Modern Foreign Languages Department

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Study of Modern Foreign Languages give students the chance to learn not just the language of another country, but a chance to learn about the people and culture of those countries. Understanding other cultures is a crucial part of promoting tolerance and dispelling prejudices. It is a fundamental truth that cultures define themselves through languages.

Learning a foreign language opens up a whole new dimension for children: it greatly benefits their reading and writing in their own language. There is evidence that, like musical education, it contributes significantly to the development of individual intelligence, and has been shown to improve overall results at school.

The ability to speak another language is becoming increasingly important in the economic world as globalisation increases. Both foreign and British companies recognise that understanding other cultures and languages is an integral part of being succecssful in today′s global marketplace.

Information for students and parents regarding GCSE’s in French, German or Spanish:

EBAC information:

• The Year 8/9 MFL Curriculum has changed. Please download the attached letters for more information:
  • Parents′ information
  • Students′ information
  
  
• From September 2010 all pupils will choose one main language for study and will work towards a GCSE qualification in Year 9 where possible.
  This affects current Year 7 pupils and future pupils coming to Ely College. A second or third language can be studied from Key Stage 4. Students who wish to take AS languages who have passed a GCSE MFL in Year 9 can begin study from Year 10.
  
  Please Email Mr M Jackson, Head of MFL for futher details.

A word from the department

The Languages Team

We have a great team of teachers and foreign language assistants who work with pupils in order to create bright, new linguists who make progress in every language lesson.
Our teachers can speak French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek and even Japanese, and we work hard to create lessons with opportunities for pupils to become even better at a foreign language.

Why Languages?

The opportunities for students who leave school with languages are enormous.
We live in a world where the ability to communicate well, and in different languages, is a priority for employers. Those students who learn one, two or three languages at Ely college are taking the first important step on a path towards greater career opportunities and a broader, better understanding of the modern world.

"Unless the decline in modern language learning is reversed, anglophone Britons will become one of the most monolingual peoples in the world, with severe consequences for our economy, for business competetiveness, for international reputation and mobility and for community cohesion at home."
     - Professor Michael Worton, Nov 2009.

Meet our learners

Laura - former languages student at Ely College

My name is Laura. I am currently in my first year studying French and Spanish at Nottingham Trent University. When I was at college I took GCSE and then A Level French and German which I absolutely loved. The teachers knew what I needed to help me learn and planned lessons where we could practice our speaking and listening skills. I enjoyed learning because I knew that the curriculum was being personalised to me – teachers would ask what I thought I’d done well and we would have regular conversations about how I could improve. Now I’m at university, I realise that the skills I was given while at college were really useful – I still use them today. My languages teachers taught me how to organise myself before an oral exam and how to learn new vocabulary and phrases. Now when I need to remember things at uni, I still use the same techniques as I was taught back in Year 7! I’m not completely fluent in the languages I’m studying but I know that employers are looking for people who can communicate well rather than know every last word!

Connor - Y8 student at Ely College

My name is Connor. I am in Year 8 but I’m already doing my French GCSE course at the college. I will complete the course by the end of Year 9 and then I’ll have the opportunity to carry on studying AS level French or begin a second or even third language in Year 10. I have been selected to do my French GCSE early because I have shown I have the independent learning skills and hard-working mentality to achieve, so why wait? It’s not just me though – all students who show potential in languages are given a Fast–Track opportunity to take GCSEs in Year 9. I think it’s a great idea. Although it’s really hard work, I feel great when, on a day like today, I’ve completed my first oral exam and it’s gone really well.