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Why We Study Foreign Languages?
To enable ourselves
to communicate with speakers of a language other than English in a wide
variety of social, transactional and business situations, either in the
foreign country or here in Scotland.
To
introduce us to the language and way of life of our European
neighbours.
The Subject Skills
The four
skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are all important in
themselves, although they are frequently linked e.g. Reading, Listening or
Writing to support Speaking. Teachers do, also, conduct a proportion of the
lesson through the medium of the foreign language and pupils are expected to
use the foreign language as often as possible in everyday classroom
situations. Pupils will develop and extend their knowledge of the foreign
language they have been studying in Primary 6 and Primary 7.
The Content of the Modern
Languages Course
In both French and German, pupils are exposed to the same
range of activities and teaching approaches.
Although we do use course books and materials (in French,
"Métro", and in German, "Logo"), we place great emphasis on using a wide
range of additional activities to encourage active use of the foreign
language. Games, audio and video cassettes, authentic reading materials are
all part of the communicative language classroom. Pupils are expected to do
a lot of speaking in the foreign language - in pairs, in groups and with the
teacher. For a variety of activities, pupils frequently work at their own
pace and at a level which suits them. Home learning is extremely important
and pupils will have a series of revision/homework booklets to work from.
Assessment
The assessment of Speaking and Writing are ongoing and
based on everyday classroom language tasks which involve speaking with a
partner (pupil or teacher) or within a group, and completing short writing
tasks. In Reading and Listening, pupils are assessed within each unit and
at the end of each group of units. Recording of information and Reporting
are in line with 5-14 guidelines. |
