French

All pupils have the right to a rich and deep learning experience that includes the learning of the basics of an additional language. The study of Languages prepares pupils to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly carried out in languages other than English. Language learning provides liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. Pupils use language to communicate information responsibly and creatively; learning how to use languages to enable access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities and cultures across our school and wider demographic. 

Our Intent 

Through the teaching of French, we will:  

Ensure every child has the opportunity, throughout Key Stage 2, to study French as a foreign language; developing their interest in the culture of other nations, communities and beliefs.  

• Ensure pupils have access to high-quality teaching and learning opportunities. 
• Ensure pupils have exposure to simple commands including day-to-day French language, including days, months, numbers and classroom instructions.  
• Ensure pupils develop an increased wider cultural understanding through our enriched and varied curriculum to which languages contribute.  
• Ensure pupils speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures 
• Provide language informed by the National Curriculum and the skills expressed in this: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Cultural Understanding. 

Our French offers a carefully planned sequence of lessons, ensuring progressive coverage of the skills required by the national curriculum. Our chosen themes provide an introduction to the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. It aims to foster children’s curiosity and help deepen their understanding of the world. A linear curriculum, split into upper and lower key stage 2, has been chosen to allow opportunity for children to gradually build on their skills. Our French lessons enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in French and provides opportunities to interact and communicate with others both in speech and in writing. At the heart of our lessons is the desire to expose children to authentic French, so the scheme offers regular opportunities to listen to native speakers. 

In Lower KS2, children acquire basic skills and understanding of French with a strong emphasis placed on developing their Speaking and Listening skills. These will be embedded and further developed in Upper KS2, alongside Reading and Writing, gradually progressing onto more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy. 

Through our French scheme, we intend to inspire pupils to develop a love of languages and to expand their horizons to other countries, cultures and people. We aim to help children grow into curious, confident and reflective language learners and to provide them with a foundation that will equip them for further language studies. 

Our Implementation 

Our MFL curriculum is fun and enjoyed by learners, well-resourced and planned to demonstrate progression through Key Stage 2. We measure the impact of our curriculum through

• Pupil discussions about their learning; 
• Monitoring and reflection against subject-specific skills defined in each year of study; 
• Children applying their knowledge of language to other areas of the curriculum;  
• Children applying their cultural understanding and tolerance across society and cultures.  
• Children will be assessed at the end of each unit in speaking, listening and reading/writing.  
• Data will be moderated each year 

Activities can consist of actions, rhymes, stories, song, drama, grammar focus, video clips, air writing, sentence structure, dictionary work, book making and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills.  

Our lessons and resources help children to build on prior knowledge alongside the introduction of new skills. A series of lessons are provide structure and context as well as offering an insight into the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. The introduction and revision of key vocabulary and grammatical structures is built into each lesson. This vocabulary is then included in display materials and additional resources so that children have opportunities to repeat and revise their learning.  

Using the full range of resources, including display materials, will increase the profile of languages across school. The learning environment will be consistent with key French vocabulary displayed, spoken and used by all learners.  

Substantive knowledge: in French is based on the acquisition of the knowledge of how to listen, speak, read and write in the language.  

Creativity: Children develop creativity in French through connecting prior knowledge to new knowledge and adapting this to create new sentences. 

Our Impact 

Our MFL curriculum will ensure all pupils develop key language learning skills set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures.

These are as follows: 

•  understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources 
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt 
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied 

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

•  Observing children speaking and listening in another language. 
• Book looks. 
• Images and videos of children completing speaking and listening activities. 
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice). 
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum to parents. 
• Learning walks. 
• Subject tracking and monitoring. 

The MFL subject leader will continually monitor the impact MFL teaching on children’s learning, to ensure the progress of knowledge and skills is being taught.  They will also ensure the knowledge taught is retained by the children and continually revisited and that the learners are able to apply the skills they have been taught to a variety of different settings, showing independence with their learning. Impact will also be measured through key questioning skills built into lessons, child-led assessment such as success criteria grids, jigsaw targets and summative assessments aimed at targeting next steps in learning.