stop learning a foreign language or whether to continue with just one language – or two at IGCSE. Preparation for the Edexcel IGCSE begins in Year 9. Our A Level pupils study for the AQA course which, like IGCSE, covers listening, reading, writing and oral skills in addition to studying a film and piece of literature from the target language country. All courses are geared towards purposeful language so that pupils feel able to tackle real life situations. We teach building blocks, grammar and recyclable skills as tools that can be applied to any topic or theme. We aim to build pupils up as independent learners who can very quickly use taught content to speak and write independently. Pupils explore the language for themselves, take risks, learn from mistakes in order to produce creative work that is varied, complex, sophisticated (in its use of different tenses for example) and which ultimately flows well. The pace of each lesson and range of activities are very varied, employing many resources, including audio-visual and ICT.
We have 6 teachers as well as native language assistants for each language. Our language assistants work on a one-to-one basis with A Level students as well as providing additional class support and working with small groups in Years 7-11.
We are privileged and fortunate to offer students the opportunity to develop a linguistic and cultural appreciation of not one but two important European languages. The skills developed in these foreign languages set them up for lifelong learning and provide many inherent benefits for further study and future careers.