Modern Foreign Languages

We are very proud of our vibrant department, which offers French, German and Spanish from Upper Three to A Level, with many students opting to study two languages. Languages teach you adaptability and communications skills. Learning how to interact with speakers of other languages means you are less likely to be stuck in one mode of thinking. It can help you to see things from a range of perspectives - making you more adaptable, creative, and insightful. There are over 200,000,000 people over the age of 5 years old that speak more than one foreign language. Why not join them?

Girls in U3 initially study French, German and Spanish to give them a feel for each Language and understand some of the links between them. After the first half term of the Senior School, they continue with two languages. All students take at least one modern foreign language for GCSE but we encourage keen linguists to take two languages. We also offer all 3 languages at AS/A Level.

Beyond the curriculum, we offer trips abroad, plays in the foreign languages, theatre and cinema trips, cooking experiences, various competitions in and out of school, language clubs and native speaking assistants.

For those who are interested in pursuing other languages, there is the opportunity to join Mandarin club. For bilingual students, we are able to organise examinations in their mother tongue.

First page of the PDF file: FreeLanguageApps

Staff List

Mrs Catherine Peel
Head of French and German
email: catherine.peel@stcatherines.info
Mrs Alicia Robinson
Head of Spanish
email: alicia.robinson@stcatherines.info

Mrs Simone Berry, BA (Hons) Canterbury, PGCE (French & German)
email: simone.berry@stcatherines.info
Studied French, German and European Studies at the University of Kent. Studying languages was a good excuse to travel and work overseas and many vacations were spent working in the Alps. On graduating from university, she was delighted to be offered a full-time job as an Overseas Contracts Manager for a major tour operator. After eight years of negotiating contracts and managing overseas staff she decided to return to England and start a new career as a Modern Language teacher. Her first job was at Rodborough School in Godalming which necessitated a move out of London to Surrey. She then moved on to be second in the French Department at Tomlinscote School and then Head of French at the Howard of Effingham School before coming to St Catherine’s.

Mrs Lucy Dibsdall, MA (Hons) St. Andrews, PGCE (Spanish & French)
email: lucy.dibsdall@stcatherines.info
Joined St.Catherine’s in 2007 after completing her PGCE at Cambridge. Prior to teaching Lucy worked at a global advertising agency for four years. She teaches French and Spanish. Aside from teaching she loves sport and travel.

Mrs Robyn Fell, MA (Cantab), PGCE with QTS (German & French) (currently on Maternity Leave)
email: robyn.fell@stcatherines.info
After completing a degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge, Robyn lived and worked in Germany for three years. Robyn has always been interested in teaching so, during university holidays, she volunteered as a TEFL teacher in many countries including China, Hungary, Romania and Poland. Robyn worked with people with complex learning difficulties for a while before training at Haberdashers' Boys' School through the National Modern Languages SCITT where she taught French and German. She loves travelling, learning new languages, reading and mindfulness.

Mrs Montse Gil Rivas - BA, MA Surrey, PGDip, PGCE (Spanish and French)
email: montse.gilrivas@stcatherines.info
Studied Spanish and French at the University of Southampton and completed a PGCE at King’s College, London University. Subsequently, taught in several schools including Godolphin and Latymer, London and St Alban’s High School, both as Head of Spanish and others including The Abbey School, Reading. Retrained as a clinical negligence lawyer and worked for several years in a well-known national firm, but missed teaching languages so returned to teaching! Enjoys travel to see Spanish family in the South of Spain and spending time with her family.

Miss Jennifer Guiton BA, Masters Artois, ITT (French)
email: jennifer.guiton@stcatherines.info
Studied French Language and Literature at ULCO University, France. She moved to China in 2012 to teach French Language and Literature at Hubei Engineering University. In 2013, she then moved to Ireland where she taught as a French Language Assistant at Newpark Comprehensive School in Dublin. She arrived at St Catherine’s School in 2016 and completed her Initial Teacher Training in 2019. Enjoys travelling and learning languages.

