At St John’s C of E Primary every child throughout the school from Reception to Year 6 has the opportunity to study a language and develop their communication skills, embracing a love of other languages and cultures for their future role as a global citizen. In studying French, children develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works and explore differences and similarities in foreign language compared to English.
Our intent is to provide pupils with an opportunity to build linguistic confidence and understanding and to experiment with and be curious about learning French. It is our intention to equip pupils with the language knowledge, skills and understanding to allow them to successfully facilitate the learning of languages in later life. Learning a language raises awareness of the multilingual and multicultural world around us. We strive to embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing necessary to enable children to use and apply their language learning in a variety of contexts.
The French curriculum is designed to deliver the requirements of the programme of study for modern languages and focuses on the successful teaching of the three pillars of language progression- vocabulary, phonics and grammar. Content is selected to motivate and pique children’s curiosity about other languages and culture, investigating patterns and structures. Vocabulary is introduced in small quantities and revisited regularly in different contexts. Children are taught French which aims to pique their curiosity about other languages, so that connections are made with the languages spoken already by our children and local community.. We also explicitly link MFL to other areas of the curriculum such as: numbers [Maths], colours [art] and festivals [RE and DT/cookery].
When children transition to secondary school, it is our ultimate aim that they will understand spoken and written French at simple sentence level; they will have the confidence to hold a short conversation in French, expressing their opinions and asking questions.
Our MFL curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s skills in languages, through weekly lessons by our subject specialists and through oral repetition of daily, everyday phrases. Children progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, although we recognise the importance of doing a lot with a few words!
We follow the Language Angels Scheme of work to ensure coverage and progression across the school, enhancing it with a range of other resources. Children are encouraged and supported to develop their speaking and listening skills through conversational work. The following strategies support language learning:
displays and posters are used to remind children of key vocabulary
practical activities, songs and games are used to help improve memory and recall.
In the classroom, where possible, instructions are given in the focus language to expose children to the language as much as possible in day to day contexts for example in answering the register, saying today’s date, counting and commenting on the weather, table names
Language champions in each KS2 classroom support the delivery of daily practice in each class
visual prompts are used to support children in translating new vocabulary.
word mats/ knowledge organisers may be available for children to have out on desks to support their learning and recap previous learning.
visits to local secondary schools in upper KS2 to enjoy language lessons with language specialists.
Whole school language days foster a love of language in a real life context such as organising and running a French style café or performing in French, which allows children to practise speaking in French with real purpose.
Opportunities such as multicultural book week provide children intercultural understanding through a wide range of resources
Children at St John’s are benefiting from an enriching MFL experience and are gaining a love of languages which they will build on through the school. They will acquire a knowledge and understanding of the French language and become confident language learners. This fosters an enjoyment of languages and gives children a new perspective on the world, to understand their own culture, the languages within their own community and the culture and languages of others.
Year 5 trip to The Ashcombe secondary school for a languages workshop.