Modern Foreign Languages Department
Modern foreign languages teaching staff
Michelle Fisher Teacher of French
Prim Herridge Part-time teacher of French and Spanish
Peter Jones Teacher of French and Spanish. Head of Department
Ruth Kennell Part-time teacher of French and Spanish
Oona van den Heuvel Teacher of French and Spanish
Aims and Objectives
We believe that every pupil has the right to experience the learning of at least one foreign language. The experience:-
• can raise awareness of our own language and reinforce English language skills
• can raise awareness of other cultures
• can encourage more open attitudes to other people’s differences
We believe that learning languages should be as enjoyable as possible, within the constraints of the content specified by the National Curriculum. We aim to tailor our teaching to the learning requirements of each group we teach, whether the pupils are set or taught in mixed ability groups. In the early years, there is a great deal of emphasis on developing listening and speaking skills, with more challenging reading and writing tasks built in to our schemes of work as the pupils progress up the school. We also aim to help pupils develop a degree of individual responsibility for their learning so that they learn how to learn.
We expect pupils to:
• bring all the relevant equipment for lessons
• work to the best of their ability
• behave responsibly and with respect for other pupils and their teacher
We expect ourselves to:
• prepare lessons, mark work and assess pupils’ progress regularly
• have and convey enthusiasm for the subject
• be involved in extra-curricular activities such as visits and exchanges
• cater for pupils with widely differing needs and interests
Organisation and grouping
There are three classrooms devoted to the teaching of MFL: C5, C6 and C12. At present, where four MFL classes are being taught simultaneously the fourth lesson takes place in any room available on the timetable. We hope to introduce some regularity on this next year.