Language is all around us. We experience it every day, with every human interaction and it is a vital means of communication with the world. At St John’s CE Primary School, we believe that learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for all pupils in our care. Learning another language raises awareness of the multi-lingual and multi-cultural world and introduces an international dimension to pupils’ learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and those of others. The learning of a foreign language provides a medium for cross-curricular learning and for the reinforcement of knowledge, skills and understanding developed in other subjects.

Intent

At St John’s, the intention of our Languages curriculum is to develop an interest in and thirst for learning other languages. We aim to introduce the learning of the French Language and the understanding of its culture in an enjoyable and stimulating way. Pupils will be taught French in Key Stage 2. We aim to embed the essential skills of listening, reading and speaking throughout the KS2 through an appropriate balance of spoken and written language. By following a structured sequence of lessons, we will ensure a progression of knowledge and skills. The focus of our teaching will be on practical communication and will lay the foundations for further learning at KS3.

The National Curriculum for Foreign Languages aims to ensure that children:

• Make substantial progress in one language.
• Understand and respond to spoken and written language.
• 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.
• write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
• broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.

Implementation

Children learn French through effective teaching and sequences of lessons and experiences. The French lessons are taught to all children in KS2 through discreet lessons using the ‘Twinkl PlanIt’ scheme. These lessons and resources help children to build on prior knowledge alongside the introduction of new skills. A series of lessons are suggested, providing structure and context as well as offering an insight into the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. This curriculum is designed to progressively develop skills in French, building upon previous knowledge and providing opportunities for revision of language and grammar. This vocabulary is included in display materials and additional resources so that children have opportunities to repeat and revise their learning.  Staff may further supplement lessons through using other materials from alternative websites to suit the needs of the class.  

We seek to provide children with further opportunities to broaden their language skills and knowledge such as enrichment days. This will allow KS1 children to be introduced to MFL through exploring another language informally.

Impact

At St John’s we aim for children to understand and appreciate the value of Languages in the context of the wider world. Teachers assess French throughout lessons using ‘assessment for learning’ which is used to inform future planning.

We hope our curriculum will contribute to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self- reflection. This will be seen in them being able to talk confidently about their work and sharing their work with others.

Language in the Early Years

In the Early Years, children will practise language skills through the Early Learning Goals: 'Listening, Attention and Understanding' and 'Speaking'.

Children will learn to listen attentively and respond to questions, as well as taking part in group discussions. They will comment on what they have heard, ask questions and hold conversations. They will participate in discussions, offering their own ideas and using new vocabulary. These skills will create a foundation for the later learning of new languages.