Interested in joining Goodwin Academy's Sixth Form in September 2025? Visit our Admissions page for more details or email us at admin@goodwinacademy.org.uk if you have any questions. 

Modern Foreign Languages

Bienvenue sur la page d’information des langues étrangères de Goodwin Academy.

At Goodwin Academy, in the Modern Foreign Languages department, we have a team of enthusiastic and experienced teachers who are all native speakers of French.

We believe that a language is a skill for life and we continually aspire to improve standards through an engaging and challenging curriculum which values the strengths of all our students and celebrates success.

In MFL, the extremely hard work of students and staff alike has been rewarded by excellent GCSE results.

90 percent of our students achieved a pass grade in 2019, which is above national average.

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Curriculum Intent

“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”
Frank Smith

At Goodwin Academy, the aim of the MFL department is to develop language learners who:

  • aspire to brilliance by being passionate linguists and being proud of their linguistic achievements.
  • are inquisitive linguists, able to develop an understanding of etymology and how languages are interlinked thus allowing them to transfer their skills to new opportunities.
  • are reflective, resilient and independent learners.
  • become “Global Citizens” by broadening their horizons and breed tolerance, empathy, adaptability and consideration for others within our local and wider communities.

KS3, Years 7, 8 & 9 French 

French is taught to all Key Stage 3 students. The course is interactive and encourages confident communication and understanding from the very beginning.

We employ a variety of methods and approaches to enable our students to communicate in a lively and realistic manner.

To support students with SEND, we teach the language with the multi-sensory approach, using multiple input/output strategies — visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic. To involve all the senses, we utilise a variety of resources such as picture cards, songs and videos.

We aspire to make the learning process enjoyable and yet rigorous for the whole range of learners using a variety of authentic resources and aim to provide a clear sense of progression and achievement.

We are successfully linked with schools in France. Students in Year 8 are given the opportunity to have penfriends with whom they communicate via emails before meeting them during their visit to Goodwin Academy.

 

KS4, Year 10 & 11 GCSE French

In Key Stage 4, we offer GCSE French and we follow the AQA GCSE examination specifications.

This course consists of three main themes allowing students to develop a range of skills and enabling them to communicate effectively in French whether in a professional context or when on holiday abroad.

  • Theme 1: Identity and culture
  • Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
  • Theme 3: Current and future study and employment

At the end of the 2 year course, the students take 4 examination papers, one for each skill: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Careers

Those with qualifications in Foreign Languages have opportunities to work in many sectors such as travel and tourism, education, the media or finance and business. Furthermore, individuals with a foreign language qualification combined with STEM subjects are highly sought after in the employment market.

Some of these careers would make direct use of your language skills:

  • Charities administrator
  • Human resources officer
  • Journalist
  • Logistics/distribution manager
  • Management accountant
  • Marketing manager (social media)
  • Public relations officer
  • Secondary school teacher
  • Solicitor
  • Tourism officer
  • Translator/Interpreter
  • Flight attendant

Links

Revision and activities

Media:

Online dictionary:

Fundamental British Values

The MFL Department at Goodwin Academy actively promotes British Values through:

  • Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith – There is a strong emphasis on promoting cultural values and traditions of other countries and global citizenship. By gaining an appreciation of the countries where the language the students are studying is spoken, they are encouraged to reflect on other cultures. We help our students to embrace diversity and accept new ideas and lifestyles. Authentic resources are used to help students open their minds and develop their cultural outlooks and understanding.
  • The rule of Law – Students learn about right from wrong relating to the environment, social issues, equality, work opportunities, exploring the world, the media and new technology including social media.
  • Democracy and individual liberty – Students learn how to communicate and share ideas and opinions through class work, pair work and group work. Opportunities are given to students to develop their skills in listening and speaking to each other. All contributions are valued and respected to demonstrate respect, tolerance and co-operative learning. Students are encouraged to ‘have a go’, experiment with speaking a new language independently to build confidence and to listen to each other with respect.

Knowledge Bank

Here is an example of a Knowledge Bank we use to support students’ learning:

KB Y9 Healthy living French