Friday 9th March 2012
Congratulations to Sarah Gardner who was crowned classical winner of Next Brit Thing 2012 earlier t...
Read full news story...Thursday 2nd February 2012
Charlie Vasiliou has reached the final of the Young Drummer of the Year competition, after fighting...
Read full news story...Tuesday 31st January 2012
The Department for Education published the school performance league tables this week....
Read full news story...If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
Nelson Mandela
“Why learn a foreign language? Everyone speaks English.”
Typical British person
It is true that English is spoken virtually everywhere in the world. A German or French company will happily speak English to impress its potential British and American customers. However, try and speak English when you are trying to sell your products to a German or French company and your competitors (who make the effort to conduct their business in French or German) will almost certainly win the contract. At Yarm School, we believe that learning to communicate with people in their own language opens doors, no matter what your choice of career. Studying a foreign language also teaches a whole range of skills applicable to other subjects – from reading and analysing text to learning to express yourself in front of your peers.
At Yarm, pupils have the opportunity to study French, German and Spanish. The learning of foreign languages at Yarm starts young, at 5+ in the Early School, where all pupils learn French, and continues through the Prep. School. As a department, we believe very strongly in communicative teaching and try to teach almost entirely through the target language. We also use a variety of stimuli, such as television, DVD, video and audio tapes and computers. All pupils at Yarm study French to GCSE and the most able linguists take German as well. All are given the opportunity to study Spanish from the beginning of 3rd Year. In the Senior School. Pupils are taught French using the text books “Encore Tricolore (Nouvelle Edition)”, “Equipe” and “Avantage”, German using “Lernpunkt Deutsch” and Spanish using “Listos”.
First Year
During the First Year at the Senior School, all pupils study our two core languages, French and German to give them a taster of each before they study one as their core language to GCSE in Second to Fifth Years. There are three language lessons a week that are split equally between French and German throughout the year. There may be an opportunity for one top set of pupils to carry on with both languages to GCSE in core language lessons beyond the First year.
Second Year
At the end of the First Year in the Senior School the groups are reset based on their work in the First Year. By the Second Year, pupils are taking part in trips abroad and looking forward to the exchange projects with our partner schools, which usually begin in Third Year. The top set continue to study both French and German.
Third Year
Once again at the end of the Second Year in the Senior School the groups are reset based on the year’s work. The top two language sets continue to study both French and German and all pupils are given the opportunity to study Spanish. During the Third Year pupils take part for the first time in our exchanges with Lisieux in France and Werther in Germany, spending 1 - 2 weeks in a French/German pupil's house and receiving them in their own houses. Exchanges take place in holiday time, but are organised by the School.
Fourth Year
In the Fourth Year the GCSE course proper begins French is studied by all pupils, with the top two sets studying German as well. Throughout the year the exchange programme with France and Germany continues, and those studying Spanish get the chance to take part in the Spanish language trip. Spanish can be taken by those who chose it in the Third Year. Courses followed: French: Encore Tricolore 4 ; Avantage 3 (AQA edition); German: Lernpunkt Deutsch 3; Spanish: Listos 2
Fifth Year
In the Fifth Year at GCSE pupils sit the AQA examinations in French and German, being examined in the four skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, the latter being examined either by written examination or coursework. We tend to favour the written examination for our top set and consider the coursework option carefully for our other sets.
Courses followed: French: Encore Tricolore 4; German: Lernpunkt Deutsch 3; Spanish: Listos 3
Lower Sixth
In the Lower Sixth a student may study any or all French, German and Spanish, provided that the GCSE base is strong enough.. At the end of the Lower Sixth year the students take the Edexcel examination, sitting an exam covering the skills of Listening, Reading and Writing, and an oral exam based on one of four broad topic areas.
Upper Sixth
In the Upper Sixth students may continue the AS to A2 level, by adding an oral exam and a reading and writing paper, both of which require in-depth knowledge and research to be carried out prior to the exam.
Language Clubs
Apart from our commitment to an exchange programme for French and German, we also run an annual language trip to Spain. There are also additional trips to Germany and France, particularly for the younger pupils who are not yet ready for the exchanges. Some of the 7 teachers in the department also indulge their expertise in non-mainstream languages by running "clubs" in these. The languages taught vary depending on demand, but Italian, Dutch and Russian have figured in the last three years.
