Abingdon News No.49

www.abingdon.org.uk 17 What are we looking to achieve with MFL at Abingdon? We want boys to be interested and open-minded about languages and cultures. We want them to learn to communicate in more than one or two languages and to develop a love of language and an interest in other cultures that will stay with them throughout their lives. Learning a language is not just about sitting in a classroom. We are very keen for boys to take part in the trips and language exchanges that we offer; they get so much out of spending time immersed in another country. What languages do we offer at GCSE? In the Lower School we teach German and French in the First Year and then boys choose which of the two they want to continue with into the Second Year. In the Third Year boys have the option to take up an additional language which could be Mandarin or Spanish. We currently have 197 boys studying two languages in the Middle School and six boys studying three. MFL’s results at iGCSE are excellent; the 2018 cohort achieved close to 80% of all passes at A*/A grade for all languages German (79%), French (78%), Spanish (80%) and Mandarin (92%). What are the MFL options in the Sixth Form? We offer French, German and Spanish at Pre-U. We also have the option to take Russian or Italian, Spanish or German Fast Track GCSE in a year if there’s demand and capacity. How popular are MFL? We currently have 50 boys studying MFL in the Sixth Form. We seem to be bucking the national trend and not seeing the same decline in numbers that is happening elsewhere. Languages sit very well alongside the STEM subjects. It’s very useful to have a language if for instance you are looking to work abroad or in research. Why do we do the Pre-U? We really like the Pre-U syllabus. It’s varied, concentrates on current affairs and there’s a lot of freedom in what we teach. It’s also highly valued by universities. The syllabus really suits the boys; they are very engaged with it and achieve fantastic results. We were utterly thrilled with the 2018 Pre-U results, achieving an amazing 100% D2/D3 grades, equivalent to 100% A*/A grades, across all three languages. Are languages popular subjects for Abingdonians to study at university? Yes, especially compared with the national trend - in 2018 Abingdon had 11 boys go on to study joint honours, linguistics or a pure language degree at university – courses included Linguistics at Cambridge, Japanese and Classics & French at Oxford, Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American studies at Leeds and Modern Languages at Durham, Birmingham and UCL. Why would you encourage boys to study languages? Because to have another language is to possess a second soul. To have another language is to possess a second soul. Taking a look at…. Modern Foreign Languages, MFL We asked Modern Foreign Languages Co-ordinator and German teacher, Alexandra von Widdern, to tell us more about the MFL department which has 14 staff (full and part time) plus 5 language assistants. September saw MFL move into bright, new accommodation in Mercers’ Court complete with a dedicated sixth form study room, classrooms and individual spaces for the language assistants.