Mrs Kate Hawtin - Spanish, BA Durham, PGCE (Spanish & Italian). Head of Sixth Form
email: kate.hawtin@stcatherines.info
Kate joined St Catherine’s in 2006 after a degree in Spanish and Italian at Durham, during which she lived in Madrid and Bologna. She worked for a translation firm in London before deciding to go into teaching and completing a PGCE at Southampton. Aside from European Languages, her other interests include travel, baking and being by the sea.

Mrs Marian de los Ángeles Jiménez Sánchez-Manzanares, BEd Primary (Special Education Needs) with QTS, University of Murcia, Spain (Currently on Maternity Leave)
email: marian.jimenez@stcatherines.info
Studied Special Education Needs in University of Murcia, Spain, and has worked in Special Education Needs for over 4 years, at St Joseph’s Special Needs School and College in Cranleigh as well as Queen Eleanor’s in Guildford. She has now joined the team at St Catherine’s to teach Spanish. She also spent a few months in Perth, Australia teaching Spanish to a small group of bilingual children with dyslexia. She loves working with children and young people, it has been the focus of her career throughout her adult life. As a native Spanish speaker, she is familiar with the challenges that learning another language can bring and has learnt some useful techniques to help overcome them. She loves to cook Mediterranean food and share it with friends and colleagues, giving them a taste of her Spanish upbringing and showing them different traditions. She finds spending time in the forest helps her to unwind and refresh so that she is always ready for the next experience.

Mrs Marjorie Kerleau-Symington, MA West Virginia University (USA) (Currently on Maternity Leave)
email: marjorie.kerleau@stcatherines.info
Born and raised in France, she soon developed a very keen interest for English and thus studied English Language, Literature, and Civilisation before graduating in 2012. A strong believer in taking advantage of universities’ international exchange programmes, she spent a year in Italy studying translation and interpretation techniques, one in Cambridge working as a French Teaching Assistant in two state schools, and another one at the University of York reading English Linguistics as part of her MA. In 2013, she moved to West Virginia for two years to teach French at university and study for a second MA in TESOL. She joined St Catherine’s in 2018 and has been working as a teacher of French and German.

Mrs Rosa McQuade, BA Oviedo, PGCE (Spanish)
email: rosa.mcquade@stcatherines.info
Completed her PGCE at Oviedo University in 1988. She decided to come to England for a term to learn English, after learning French and Italian at university. She worked in several schools in Bristol and Basingstoke until she joined St Catherine’s in 1995. During her time at St Catherine’s, she has been a residential tutor, L6 Boarding Housemistress and Head of Spanish. From day one, she was part of Merriman House. In 2002, she became Merriman Housemistress. She loves reading, going to the theatre, walking by the sea and travel.

Dr Elodie Nevin - Director of Studies, BA Oxon, GTP (French & German)
email: elodie.nevin@stcatherines.info
Dr Nevin trained as a teacher at St Catherine’s, having worked in the city for a couple years following her undergraduate degree. She is passionate about the value of language and literature, achieving her PhD in gender identity in fiction by German women in the nineteenth century.

Mrs Catherine Peel - Oxbridge Co-Ordinator, Head of French and German MA Oxon, PGCE King’s London ( French and German)
email: catherine.peel@stcatherines.info
Studied French, German and Spanish at school, then French and German at Oxford. She has also taught TEFL, and lived in Vienna and Paris. After a PGCE in London, she has taught French, German (and sometimes Spanish too) in a variety of schools in London and Surrey, and been Head of Department three times. She has also worked as a marker and moderator for exam boards. In her spare time she likes to spend time with her family and dogs, read and travel.

Mrs Alicia Robinson - Head of Spanish - BA Leeds, PGCE (Spanish)
email: alicia.robinson@stcatherines.info
Having spent her gap year in Switzerland working for a watch manufacturer, Alicia studied Spanish and French at Leeds University and spent her 3^rd year abroad studying at Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico. After University she worked in the marketing department of a premium cosmetics brand for three years. Alicia then went to Oxford University to complete her PGCE before working at City of London School for boys for 15 years. She has a Spanish mother and an English father who taught Spanish at a boarding school for 30 years.

Curriculum - A Level

Introduction

Why study a foreign language?

