The purpose of the MFL curriculum at Simon Balle is to create articulate, capable and effective linguists who can work independently in their listening, reading, speaking and writing, progressing to use a range of vocabulary, tenses and complex structures. Simon Balle students will develop linguistic competences by acquiring core vocabulary and grammatical knowledge at every stage of their learning journey, beginning with speaking and listening before progressing to an equal emphasis on all four skill areas.
As well as expanding students’ linguistic competence, our curriculum also aims to enrich pupils’ cultural growth by increasing their knowledge and understanding of the culture of foreign countries. We believe that no other subject teaches the appreciation of cultural diversity and the acceptance of others as MFL does. Therefore, we ensure that the MFL curriculum contains an element of cultural reference and a range of age appropriate literature in order to enhance cultural richness and encourage tolerance in an ever-changing world.
Through our language teaching, we seek to empower students with a variety of skills, including meta-cognitive skills. During their language-learning journey, students gain insight into how to interpret and apply knowledge to new situations. The multitude of challenges that encompass language learning not only fosters a sense of curiosity, but develops creativity and problem solving as students find new ways of understanding and communicating a message, thus encouraging resilience.
Teaching Staff
- Mrs R Miller (Head of Department)
- Miss A Wootton (Second in Department for Spanish)
- Mrs M Fish
- Miss H Rhodes
- Miss A Tridgell
- Mr T Penny
- Mrs H Kingsman
- Miss R Tether (Primary Champion)