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8 MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES / CLASSICS
MFL Leaders in the Prep
Angela Okafor, L6E
Our task ahead as MFL leaders – to teach a German
class to Alphas - initially seemed daunting, but turned
out to be a one-of-a-kind experience that we were very
grateful to have.
In preparation to deliver a class on
der Körper
(the body) to
Alphas, we examined various styles of teaching different types of
language learners, such as audio or visual ones. From flashcards and
crosswords to songs and games, we looked for the most effective way
of keeping classes of seven-year olds engaged, whilst also teaching a
good lesson which covered reading, speaking, and listening. Despite
having fully planned the lesson with Mrs Whalley’s guidance, we were
still a bit apprehensive about how they would react.
The day arrived. Optimistically we walked down to the Prep School
with hands full of activity sheets. We began by introducing the vocab
on a PowerPoint. To keep it interactive, the Alphas repeated these
words and pointed at the corresponding body parts. We then moved
onto a German rendition of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
(Kopf, Schultern, Knie und Fuß)
, which was probably the highlight of
the lesson, until everyone was secure with the pronunciation and
definitions of the vocab. The Alphas got to work on the activity sheet
whilst we went around the class to check the pupils were secure on
the content. After some very impressive amateur dramatics about
a visit to the doctors for an injured limb, the lesson finished with a
game of
Hans Sagt
, the German version of “Simon Says”.
We then split up - Nikhita and Ashviny taught a class together and I
was alone. Having had feedback from Mrs Whalley about what had
gone well and what had not, I was able to deliver a better second
lesson. We emerged from our separate lessons exhausted, but
with a newfound respect for teachers who do this all day. Being an
MFL Leader was very rewarding and I highly recommend it to all
language students
Our Temple
Daisy Cohen, L4W and Emilia Coupland-Webb, L4S
For our Classics Greek temple project, wemade a temple on
the 3Dprinter, with help fromtheDT department.
First of all, we had to choose the design of the temple that we wanted
to make. This was a hard decision as there were many different
designs of temples to choose, from Doric style columns to drawings
on the entablature. However, two days later it came to our attention
that our design of temple would not print on the 3D printer without
supports as the columns were too weak. We added supports to the
temple, and then it was off to the printer! The printing took around
five hours to complete and it was
very exciting seeing the layers of
the temple build up whilst being
printed. Finally, on Monday morning
we went to see if the temple was
completed. Then, we broke off the
supports to see our brilliant temple.
We couldn’t have done it without
the DT department, so thank you
to them!
A Level Spanish Film and Literature Study Day
Caroline Crawley-Hubbard, U6W
On 8 March, Bancroft’s U6 Spanish students travelled
to London for a day of film and literature study. We
were all very excited as this was going to provide a
‘fine tuning’ of our skills to enable us to achieve the
top grades in the summer! Fingers crossed!
Our study was structured into two sessions: morning and
afternoon. Our first lecture looked at
Volver
by Pedro Almodóvar
and, in contrast,
Como Agua Para Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel. We
concentrated on essay and structure techniques based around
examiners’ expectations. We compared and contrasted the plot,
themes and analysis used by Almodóvar, who we
are studying, and Esquivel which gave us further
insight into the role of the ‘traditional’ Mexican
woman. Half way through the day we broke for
lunch which gave us the opportunity to visit the
local Itsu! The afternoon session focussed on
La
Casa de Bernarda Alba
, by Federico García Lorca
as well as
El Laberinto del Fauno
by Guillermo
del Toro. Again we looked at exam technique
and the deeper issues highlighted within the two
pieces of work. The day was crammed full of
useful strategies and information, which will no doubt help prepare
us fully for our examinations.
Removes Study Trip
to the BFI
Sahana Sekhon, U4S
The French department
organised for Removes
students to grab an amazing
opportunity: on the 29
February 2019, we went to the
British Film Institute (BFI) on
the Southbank.
The cinema had a giant room full of seats, which were filled with
pupils from other schools, and a large screen. In the morning,
we watched a variety of short films in French, about which we
answered questions and completed worksheets. It was very
interactive and everyone was involved. Many of our pupils were
picked to give answers in French using a microphone so everyone
in the cinema could hear. After 2-3 hours of fun and entertaining
activities, we had lunch and were able to explore parts of the
building. After lunch we watched
Le Petit Nicolas
, a French film with
subtitles. We enjoyed it very much and I would recommend it to
families and friends to enjoy together.
After we watched the movie, we made our rainy way back to
school but, luckily we were able to cast our eyes upon a rainbow,
which was like the cherry on the top of a perfect cake. We loved
going to the BFI and I think if anyone ever had the opportunity to
go, they should seize it.
In addition to the Removes trip, French students of the L6th and the
U4th also had the opportunity to attend a film study day at the BFI in
January and May.