All students at St Cenydd in Key Stage 3 study a Modern Foreign Language for three periods a fortnight. At the start of the current academic year we introduced Spanish in Year 7. All Year 7 pupils will study French or Spanish for half a year before swapping to study the other language.
Currently all Year 8 pupils study French. We offer More Able and Talented linguists in Year 8 the opportunity to study Mandarin in partnership with Cardiff University and the Confucius Institute. We plan to offer the current Year 8 the opportunity to study Spanish when they are in Year 9.
Currently all Year 9 students study French. We have also introduced one period of Spanish a fortnight for some students in Year 9. We will be offering all pupils starting their GCSEs in 2020 the opportunity to study French, Spanish or both languages.
Students choosing to continue their studies in a Modern Foreign Language at key stage 4 are advised to think about its importance in a balanced curriculum. Students who choose to study a Modern Foreign Language at GCSE, study for five periods a fortnight. We follow the WJEC specification which covers the broad themes of Identity and Culture, Wales and the World and Current and Future Study and Employment.
At St Cenydd we believe that the knowledge of a modern foreign language is an essential life skill which offers many advantages to our students. There are the obvious benefits of travel, culture and business, but perhaps of greater significance is the range of skills that students can develop to help them in all walks of life. Communication and problem solving are much valued skills in the world of education and employment; language learners also benefit from a better capacity to retain vocabulary, develop logical thinking skills and have the ability to think and work quickly in a wide variety of situations. Furthermore, the links between improving literacy in English are widely enhanced by the understanding of another language. Language learning gives our students a better understanding of the world and the importance of global citizenship.
Our schemes of work are designed to support communication and promote fluency in the target language and our students develop their language skills through highly engaging and productive lessons. We advance these skills by allowing students to work individually, in pairs, in groups or as a class on a wide range of activities that encompass the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, whilst also encouraging them to see the relevance of languages to their everyday lives. We also run events to celebrate the European Day of Languages and the Day of Francophonie.