Still not quite convinced You can do it, too! MFL Online. Why study MFL? Site Map. Why study Modern Foreign Languages? There are all kinds of beneficial reasons to learn a foreign language, including: Community There are around ,, people over the age of 5 years old that speak more than one foreign language. Why study a Modern Foreign Language?
Why study a Modern Foreign Language. Microsoft Word Document Over the past five years, there has been a 19 per cent reduction in entries for GCSE languages, with French and German each seeing declines of 30 per cent over this period Tinsley, These alarming numbers cannot be ignored if we still hope to produce well-rounded individuals with the skills to thrive in an ever-changing global marketplace.
The decision by the government to make MFL non-compulsory from year 10 and beyond was an event I will never forget. I was an NQT at the time. The impact was devastating as schools saw languages uptake drop from the average student classroom to 10 or fewer.
MFL teachers were facing uncertainty and apathetic teens had the perfect excuse to jack it in. Misinformed heads were able to justify this due to the improvement in overall exam results. This is a fundamentally flawed and short-sighted view. With language study requirements stripped back to as little as one hour a week at key stage 3 in many schools, how can a pupil ever reach a level where they feel confident in a foreign language?
An ideal approach would be getting pupils into language learning early. Children learn by being submerged in multilingual surroundings. At this early stage of learning and development, language is often obtained much faster and retained more easily. In , the government finally committed to making language studies statutory at key stage 2.
But language studies today are still lacking drive and consistency. Having said this, at least there is now evidence that primary schools are teaching a language in key stage 2 with 75 per cent having started teaching a language more than five years ago.
A third are teaching languages in key stage 1, too Tinsley, Does this happen in your school? If so, we must ask ourselves: why did we become teachers in the first place? If this does not convince you, here are six more reasons why heads need to put languages back on their list of priorities:. We need to be courageous and encourage our senior leaders to commit to the future of our pupils by making MFL compulsory in schools at GCSE.
We are slowly starting to see some of the effects that Covid is having on our communities and our young people. That is why it is more necessary than ever that our children start developing the language skills now that will be essential in the years to come as we re-build and recover from the huge economic, cultural and social impacts of As teachers we should be developing well-rounded, socially and economically conscious young individuals with the skills and experience to thrive in a multicultural society.
Please view our Terms and Conditions before leaving a comment. Some of them are hard to pronounce. MFL supports Spiritual development by getting the pupils excited about learning about the world around them. MFL supports Moral development by encouraging pupils to recognise the importance of learning a MFL from another country to enable them to respect how difficult it is when people visit Britain and try to speak a new language.
MFL supports Social development by allowing children to work with a partner or as part of a group. MFL Supports Cultural development by encouraging children to appreciate the similarities and differences between France and Britain.
The Year 5 children hold a French market which links to the learning they complete in class. The other classes complete a range of activities to support their language learning and give them an increasing understanding of the History, Geography and Culture of France.
On completion of a piece of work, the teacher assesses the work and the level of understanding shown by the child. Written feedback is given and children are encouraged to self-assess their own learning. At the end of each unit of work, teachers complete an Excel spreadsheet, in which units are broken down into four skill: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Children are assessed as to whether they are emerging, developing and securing within these areas. This is used to provide accurate information to other teachers, the MFL subject leader and learning support assistants termly and during times of transition.
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