“Les limites de ma langue sont les limites de mon monde.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein
The limits of my language are the limits of my world.
Statement of Intent for MfL (French)
At Tewkesbury C of E it is our vision that languages are for life. Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society, where we will foster our students’ curiosity, deepen their understanding of the world and provide an opening to other cultures, where they will welcome differences. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping children to study and work in other countries. We aim, though our Modern Foreign Languages curriculum, to inspire a love of language as part of their lifelong journey of learning. The teaching of French should enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes and learn new ways of thinking. We aim to develop their respect for others, both in our communities and around the world, and we want to build up their cultural capital and widen their horizons through a range of class activities. It is our intention to ensure that by the end of our children’s primary education, they have acquired an understanding of both spoken and written French, confidence to speak in French with others and know how important other languages can be in their future.
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
Implementation
As part of the national curriculum all the children in Key Stage 2 are taught a modern foreign language. The mfl curriculum follows the year by year progression of knowledge and skills as set out in the National Curriculum.
We teach French as our modern Foreign Language in KS2. It is taught in a whole class setting using the Language Angels scheme of work. This provides clear progression for the development of speaking and listening and vocabulary acquisition. There are resources to support the teaching and learning opportunities for pupils. There are also opportunities for the use of incidental French, through the morning/afternoon register and class greetings.
Each lesson, children build on the skills that they have already learnt and develop new ones through a range of fun, exciting and engaging activities:
Games – in order to develop vocabulary through repetition, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
Action songs and rhymes – to develop phonetic skills, memory skills and to further vocabulary.
Reading and writing quality materials.
We build children’s confidence through praise for any contribution they make in the foreign language, however tentative.
We start off with basic words and phrases in lower KS2, enabling the children to become confident in expressing their own opinions as well as being able to, in the upper years, read and write simple sentences and paragraphs in French.
The planning of different levels of challenge and which units to teach at each stage of the academic year will be addressed and reviewed in detail annually as units are updated and added to the scheme. Lessons offering appropriate levels of challenge and stretch will be taught at all times to ensure pupils learn effectively, continuously building their knowledge of and enthusiasm for the language they are learning.
Language Angels are categorised by ‘Teaching Type’ to allow teachers to choose units that will offer the appropriate level of challenge and stretch for the classes they are teaching.
Early Language units are entry level units and are most appropriate for KS1 and Year 3 pupils or pupils with little or no previous foreign language learning. Intermediate units increase the level of challenge by increasing the amount and complexity of the foreign language presented to pupils. They are suitable for Year 4-5 pupils or pupils with embedded basic knowledge of the foreign language. Progressive and Creative Curriculum units are the most challenging units and are suitable for Year 6 pupils or pupils with a good understanding of the basics of the language they are learning. This ensures that the language taught is appropriate to the level of the class and introduced when the children are ready. Children will be taught how to listen and read longer pieces of text gradually in the foreign language and they will have ample opportunities to speak, listen to, read and write the language being taught with and without scaffolds, frames and varying levels of support. Children will 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.
Each teaching unit is divided into 6 fully planned lessons with clearly defined objectives and aims. The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing will be taught and all necessary grammar will be covered in an age-appropriate way across the primary phase.
Impact
As well as each subsequent lesson within a unit being progressive, the teaching type organisation of Language Angels units also directs, drives and guarantees progressive learning and challenge. Units increase in level of challenge, stretch and linguistic and grammatical complexity as pupils move from Early Learning units through Intermediate units and into the most challenging Progressive units. Units in each subsequent level of the teaching type categories require more knowledge and application of skills than the previous teaching type. Activities contain progressively more text (both in English and the foreign language being studied) and lessons will have more content as the children become more confident and ambitious with the foreign language they are learning.
Early Learning units will start at basic noun and article level and will teach pupils how to formulate short phrases. By the time pupils reach Progressive units they will be exposed to much longer text and will be encouraged to formulate their own, more personalised responses based on a much wider bank of vocabulary, linguistic structures and grammatical knowledge. They will be able to create longer pieces of spoken and written language and are encouraged to use a variety of conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, opinions and justifications.
Pupils will continuously build on their previous knowledge as they progress in their foreign language learning journey through the primary phase. Previous language will be recycled, revised, recalled and consolidated whenever possible and appropriate.
The opportunity to assess pupil learning and progression in the key language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and against the 12 DfE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2 attainment targets is provided at the end of each 6-week teaching unit.
“We know good MfL happens in our school when…”
· Pupils are engaged and excited by French lessons.
· Pupils are keen to use incidental French.
· Pupils are confident and willing to participate in lessons.
Useful links
Mamalisa - poetry, songs and links from around the world.
Language Angels
Primary Resources - French: numbers, colours, animals, time, weather, food & drink, the body, clothing, friends & family, hobbies & sport, school, around town, seasonal
BBC - Topic related
Duolingo- Learn languages from all around the world.
Topmarks- KS2 French A BBC site with French skills, phonics, songs, stories and a game.
SIAMS – Outstanding
