A2 Spanish Student Work

Successful Videoconference - Elbeuf Work Experience Exchange

Today we held a successful videoconference between our students going on the French Elbeuf Work Experience Exchange and their partners. Students were introduced to their new partners for the first time on camera where a small exchange took place between them. Time was tight due to the time difference -we only had a 15 minute window! - however, we got through a lot of introductions and this brought life to the exchange earlier than it would have been physically possible. Well done to both sides!

MYLO Teacher Feature

MYLO are encouraging teachers to provide feedback on how they are using MYLO in lessons. CILT are posting a MYLO Teacher Feature on their website which also features on the MYLO Facebook page. This week Miss Hardman has a quote entered this week. Click on the links for updated feedback features.

We are also getting more teachers signed on and creating groups at The Weald of Kent Grammar School. MYLO has a great inbuilt motivation system: avatars which are unlocked the more points the students get, competitiveness between individual students on activities, between classes/teachers, between individuals on a national level and lastly between schools nationally. This multi-layered motivation system drives the students interest to look into more language learning activities. We look forward to higher rankings!

Reasons to learn languages

Last year, only 16% of those completing their GCSEs obtained the "English Baccalaureate", a new initiative of Education Secretary Michael Gove. The baccalaureate consists of five GCSEs: English, mathematics, a science, a humanity and a foreign language. Gove proposes that this be considered the benchmark of success, an idea which is not unreasonable considering that equivalent qualifications are already an expectation in most other developed countries.

The foreign language is the component which most often hinders a pupil in obtaining this qualification. Last year was the first year in which French was no longer one of the top ten GCSEs in terms of number of entries, a figure which has been falling ever since it became optional to study a language after the age of fourteen. Such little emphasis on the study of other languages, especially in comparison to our European counterparts where it is usually compulsory until the age of eighteen, is shocking, considering that:

• From 2012 entry onwards, it will be neccesary for all those applying to University College London to offer a language at GCSE level.


• Only medicine graduates enjoy a better rate of employment and higher level of salary than those who graduate in modern languages.


• Depite the common belief that "everyone speaks English", the figure is actually only 25%. It is also polite to attempt to speak to others in their own tongue when abroad, instead of arrogantly assuming a knowledge of English.


• Knowledge of another language improve's ones understanding of their own.


• However good a translation is, there is no substitute for Moliere, Brecht, Flaubert or Kafka in the original language.

These are just a few reasons why language learning is important, but widespread media concern over the decline in students choosing to study them does suggest that an overhaul in teaching methods and perhaps the curriculum is needed.

Qu'est-ce que vous pensez?

(source: timesonline)

Relative Pronouns - Classwork YR 11

To 11 1.2 & 11.2.1

We will use these links in our lesson Thurs 9th Dec and Fri 10th Dec.

Relative Pronoun Practice:

Exercise 1 Qui or Que?
Exercise 2 Qui or Que?

Instructional Videos:

The Angry Museum

"que", "qui", "où" et "dont"

Mlle Hardman

New Online Learning Resource

Digital Dialects is a site that is growing with new resources in a multitude of languages. Whilst of a KS2-3 level currently, it provides good practice in language basics. Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin and Greek students will be pleased as we are low in online resources for these languages. It has been added to the online language learning resources menus under each flag on the right of this page. If you find any more please add the information to the comment below!

Merci beaucoup!


Mlle Hardman

MFL Snow Cover Work Friday 3rd Dec - UPDATE

As the volume of information is increasing for cover work information, we are experimenting with a different format for storing cover work.

1) Please create and account with http://www.edmodo.com/ - for which you do not need to add your email address.

NOTE: Please make your username recognisable to your teacher. This is a secure website where only your teacher will be able to make contact with you and vice versa. Communication with groups you are a member of is also possible. In the interest of e-safety members of the school management will also have access to this account.

2) A group entitled "Snow Cover MFL" has been created for you. For the purposes of e-safety, please request access to this group by sending an email to e.hardman@wealdofkent.kent.sch.uk with the subject "Edmodo Access".

3) You will see documents by teacher name and date for the current snow period. Scroll down to see these for each group you are invited to, or click on the "Library" link at the top of the page.

