Modern Foreign Languages - French

Music Co-ordinator: Miss E Lee

We believe that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including key skills of speaking and listening. Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others. Children from Year 3 onwards learn French. The children learn through a range of interactive activities including songs, games and speaking and listening activities. Please check our Curriculum, Overviews and Knowledge Organisers below.

Intent

Our overarching aim at Lowerhouse Juniors is for our pupils to achieve great things and live life in all its fullness. Offering a well-rounded and balanced curriculum is one way we work towards achieving this and MFL provides the perfect platform for children to achieve great things and explore what living a full life might look like for them and the people around them. Learning a foreign language enables pupils to see themselves as global citizens and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should deepen their understanding of the world and equip them to play active roles in our multicultural society. Teachers should feel confident in enabling children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. Languages should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping children to study and work in other countries.

The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

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.

In Lower KS2, children will 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, with greater emphasis on reading and writing, gradually progressing onto more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy.

It is intended that when children leave Lowerhouse Juniors, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages; they will be enthused and well-prepared to continue language learning in Secondary School and beyond.

Implementation

In line with the National Curriculum for MFL, pupils at Lowerhouse Juniors are taught to:

listen attentively to spoken French language and show understanding by joining in and responding
explore the patterns and sounds of French language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic French language structures
develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in French
broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
understand basic French grammar, including: feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.

French lessons are taught weekly by class staff. Children demonstrate their learning through speaking and listening, participation in games and songs, completing practical activities and recording individual responses in their French exercise books. Immediate feedback is given through picking up pronunciation and word choice errors and supporting the children to embed correct ways.

Impact

We measure the impact of our curriculum through a number of methods, including:

Observing children speaking and listening in another language.
Giving feedback on oral and written work.
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 based on teacher assessments.

The MFL subject leader will continually monitor the impact MFL teaching is having on the children’s learning, through work scrutiny and discussions with pupils, to ensure adequate progression of knowledge and skills from Year 3 right through to Year 6. They will also look for opportunities to celebrate languages across the school year, ensure the knowledge taught is continually revisited and check that the learners are able to apply the skills they have been taught to a variety of different settings, showing independence with their learning.