Studying a foreign language and the people who speak it will:

give you skills and experiences that will expand your horizons for the rest of your life;
give you an advantage over others in an increasingly globalised labour market and open up career opportunities in Europe and beyond;
help you to understand the motives, politics and culture of countries that are vital to the future of the UK, especially in the EU;
teach you to look at the world through the eyes of others;
develop important and highly transportable skills of analysis, debate and independent thought.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that studying a foreign language (or two!) is just for those who want to teach or translate. There is a vast array of university courses, with languages as your main focus or combined with other subjects such as a social science, many of which include a year abroad studying or working. Career opportunities abound in diverse fields, particularly in business, marketing, tourism, events management and with NGOs.

Just think how much more confident a communicator you would be – and how much more of an asset to your future employer - if you weren’t tongue-tied every time you left Heathrow!

6th Form Events

Modern Languages Cookery

Sixth Form Modern Languages Cookery Evening with the RGS – The Modern Languages Department hosted a Sixth Form cookery evening with the RGS to celebrate European Languages Day. Small teams worked together to cook 3 different dishes using Spanish, French and German recipes. The outcome was delicious and a lot of fun was had by everyone!

Cinema & Theatre Trips

Sixth Form Cinema Trip – The Spanish Department had a great evening out with the Sixth Form Hispanists to watch Pedro Almodóvar’s film Madres Paralelas when it was showing at the Cinema in Woking.

Spanish trip to watch La Casa de Bernarda Alba on stage in Spanish – Each year the Spanish Department take the Sixth Formers studying Spanish to watch a Spanish production of the A-level set text La Casa de Bernarda Alba on stage in London.

Study Days at the British Film Institute – The Spanish Department regularly takes the L5 and the Sixth Formers studying Spanish to take part in Study Days. In May the L5 took part in an interactive study day entitled ‘Exploring identity and culture through short film for KS4 Spanish’ which was conducted mainly in Spanish. They used short films to explore the GCSE themes of identity and culture, to introduce students to new vocabulary and provide them with opportunities to practise their listening, speaking, and writing.

Debating

The MFL department regularly attends Debating Competitions, both formal and informal, in French, German and Spanish. It is a great opportunity to debate with 6^th form linguists at other schools.

U6 French Debating

L6 MFL Debating

French

Examination Board: AQA

Specification
Head of Department: Mrs Catherine Peel

Why study French?

Here are our top 10 reasons to study French:

You will fall in love with the subject.
English is not enough! It's really important that you learn to speak and understand other people no matter where they are from.
You can travel to new places all around the world. French is the official language in 29 countries: Monaco, Gabon, Canada, Switzerland, Senegal are just a few of the many places you could visit!
Over 200 million people speak French in the world, making it the 10th most spoken language worldwide.
Speaking French really makes you stand out from the crowd, especially in a globalised European market.
Learning a French can help you understand your own language and make it easier to learn others. Have you ever thought of the meaning of “Honi soit qui mal y pense” and “Dieu et mon droit”?
You develop 4 key skills when learning French: listening, reading, speaking and writing.
You'll have fun learning about a wide range of topics from shopping, to sport, to food and entertainment.
Speaking more than one language increases your brain capacity and you have better memory too.
It’s an impressive achievement to speak a foreign language and you'll have better options for your future!”

Be an entrepreneur or an agent provocateur, read Sartre in Montmartre or eat gâteau in a chateau. We offer entente cordiale and many a grand prix. There may be some déjà vu but you will be always bienvenue!

Course Content

Year 1: Aspects of society and Artistic Culture and the study of a film (La Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz)
Year 2: Aspects of political life and current issues in society and the study of a book (Un sac de billes by Joseph Joffo)

Assessment

AS Level:
Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing 1h 45mins
Paper 2: Writing 1h 30mins
Paper 3: Oral 30 mins (teacher examined)

A Level:
Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing 2h 30mins
Paper 2: Writing 2 hrs
Paper 3: Oral 30 mins (teacher examined)

German

Examination Board: AQA

Specification
Head of Department: Mrs Catherine Peel

Why study German?

