Details
Modern Foreign Languages
This should be read in conjunction with the CRC and Respectful Relationships Policy.
CRC Article 28: All children have the right to an education.
All policy and practice in Timothy Hackworth Primary School respects children’s dignity.
Intent
At Timothy Hackworth Primary School, learners will:
- experience their right to develop their understanding of other cultures;
- develop curiosity and resilience in language learning as well as enjoyment of languages through challenging but enjoyable learning opportunities;
- develop confidence in speaking in French, to enable them to communicate for practical purposes, with improved pronunciation and enunciation;
- share their ideas and thoughts and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and writing;
- learn to tackle and make increasing sense of text in French, enjoying a range of French literature, becoming more fluent and confident;
- learn to write simple texts in French;
- increase their cultural understanding, enabling them to develop new ways of thinking, by learning about different countries and their people;
- be positively exposed to the French language which promotes and equips children for future studies and potential career choices within the wider world of work.
We strive to ensure our pupils have the opportunity to demonstrate resilience, resourcefulness, reflectiveness and reciprocity and have the ambition to be successful learners.
Implementation
All children in Key Stage Two learn French. Children focus on Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing skills and Knowledge about Grammar.
At Timothy Hackworth, French is taught using the following:
- Units are taught each half term, focusing first on Vocabulary, Speaking and Listening, then progressing into Reading and Writing.
- Each Key Stage 2 class accesses French language learning provision routinely;
- Lessons are progressive and build upon prior knowledge and learning, moving from word level, to sentence level, then to text level, across KS2;
- Detailed lesson plans are linked to ready-made resources from the Primary French Project scheme of work. There are interactive whiteboard resources including games, stories and songs available with audio-narration from a native speaker;
- Vocabulary ensures exposure to identified phonemes and develops the ability to build sentences using grammatical knowledge;
- Recognition of French language patterns and how they are similar and different to English;
- Vocabulary is reinforced and revisited through the use of Vocabulary Books and bilingual dictionaries;
- To find words effectively using a bilingual dictionary;
- Our curriculum allows for the revisiting and consolidation of prior knowledge;
- There are opportunities to record children’s French writing, translating, speaking, listening and reading activities in the children’s French Writing books, the ‘Class Black Book’, through recording audio on iPads and/or display, where appropriate;
- Participation in a wide range of cultural activities supports the development of Cultural Capital, for example, visits from Nathalie Paris support the development of Cultural Capital;
- Our Rights Respecting ethos continues to develop children’s cultural understanding linked to the global goals and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC);
- Links with European schools will provide opportunities to develop writing skills and enable children to explore other cultures;
- Children are encouraged to appreciate and enjoy the French language through sharing French stories in Assemblies, visits from French Nationals, links with a French school, and celebrating languages through, for example, the European Day of Languages.
Impact
The impact of our school approach will enable our pupils to:
- have an informed understanding of other cultures;
- be curious and resilient language learners;
- speak confidently in French, with accurate pronunciation and enunciation;
- understand some spoken French;
- be able to communicate, at an age-appropriate level, in the reading, writing, speaking and listening of French;
- accurately use a bilingual dictionary;
- manipulate language to speak and write in sentences creatively, using prior knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and key features, with or without a dictionary;
- enjoy French stories and understand the meaning of them;
- be resilient and resourceful;
- be a tolerant, global citizen who appreciates the diversity of society, and makes a positive contribution to this;
- leave our school with an informed knowledge of the French language in preparation for language-learning in their secondary school career.
