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Snettisham Primary School

MFL

Intent
At Clenchwarton Primary School, our aim when teaching French - which is our foreign language of choice - reflects the National Curriculum’s belief that we can liberate our children from insularity and provide an opening to other cultures.

Learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills including the key skills of speaking and listening as well as extending their knowledge of how a language works. Learning a foreign language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others. It enhances self-esteem, as well as laying a firm foundation for language learning throughout their life.

We want children to have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the world and enjoy learning a second language. We strive to embed the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing to enable children to use and apply their French learning in a variety of contexts and lay the foundations for future language learning.

Implementation
The MFL curriculum provides pupils with an involvement in real communication, where they find language activities interesting and stimulating. Children are provided with opportunities which give language learning a purpose as well as providing greater cultural awareness of the country (or countries) where the target language is spoken. We provide activities which are relevant to their own lives.

Through the teaching of Foreign Languages, pupils should be taught to:

  • Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
  • Explore 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 of using familiar words or phrases.
  • Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.
  • Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.
  • Appreciate 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.
  • Describe people, places, actions and things orally and in writing.

During key stage 1 pupils are involved in early language experiences such as answering the register in different languages, learning foreign language songs and hearing stories from different countries as part of mother tongue celebration events.

During key stage 2, French is taught to all pupils in Years 3 to 6 as part of the curriculum, using the Rigolo scheme of work. We aim to ensure that the learning of a foreign language is positive and rewarding so that this will influence the learners’ attitudes for years to come.

Impact
Children’s curiosity for different languages and cultures will be fostered by giving them opportunities to investigate and enhance their love and knowledge for different civilisations. Pupils will be confident and enthusiastic when conversing in French, reading and writing and are ready to continue their journey of language learning.

To view the Curriculum Overview click here