MFL

"Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom." - Roger Bacon

Our MFL subject leader is Mr Gregory.

French

At St Joseph’s Primary School:

The core language taught at St Joseph’s is French. Children have weekly lessons in French in Year 1/2 and throughout Key Stage 2, using a variety of resources. EYFS experiment with French learning songs, numbers and simple phrases. In Lower KS2, children acquire basic skills and understanding of French with a strong emphasis placed on developing their Speaking and Listening skills. These will be embedded and further developed in Upper KS2, alongside Reading and Writing, gradually progressing onto more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy.

Intent

It is intended that when children leave St Joseph’s, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore, other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language. They will be engaged and prepared to continue language learning at Secondary School.

Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. A high quality languages education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should 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. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes.

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 

In line with the National Curriculum for MFL, pupils at St Josephs are 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 clear
• describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
• understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms 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.

This is done through a weekly French lesson, taught by a specialist teacher who is supported by the class teacher. The class teacher is then able to revisit the spoken language learnt, within the lesson, throughout the week.

Impact

Children will be able to communicate with each other in French.

Children will become aware that a language has a structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another.

Children will develop their  language through the development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Children will enrich their  language learning by developing an understanding of the French culture.

Children will learn how  language skills can be applied to a range of languages.

Children will transfer to KS3 effectively and successfully and will be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills.

Impact will be measured through key questioning skills built into lessons, child-led assessment such as success criteria grids, formative assessments aimed at targeting next steps in learning.

MFL at St Joseph's