German is the most widely spoken language in all of Europe
Germany has the third strongest economy in the world
German is the language of inventors and innovators, poets and scientists; whatever your academic interest, Germans are at the forefront of research
Because fewer students in the UK are studying German, choosing it at A-Level will make you stand out

Course Content

AS Level: Aspects of society and Artistic Culture and the study of a film (Das Leben der Anderen by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
A Level: Aspects of political life and current issues in society and the study of a book (Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink)

Assessment

AS Level:
Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing 1h 45mins
Paper 2: Writing 1 hour 30mins
Paper 3: Oral 30 mins (teacher examined)

A Level:
Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing 2h 30mins
Paper: 2 Writing 2 hours
Paper 3: Oral 30 mins (teacher examined)

Spanish

Examination Board: AQA

Specification
Head of Department: Mrs Alicia Robinson

Why study Spanish?

If you have a talent for languages, you might want to join the 400 million Spanish speakers in the world as it is the second most widely-spoken language. It is also one of the most spoken languages in Europe.

A knowledge of Spanish and an understanding of Hispanic culture opens many doors. Just think how much more confident a communicator you would be as you head off for a holiday job in Tenerife, fly out for your gap year in Argentina or embark on your first job in Madrid.

Course Content

Year 1: Aspects of Hispanic society, Artistic Culture and the study of a film (Volver by Pedro Almodóvar)
Year 2: Aspects of political life and current issues in society and the study of a book (La Casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca)

Assessment

AS Level:
Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing 1h 45mins
Paper 2: Writing 1h 30mins
Paper 3: Oral 30 mins (teacher examined)

A Level:
Paper 1: Listening/Reading/Writing 2h 30mins
Paper: 2 Writing 2 hrs
Paper 3: Oral 30 mins (teacher examined)

Curriculum - GCSE

Please click on the links below for full details of the GCSE Modern Foreign Languages syllabus.
GCSE MFL Topics List

GCSE MFL AQA Course Overview

Specifications:

French German Spanish

The MFL has also participated in the regional section of the L5 Debating Competition, in French, German and Spanish. All the girls in the team this year were amazing and we are very proud of them.

Curriculum - KS3

KS3 MFL Lesson Topics

All girls study two languages from French, German and Spanish. For each language, there are 3 lessons of 30 minutes each a week. They continue these languages for the next 2 years.
Every term, all girls spend some time focusing on listening and ICT activities. iPads and exercises from the Internet are regularly used to reinforce and practise grammar and vocabulary studied in class.

Homework is set to reinforce and develop the work covered in class. It may be set as a written exercise or as learning.

The weekly homework requirements are as follows:

U3: 1 x 20 minutes .
L4: 2 x 20-30 minutes
U4: 2 x 30 minutes

Additional Languages

A girl who has a foreign language as their mother tongue may take a public examination at the recommended level, either GCSE, AS or A level, in the summer of L5 or later by agreement with the Director of Studies and the Head of Additional Languages. Each year we have a number of girls who sit their Chinese IGCSE (which can be sat in both Cantonese and Mandarin). Parents should note that if taken more than four years prior to the usual sitting of A Levels in U6th, then the exam may not be “counted” by some universities.

Contact: Mrs Alicia Robinson
Email: a licia.robinson@stcatherines.info

Senior School

L5 & U5 French trip to Antibes

The L5 and U5 will get the chance to explore the town of Antibes, on the south coast of France. The programme includes 10 hours of French tuition in small groups as well as a number of cultural activities. These include a guided walking tour of Antibes, visits to Cannes, Grasse and the Institute of Perfumerie, a trip to Nice and the Mamac, as well as interactive language activities such as visiting a market. There will be free time to visit cafes and shops. The girls will stay with host families in pairs as a way of practising their French in an informal context.

L5 & U5 German trip to Berlin

The L5 and U5 will get the chance to explore Berlin. The programme includes 10 hours of German tuition in small groups as well as a number of cultural activities. Activities include a visit to Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall Museum, Hohenschönhausen Memorial and/or Sachsenhausen, the Brandenburg Gate and Holocaust Memorial, the Reichstag Dome, the Berlin Mall, Mauerpark Flea Market as well as free time to visit cafes and shops. The girls will stay with host families in pairs as a way of practising their German in an informal context.

