French
Old Stratford Primary School French Curriculum Rationale
Intent
Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides the opening to other cultures. At Old Stratford Primary School, we feel that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language in question is aquired. Language teaching will enable children to transfer confidently and successfully for the KS3 language curriculum as well as providing the foundation for learning further languages, equipping children to study and work in other countries.
It is our intent at Old Stratford Primary School, to provide all of our children with a high quality education in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), which develops their love of learning about other languages and cultures.
The skills, knowledge and understanding gained through learning a language contribute to the development of children's oracy and literacy and to the understanding of their own language, culture and those of others.
We aim to create a stimulating and creative language learning environment, to support their understanding of the world and the possibilities that are open to them in the wider world.
Implementation
Children in KS1 will be introduced to French vocabulary through songs, rhymes, stories and games to develop the love of the subject, generate interest and establish initial understanding before progressing to the National Curriculum MFL content in KS2. In KS1, French is taught exclusivelty in French for 30 minutes every week and focuses on listening and speaking skills only.
All children in KS2 have a one hour French lesson per week. This is delivered by a specialist native speaking teacher.
The topics taught in French in KS2 cover the National Curriculum requirements introducing vocabulary, grammar and conversational elements of the language as well as focusing on phonics. Cross curricular links are made where possible and aims to inspire curiosity in our learners. Through regular assessment for learning, we aim to promote an ethos of support, valuing every effort and celebrating successes to help children progress with their learning. The thorough teaching of correct grammatical structures helps benefit from the highest standards of the subject knowledge and education required for learning.
The lessons are designed to motivate children from the first moment and have a clear, achieveable objective and incorporate creative activities for children's different learning styles. We build children's confidence through praise for any contribution they make in the foreign language, however tentative.
French lessons provide a variety of sources to model the language for example through the use of games, stories and songs which maximises the enjoyment and makes as many connections to real life situations as possible. Our MFL curriculum has been designed to progressively develop skills in French. We focus on speaking and listening as well as introducing reading skills and phonics in Year 3 - gradually developing skills in reading and writing in order to lay the foundation for foreign language teaching in KS3.
Impact
Through the high quality first teaching of French taking place, we will see the impact of the subject in the following ways: children will become aware that a language has a structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another, they will develop their language and communication through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing and finally, children will enrich their language learning by developing an undersatnding of the French culture.
Teaching ensures the pupils listen and respond to conversation in French. Repeated practice, alongside chunked learning, helps to ensure that pupils develop fluency. Teacher modelling supports pupils to be accurate in terms of their vocabulary, grammar use and pronunciation. Assessment is built into the curriculum. The teacher uses assessment for learning routinely in lessons to check accuracy, address misconceptions and move learning on.
Our children will transition to their respective secondary schools ready to build on their basic knowledge of the French language. At the end of Year 6, they will have the foundation to become good liguists.
