Modern Foreign Languages
We aim to show that learning a foreign language is fun! All our language classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards. We use the latest multi-media technology and make full use of ICT in our lessons. We encourage our pupils to be independent, active and reflective learners. Pupils entering Swanmore College of Technology in Year 7 all study French, a language that many of our pupils will have begun in their primary schools. In Year 8, all pupils will take on a second language, we offer Spanish, Italian and German. At the end of Year 9 foreign language study becomes optional, but we encourage pupils wherever possible to continue with their language study into Years 10 and 11 to gain either a GCSE or NVQ qualification in their chosen language(s). To enhance the learning experience further we offer various visits abroad throughout the year and we are always seeking to find a partner school to begin exchange visits. Each year we receive a Foreign Language Assistant to enable pupils to practise their skills with a native speaker. To use a foreign language ‘for real’ gives an entirely new experience of the subject. Being able to speak and communicate in a foreign language is a great skill and one much-valued and sought after by colleges, universities and employers. Have pride in communication – it’s good to talk! GCSE Booster Classes
GCSE Booster Classes will be held after College at the the following times commencing Tuesday 19 January 2010.
French Revision Programme
Spanish
MFL trip to Cologne and the Rhineland, Germany 12th – 17th July 2009
Thirty-five students of German (Years 8-11) and four teachers (Mrs Franklin, Miss Yemm, Mr Ainsworth and Mr Rumsey) left Swanmore College at 6am on Sunday 12th July for the journey to Cologne, stopping in Belgium for lunch en route and arriving at Köln-Deutz youth hostel at 6.30 in time for dinner. Although it poured with rain for the whole journey we were blessed with hot sunny weather for the whole of our time in Germany. We had a packed itinerary, including a cruise on the Rhine; a visit to Rüdesheim, a lovely little hillside town situated on the banks of the Rhine; tours of the Olympic Sports Museum, the Chocolate Museum and a walking tour of Cologne itself; an exploration of Ehrenbreitstein fortress in Koblenz, one of the strongest fortresses in Europe during the time of the Napoleonic wars; a tour of Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn, former capital of West Germany between 1945 and 1990 and, on the penultimate day, Phantasialand which was of course very popular with our pupils, although not everyone enjoyed the Black Mamba, the park’s newest ride! Evening entertainment included a quiz; an, at times, hilarious talent show; a trip to a swimming pool, where we had a much needed chance to cool down and star gazing in front of the magnificent cathedral. Our trip ended with a lunchtime stop in Bruges on the way back to Calais. Our return journey was also rainy but cleared up for our walk along the canals into the famous squares in the centre of Bruges. We saw Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child in the Protestant cathedral and admired the Flemish architecture all around us. As usual, Swanmore pupils were excellent ambassadors for the college and relished the opportunity to practise their German as much as possible.
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