U4 & L5 German trip to Rhineland

The U4 and L5 will have the opportunity to visit the Rhineland, visiting sights such as Rudersheim, Koblenz, Schloss Stolzenfels, Marksburg, St Goar, the Sommerrodelbahn, the Lorely as well as trying German food, ice cream and doing some shopping. Travel will be by coach and accommodation in a hostel.

L5 & U5 Spanish trip to Valencia

The L5 and U5 will get the chance to explore the city of Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. The programme includes 10 hours of Spanish tuition in small groups as well as a number of cultural activities. These include a guided walking tour of the city centre, a harbour tour with water sports activities, a paella party night, salsa lesson, a visit to the food market and cooking lesson and a trip to the oceanográfico aquarium in Valencia. The girls will stay with host families in pairs as a way of practising their Spanish in an informal context.

L5 and U5 trip to Granada 2023

L5 and U5 trip to Rouen 2023

L5/U5 and L6/U6 trip to Berlin 2023

Sixth Form

Sixth form French trip to Antibes

A total immersion French language trip! The L6 and U6 French students spend the October half-term week in Antibes, living with French families, attending language classes and enjoying a range of cultural activities. Highlights have included trips to Nice, Cannes, Grasse and Monaco, and an afternoon spent with a charity in Antibes entertaining a large group of elderly people. At the end of the week everyone’s language skills are assessed and all the girls are given certificates with their CECRL level.

Antibes Trip Video

Sixth Form German trip to Berlin

The L6 and U6 German students spend a week in Berlin in February, living with German host families and enjoying a wide range of historical, cultural activities. All activities are guided and accompanied by German native speakers and language work is incorporated at all stages.

Sixth Form Spanish trip to Valencia

We are continuing to run our 6th form immersion trip to Valencia, Spain’s third largest city. Students get to practice their language intensively at the Taronja School and soak up the culture with their host family. Situated on the east coast, Valencia is Spain's third largest city with just over one million inhabitants. Vibrant, innovative and authentically Spanish, the city has plenty to offer and is also the birthplace of paella! Host families are located within a short walking distance of the school. Taronja School is fully accredited by Instituto Cervantes in recognition of academic excellence and all of the school’s teachers are experienced professionals with a degree in Spanish philology as a minimum. There are visits to “Oceanographic”, the Science and Fallas museums and the 3D cinema, a tour of the old town and one of Europe’s largest covered markets, including climbing the bell tower, a paella party, a coastal walk and a cookery class, not to mention popping out to the variety of tapas restaurants near the school at lunchtime.

Reading Lists

French

Middle school and Senior school girls are encouraged to borrow from the school library, where we have a new range of books from the français facile range. All girls take part in the Reading project and read books from the Culturethèque library each term.

There are a wide range of books in the school library, including:

Fiction:

Colette / Le Blé en Herbe
Deforges / La Bicyclette Bleue
Fournier, Alain / Le Grand Meaulnes
Maupassant / Boule de Suif
Mauriac / Thérése Desqueyroux
Pagnol / La Gloire de Mon Pére
Sagan / Bonjour Tristesse
Sartre / Les Mains Sales
Simenon / Maigret

Non Fiction

Mermet, Gérard / Francoscopie 2003 (Larousse)

Newspapers and Magazines

Le Figaro
Le Nouvel Observateur
Paris-Match
Phosphore
Elle

Media

There is also a wide selection of French films available for 6th formers to borrow on DVD, and for all via Microsoft stream.

German

Reading books in German is an excellent way of getting to know German, Austrian and Swiss culture while improving your grasp of the language. There is a range of literature in St. Catherine’s library, including: Märchen by the Brüder Grimm, novels by the nineteenth-century writer Theodor Fontane, short stories by the twentieth-century writers Thomas Mann and Heinrich Böll and poetry readers that provide an introduction to a range of ‘Dichter.’ There are also a range of modern novellas and novels which give insight into German-speakers today.

