MFL

Wootton Community Primary School 

Primary Languages: French

Intent 

‘A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing.’ (National Curriculum 2014 – Appendix A)

The skills, knowledge and understanding gained through learning a language contribute to the development of children’s oracy and literacy, and to their understanding of their own culture and those of others. At Wootton Community Primary School, we believe that the early acquisition of French will support the learning of other foreign languages later in life, as well as contributing to children’s understanding of their own language. All pupils have the right to a rich and deep learning experience that includes the basics of an additional language. 

Through the teaching of French at Wootton Community Primary School, we aim to: 

  • Ensure every child has the opportunity, throughout Key Stage 2, to study French as a foreign language – developing their interest in the culture of other nations, communities and beliefs
  • 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
  • Provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes
  • Ensure pupils have access to high-quality teaching and learning opportunities, which progressively develop pupil skills in a foreign language through weekly lessons in KS2
  • Build on previous knowledge gradually as their foreign language lessons continue to recycle, revise and consolidate previously learnt language whilst building on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing

Our French scheme of work aims to instil a love of language learning and an awareness of other cultures. We want pupils to develop the confidence to communicate in French for practical purposes, using both written and spoken French. Through our French curriculum, we aim to give pupils a foundation for language learning that encourages and enables them to apply their skills to learning further languages, developing a strong understanding of the English language, facilitating future study and opening opportunities to study and work in other countries in the future. The French scheme of work supports pupils to meet the National curriculum end of Key stage 2 attainment targets.

Implementation 

The school has planning documents in place, which serve as an overall ‘teaching map’, outlining for all teachers within the school what each class in each year group should be taught. Teachers and pupils are encouraged to use French in daily routines, for example, through answering the register. We follow a high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Kapow scheme of work and a selection of supporting resources. 

Teaching strategies include:

  • Games – in order to consolidate and develop vocabulary through repetition and familiarity, as well as for enjoyment!
  • Role-play – in order to experience the French language in context, to see its use for practical purposes, and to rehearse the pronunciation of French vocabulary
  • Songs and action rhymes – in order to develop memory skills, familiarity with vocabulary, and to enable children to draw comparisons with English language songs
  • Reading – in order to develop phonetic understanding and familiarity with the appearance of the written French language and to make comparisons with our own grammar and phonetic system
  • Scaffolded writing frames – in order to support language selection and to give children agency in their communication
  • Speaking and listening opportunities – in order to familiarise children with the sound of the French language, to give them a chance to explore pronouncing words in French, and to encourage ‘giving it a go’

At Wootton, we praise effort and engagement. We work to make this a safe environment where children feel they can ‘try out’ their language skills, understanding that making mistakes is how we learn. 

Three knowledge strands run throughout our French scheme, with knowledge building cumulatively. 

These are: 

  • Phonics 
  • Vocabulary
  • Grammar 

This knowledge can then be applied within our skills strands, which also run throughout each unit in the scheme:

  • Language comprehension (Listening and reading) 
  • Language production (Speaking and writing) 

Through the French scheme, pupils are given opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines. The scheme provides balanced opportunities for communication in both spoken and written French, with writing tasks incorporated increasingly as the children move through KS2. The scheme is a spiral curriculum, with key skills and vocabulary revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Cross-curricular links are included throughout our French units, allowing children to make connections and apply their language skills to other areas of their learning.

Our scheme of work focuses on developing what we term ‘language detective skills’ and developing an understanding of French grammar, and key vocabulary rather than on committing to memory vast amounts of French vocabulary.

Impact 

The expected impact of our teaching of French at Wootton Community Primary School is that by the time they leave, children will:

  • Be able to engage in purposeful dialogue in practical situations (e.g. greeting someone, ordering in a cafe) and express an opinion
  • Make increasingly accurate attempts to read unfamiliar words, phrases, and short texts.
  • Be able to make comparisons between the grammar and vocabulary of French and English
  • Develop their ability to communicate in French across the four areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing 
  • Have developed an awareness of cognates and near-cognates and be able to use them to tackle unfamiliar words in French, English, and other languages
  • Have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages
  • Use a bilingual dictionary to support their language learning
  • Understand that, in a multi-lingual society, it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language
  • Meet the end of Key Stage 2 stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Languages
  • Be engaged in language learning and therefore prepared to transition effectively to language learning in secondary school

During the term, the impact of French teaching can be monitored continuously through both formative and summative assessment.