MFL the Curriculum

Introduction

At St Paul's School the modern foreign language that we teach is French. Throughout our MFL curriculum is a commitment to enhancing and promoting our core vision of understanding ourselves and seeking to understand others.

‘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)

INTENT

At St Paul’s, we aim to foster inquisitiveness into Modern Foreign Languages. Through deepening pupils’ understanding of language and culture of other countries they can widen their understanding of the world. Learning French provides the foundation for learning further languages.

Through Modern Foreign Language Learning we aim to:

To give pupils a positive, enthusiastic attitude to languages within a creative and multicultural environment
To nurture an interest in learning other languages
To introduce language learning in a way that is fun and enjoyable
To stimulate and encourage pupils’ curiosity about language
For pupils to develop an awareness of language structure and that the structure differs from on language to another
To develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills
To lay the foundations for future study

By the time children leave St Paul’s they will 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 and masculine 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.

IMPLEMENTATION

At St Paul’s, we teach French in upper Key Stage 2. The teaching is multi-sensory and kinaesthetic. There is an emphasis on the use of games, role play, actions, videos, rhymes and songs to support the children in their acquisition of French. Lessons are planned so that there are opportunities to recap and revisit previous learning therefore building upon previous experiences.

ICT is used to enhance teaching and learning with children being able to use on-line dictionaries and games platforms to increase their language skills. Videos and songs are posted onto the Google Classroom so that the children can revisit these at home. In school, the classrooms are set up with high frequency vocabulary such as numbers, colours, months of the year, days of the weeks in French on display so that the children can refer to these as necessary.

Modern Foreign Language (French) Policy

French Curriculum Overview

Long Term Planning

French Progress and Skills Map

IMPACT

Through our French Curriculum children will:

be able to communicate with each other to some extent in French
become aware that a language has a structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another
develop their knowledge and understanding of the French language through the development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing
enrich their language learning by developing an understanding of the French culture
learn how language skills can be applied to a range of languages
will transfer to KS3 effectively and successfully and will be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills in their secondary schools.

The MFL subject leader will continually monitor the impact MFL teaching is having on the children’s learning, through work scrutinies and pupil interviews. This will ensure the progress of knowledge and skills is being taught as well as ascertaining the pupils' voice about this subject. French is assessed on a half-termly basis with records being kept on our assessment platform.

St Paul's Cof E Primary School

We Can Do All This Through Him Who Gives Us Strength