NCW Year 9 students have recently completed their FCSE French course, but their language-learning journey didn’t stop there. To celebrate all they had achieved this year, Madame Molina, Head of Modern Foreign Languages at New College Worcester, challenged students to take their learning one step further with a completely open-ended project.
Students were invited to explore, learn about or create anything linked to a French-speaking country. The possibilities were endless – from research projects and travel planning to games, quizzes and even cooking.
Needless to say, our enthusiastic Year 9 linguists did not disappoint. In fact, they excelled!
Finn created an incredibly detailed travel plan for a trip from the UK to France. His project covered every aspect of the journey, including transport, accommodation, meals and costs.
Aliyah chose to design a quiz packed with interesting facts about France, the French language and other French-speaking countries, while Rory, a keen board-game enthusiast, put a French twist on a classic by creating his very own version of French-themed UNO.
Music lover Elonia explored the work of Indila, the French singer, songwriter and record producer. As part of the project, Elonia shared some of her favourite songs with the class, introducing classmates to French music and culture.
Zannah designed a French-language version of the popular game Go Fish, helping players practise vocabulary while having fun with friends.
Meanwhile, Zaki and Ruby worked together on a culinary challenge, researching and baking madeleines for the group. After carefully studying the recipe, they worked with the Houses to create a batch that was such a success there were very few left by the end of the day!
Darcy also chose to explore food and culture, creating a beautiful dairy-free Spanish cake. Although the original brief focused on French-speaking countries, Darcy was keen to share her love of Spain before continuing with Spanish lessons next year. With the help of the Independent Living Skills Department she created a beautiful cake for everyone to share. She even designed a colourful display poster and decorated Spanish-themed serving plates to accompany her creation.
Finally, Zac took accessibility and creativity to a whole new level by designing a Braille version of Monopoly in French. The game has been such a success that students were recently spotted enjoying a game after lunch in the LRC. Every aspect has been made accessible, including the property cards and even the money, which features Braille. The project perfectly demonstrates how languages can be made accessible to everyone.
These fantastic projects bring to a close a busy and successful year for Modern Foreign Languages at NCW. While many visually impaired learners in mainstream settings can find language learning challenging due to accessibility barriers, our students continue to show that with the right support, adaptation and encouragement, they can thrive.
We are incredibly proud of everything our Year 9 students have achieved this year and cannot wait to see where their language-learning adventures take them next.