We recommend all the books from the German section of the library. They provide an excellent opportunity to learn the language in an enjoyable way. Our easy readers are clearly labelled and should appeal to all beginners. ‘A’ readers are for beginners, whilst C and D readers are aimed at those with an extensive vocabulary.

We also have a number of German books, some of which are listed below.

Drama:

Max Frisch, Biedermann und die Brandstifter | Nun singen sie wieder | Andorra
Heinrich von Kleist, Der zerbrochene Krug
Wolfgang Borchert, Draussen vor der Tür
Bertoldt Brecht, Der gute Mensch von Sezuan | Mutter Courage
Friedrich Durrenmatt: Der Besuch | Die Physiker

Novels:

Judith Kerr, Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl
Stefan Zweig, Brennendes Geheimnis
Franz Kafka, Das Schloss
Thomas Mann, Der Tod in Venedig | Buddenbrooks
Theodor Storm, Der Schimmelreiter
Christa Wolf, Der geteilte Himmel | Kassandra | Nachdenken über Christa T.
Erich Kästner, Die Konferenz der Tiere
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Die Leiden des jungen Werthers
Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Langstrumpf
Theodor Fontante, Effi Briest
Hans Fallada, Erzählungen

Readers:

Erich Kästner, Emil und die Detektive | First German reader: a beginner’s dual-language book

Spanish

Middle School & Senior School - Borrow from the school library and ask your teacher about the Spanish department story collection.

A Level students:

If you want to learn about Spanish OR South American literature, you could read the following books:

‘Culture/History:

Ghosts of Spain
The New Spaniards
The Spanish Civil War A Very Short Introduction
Forgotten Continent: A History of the New Latin America
Slow Train to Guantanamo
The Penguin History of Latin America

Literature

General:

Penguin Cuentos en Espanol: Spanish short stories
The Penguin Book of Spanish Verse

Specific Works:

Federico García Lorca La casa de Bernarda Alba
Gabriel García Márquez Crónica de una muerte anunciada
Laura Esquivel Como agua para chocolate
Ramón J. Sender Réquiem por un campesino español
Carlos Ruiz Zafón La sombra del viento
Isabel Allende La casa de los espíritus
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Rimas
Fernando Fernán-Gómez Las bicicletas son para el verano
Luis de Castresana El otro árbol de Guernica
Gabriel García Márquez El coronel no tiene quien le escriba

Film:

El laberinto del fauno Guillermo del Toro (2006)
• Ocho apellidos vascos Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (2014)
• María, llena eres de gracia Joshua Marston (2004)
• Volver Pedro Almodóvar (2006)
• Abel Diego Luna (2010)
• Las 13 rosas Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (2007)

Website Links

French

Recommended websites for all students

This is Language (www.thisislanguage.com)
Word Referece (www.wordreference.com)
Linguascope (www.linguascope.com)
Quizlet (quizlet.com)
Language Gym (language-gym.com)
BBC Bitesize for French (www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z9dqxnb)
Languages Online (languagesonline.org.uk)
CultureTheque (www.culturetheque.com/exploitation/GBR/accueil-portal.aspx)

In addition, for A Level students:

German

Recommended websites for all students:

BBC Bitesize for German (www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z8j2tfr)
Linguascope (www.linguascope.com)
Wordreference (www.wordreference.com/ende)
Quizlet (quizlet.com/en-gb)
Languagesonline (www.languagesonline.org.uk)
BBC German (www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german)

In addition, for A Level students:

Spanish

Recommended websites for all students:

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/spanish/ (all higher level activities)
www.linguascope.com (Log in: stcatsmfl password: student) any INTERMEDIATE activity. Watch the role play before completing the tasks.
www.languagesonline.org.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ (Complete the Spanish test, have a look at the REPORTAJES section – there are lots of good reading comprehensions there on a variety of topics, watch Mi Vida Loca.
www.quizlet.com/en-gb - (great for quizzes)
www.onoma.es (very good for conjugating verbs)
www.wordreference.com (general language website)

In addition, for A Level students:

www.studyspanish.com (good for grammar revision)
www.rtve.es (news, tv)