French
"To have another language is to possess a second soul."
Charlemagne
Intent
At Knightlow we love learning foreign languages! We believe that studying a language provides children with essential skills. As well as giving them the opportunity to learn a second language, an increasingly important skill in our globalised society, it also helps to promote and develop a broader intercultural understanding. The study of a second language also supports children’s general literacy and oracy, by raising awareness of their own language and thereby enriching their understanding of both. Furthermore, primary languages are about fun, communication, confidence building, developing learning strategies, learning about similarities and differences and respecting others. We aim for pupils to develop the confidence to communicate in French for practical purposes, using both the written and spoken word. Our French scheme of work supports pupils to meet the national curriculum end of Key stage 2 attainment targets.
Implementation
French is taught in Years 3 to 6.
- Use of Kapow Primary French scheme, a spiral curriculum, with key skills and vocabulary revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning.
- Opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines.
- A balance of opportunities for communication in both spoken and written French,
- Cross-curricular links to allow children to make connections and apply their language skills to other areas of their learning.
- A range of teaching strategies: independent tasks, paired and group work including role-play, language games and language detective work.
- Strong staff subject knowledge, which is supported via ongoing CPD from Kapow language specialists.
Impact
Our MFL curriculum ensures that all pupils develop key language learning skills, as set out by the National Curriculum, as well as a love of languages and an understanding of other cultures. The children at Knightlow will be equipped with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to be successful at learning languages in Key Stage 3. Furthermore, we aim to have ignited the children's enthusiasm for languages so much, that they are encouraged to seek further opportunities to develop their skills and understanding in the future.
The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary French scheme of work is that children will:
- Be able to engage in purposeful dialogue in practical situations (e.g., ordering in a cafe, following directions) and express an opinion.
- Make increasingly accurate attempts to read unfamiliar words, phrases, and short texts.
- Speak and read aloud with confidence and accuracy in pronunciation.
- Demonstrate understanding of spoken language by listening and responding appropriately.
- Be able to identify word classes in a sentence and apply grammatical rules they have learnt.
- Meet the end of Key Stage 2 stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for Languages.