Intent

At St. John’s, our aim is to enthuse pupils to participate fully and develop a love of learning of modern foreign languages. We believe that learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Since September 2014, learning a language is a statutory foundation subject and a national entitlement for every pupil in KS2. 

The new National Curriculum in Primary Languages requires, amongst other things, that substantial progress be made in one language across the key stage. At St John’s Primary School, children have weekly lessons in French throughout Key Stage 2, using the resources and units of work from The Catherine Cheater Scheme of Work for French, in addition to other resources. 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.

It is intended that when children leave St John’s Primary School, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language.  They will be engaged and prepared to continue language learning at Secondary School.
 

Implementation

The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each French topic are mapped across each year group and are progressive throughout the school. In line with the National Curriculum for MFL, pupils at St John’s Primary school are taught to:

1. listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
2. explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
3. engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
4. speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
5. develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
6. present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
7. read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
8. appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
9. broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
10. write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clear
11. describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
12. understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): 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.

Through the planned approach to French teaching, we expect our Key Stage 2 children to be taught the Year group skills for their age group. Children in Year 3 and 4 are working on building their development skills. These include reading, writing, listening and grammar. The skills are progressive and always build on prior knowledge. 

Impact

We measure the impact of our curriculum through teacher assessment and analysis of this by the subject leader.

Staff use the following methods:

• Observations of children speaking and listening in French
• Games and quizzes
• Marking of written work
• Images, voice recording and videos of children completing speaking and listening activities stored on Seesaw
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
• Learning walks
• Subject tracking

Using a variety of approaches to assessment ensures that all pupils, including SEN, are not disadvantaged by the means of assessment.

The MFL subject leader is assured of the accuracy of the judgements made through moderation and professional dialogue with staff, through observation and by reviewing evidence on Seesaw and by speaking to children about their work in French. The leader also ensures 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.