Languages

CURRICULUM INTENT

The Sackville Languages Curriculum is designed to enable learners to communicate confidently and clearly in the target language, to value other cultures and celebrate their own, and to develop the tools to explore the world around them. It focuses on developing the key skills of comprehension, intercultural understanding, vocabulary, communication, phonics, decoding and language building whilst championing a plurilinguistic approach which celebrates and encourages the relationship between languages and the transfer of knowledge from one language to another. Our learners are encouraged to become resilient, thoughtful linguists who can deduce meaning, recognise, understand and apply cultural nuance to their interactions, and above all, develop a curiosity for the cultures, landmarks, cuisine, literature and media of Target Language speaking countries.

CURRICULUM RATIONALE

Our Curriculum supports our strongly-held belief that every child is a linguist. As such, regardless of starting point, our KS3 learning journey encourages students to develop transferable skills such as decoding, phonetic knowledge and a greater understanding of grammar and tense, to give them the strongest foundation not only for their language learning at Sackville, but also for independent language learning later in life. Alongside developing core communicative competences such as speaking and writing, we aim to develop wider literacy and comprehension skills by working as often as possible with authentic texts, including El Principito in Year 7 Spanish, Astérix in French and der Struwwelpeter in German. 

As students move through KS3, they study vocabulary and linguistic structures to enable them to discuss a range of relevant, personal topics including the environment and sustainability, sports and wellbeing and the impact of social media and influencers.

We recognise understanding cultures, developing healthy curiosity and celebrating their own linguistic and cultural diversity as equally important parts of language learning and, as such, provide ample opportunities for discussion and cultural insight. These include comparisons of the similarities and differences in school life and routines, an exploration of Target Language Film, and a personal creative response to the work of Target Language musicians. All cultural knowledge is delivered alongside and through the language being learned, intertwining these two crucial tenets of language learning. 

At KS4, our focus moves to students using the core skills developed in Years 7, 8 and 9 more independently. Students are given a platform to use high-frequency, relevant vocabulary and structures and to produce language which is candid, personal and ambitious. We balance practicing all four core skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing – with time dedicated to phonetic work, through our Language Assistants, and dictation, to support the new GCSE in Languages.

At A-Level, students develop considerable linguistic flexibility and underpin their assertions and cultural insights with relevant evidence, statistics and anecdotes drawn from a range of journalistic and academic texts. They build a repertoire of considerable cultural experience and use this to inform their own interests through their research projects. Our aim is to produce intellectually curious, passionate linguists who are well prepared and excited for future study and continued language learning. For all Year Groups, we support and sustain this interest with a range of events, cultural celebrations and trips and visits, all designed to bring students into first-hand contact with the languages, cultures and speakers of Spanish, French and German.

We encourage students who speak other languages at home to pursue their interest in these, and support them in developing fluency and accessing qualifications wherever available, as well as giving a platform to share their cultural knowledge and experiences.

CURRICULUM MAPS

Year 7 Curriculum Map	Year 8 Curriculum Map	Year 9 Curriculum Map	Year 10 Curriculum Map	Year 11 Curriculum Map

STAFF CONTACTS

Curriculum Team Leader for Languages – Mr Sam Francis