Our Modern Foreign Languages Subject Leader is
INTENT:
As foreign language learners, the children at West Coker Primary School will develop a keen interest in learning the French language and culture. By exposing children to this language, we will promote enthusiasm and respect for different languages and countries, allowing children to play a valuable part in the global society. We will endeavour to provide children with the necessary skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, to allow children to apply their knowledge into different contexts. Consequently, we aim to lay the foundations of future language learning and inspire a love for language.
IMPLEMENTATION:
Our MFL curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s language skills in French, through regularly taught lessons. Throughout the year, the children learn and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, arranged around topics. French lessons are taught each week, and are as practical and as verbal as possible to give children full exposure to the language. The children are encouraged to develop their listening and speaking skills through songs, games and conversational work. Children also have many opportunities to recap topics and vocabulary already taught, as we ensure the language is embedded in the teaching e.g. classroom instructions. As the children’s confidence grows, children record their work through pictures, captions and sentences.
Subject Content
Key Stage 2
Pupils should be taught to:
- listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
- explore the patterns and sounds of 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 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 the language
- 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 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.
IMPACT:
The children at West Coker Primary School enjoy learning about the French culture and how it differs to our own. The children will learn and remember new French vocabulary, which they can use in a variety of contexts, such as improving their conversational skills when visiting other countries. The children are also encouraged to understand the relevance of what they are learning and how it relates to everyday life. As French linguists, the children will learn valuable lessons from MFL that may influence the decisions they make and their understanding of different cultures. This in turn, lays the foundations of future language learning and prepares them for opportunities in later life.