Please leave a comment on this blog or email Miss Hardman at: e.hardman@wealdofkent.kent.sch.uk if you have any queries about this site or accessing the currently available snow work. Alternatively any comments made on this group in http://www.edmodo.com/ will be emailed to Miss Hardman. This will remain the case until individual teacher accounts are created.

Thank you

Mlle Hardman and the MFL Team

Snow Day MFL Cover Work Friday 3rd December

Given the continued closure of the Weald of Kent Grammar School on Friday 3rd December, please find below details of cover work for any MFL lessons missed for this day:

(The "Snowflake" artwork was achieved via the "draw 4 free" app on an iPhone. It's simply called "Flocon Bleu" / "Blue snowflake". Think you can do better? Create a snowflake* and email it to Miss Hardman on e.hardman@wealdofkent.kent.sch.uk, and it may be posted on the next snow work post! If we receive a few we will dedicate an entire post to them. Please add a/some key words in a foreign language to describe your snowflake). * For iPhone app creations, save it to your photo album, email it to your email account, then forward to above address. / No iPhone? - Draw one then take a photo, then email it etc...


Miss Hardman's classes:

7OR Spanish Period 1 - we were going to distribute your Spanish penfriend letters so please prepare some text to include in a Christmas card to send back to them. Write this in English. You could include how we celebrate Christmas as a nation, and also specifically in your family. Either bring them to next lesson (10/12/10) or you will get lesson time to do it in as we are in B1 that day.

9G & 9D French P3&4 - we were going to conduct your speaking and writing assessments on Friday 3rd Dec. Therefore continue preparing / revising for these.

7GR German Period 5 - We were going to do your telling the time test so continue revising that. Please learn 10 more words from the glossary pages of Module 2 from the text book. Be ready to demonstrate your learning next lesson.


All other MFL students for Friday 3rd December - or any further ensuing days of snow, please use the language practice links on the right hand menu under the relative language. Try to do an hour for each lesson that you would miss.

If you are currently preparing for controlled assessments, written or oral, please continue to do so at home.

Please check this blog site for further updates

Mlle Hardman & the MFL Team :o)

Snow Day Learning Resources

Dear MFL Students,
Snow day work for those missing Miss Hardman's classes is as follows:

Year 10D French period 1:
Do an extra preparation hour for your controlled assessment.

Year 11 1.2 French:
For those who missed last lesson due to an exam I was going to introduce Relative Pronouns. Please read up on this website link prior to next lesson. For those who where there last lesson we were going to reinforce our prior learning and also practice. Please do the QUIA exercises on this blog post and see how you do. We will feedback next lesson.

All other MFL students for Thurs 2nd December - or any further ensuing days of snow, please use the language practice links on the right hand menu under the relative language. Try to do an hour for each lesson that you would miss.

If you are currently preparing for controlled assessments, written or oral, please continue to do so at home.

Please check this blog site for further updates

Mlle Hardman & the MFL Team :o)

Eruditio latin quod cupiditas

Sunday 21st November 2010 saw the launch of an exciting £2.5million campaign to restore the teaching of Latin and Greek to all state school students in Britain within ten years. With celebrity supporters such as Joanna Lumley, Boris Johnson and Tom Stoppard, the campaign, lead by classics enthusiast Bettany Hughes, aims to ensure that more than current 16% of state schools offer at least one of the subjects.

The learning of classical languages is proven to help British learners of romance languages, particularly of French, Spanish and Italian, for they already have a basic grounding in the grammatical patterns. In addition, however good a translation of a piece of literature, there are always some aspects which can only truly be appreciated if the piece is read in its original language. A wide range of classical literature in its original text would be opened up to people if they were equipped with the language skills. Learning Latin is also proven to improve pupils’ standards across the curriculum, particularly in English and Maths, and classics graduates can expect to enjoy a higher employment rate than the majority of other arts graduates.

Personally, I believe that the campaign is a brilliant idea, and hope it will be effective. A couple of years ago I had the chance to learn a small amount of Latin at Weald. Even the basics have proved to be helpful as I now attempt to read medieval French literature!

This information in this post was taken from an article published in “The Sunday Times” on 21/11/2010.