Modern Foreign Language Subject Leader: Mrs K O’Brien
At Sutton-at-Hone, Key Stage 2 children are taught to appreciate the richness of the French language and culture and to communicate their ideas using the three pillars of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary.
Intent
Through our chosen scheme of work, we aim to give pupils a foundation for language learning that encourages and enables them to apply their skills to learning further languages, developing a strong understanding of the English language, facilitating future study and opening opportunities to study and work in other countries in the future. The French scheme of work supports pupils to meet the National curriculum end of Key stage 2 attainment targets and, although there are no Key stage 1 attainment targets for Languages, at Sutton at Hone we aim to build a base of topic-based French vocabulary in Year 2 through regular singing of a range of songs and playground rhymes in French.
Implementation
Our National Curriculum coverage shows which of our units cover each of the National Curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the strands. Our Progression of skills and knowledge shows the skills and knowledge that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of Key Stage 2. Through the French scheme, pupils are given opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines. The scheme provides balanced opportunities for communication in both spoken and written French, although in Year 3 the focus is on developing oral skills, before incorporating written French in Year 4 and beyond. The scheme is a spiral curriculum, with key skills and vocabulary revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Cross-curricular links are included throughout our French units, allowing children to make connections and apply their language skills to other areas of their learning.
Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including role-play, language games and language detective work. Our scheme of work focuses on developing what we term ‘language detective skills’ and developing an understanding of French grammar, and key vocabulary rather than on committing to memory vast amounts of French vocabulary. Pronunciation is emphasised early on using our Mouth mechanics videos to support pupils with phoneme pronunciation in French. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed and enjoyed by all. In order to help pupils, retain their French learning, we provide information about how to incorporate French into the classroom environment every day in our ‘During the week’ sections.
Impact
- 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.
- Use a bilingual dictionary to support their language learning.
- Be able to identify word classes in a sentence and apply grammatical rules they have learnt.
- Have developed an awareness of cognates and near-cognates and be able to use them to tackle unfamiliar words in French, English, and other languages.
- Be able to construct short texts on familiar topics.
- Meet the end of Key Stage 2 stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Languages.
Modern Foreign Language in Each Stage
Children learn greetings through the use of puppets, begin to describe a range of objects using colour, size and shape, learn about French transport and food and the circle of life. They look at life in French schools, including playground games, classroom commands, numbers, calendars and birthdays. They practise their French in role play conversations and learn how to talk about travel, holidays, transport, weather, toys, likes and dislikes, food and drink, animals and their habitats and how to read a simple French story. Children discover French festivals and their traditions, create a song in French for a famous song contest and draw comparisons in the weather between France and the UK.
Children build on their learning in LKS2 by first revising key topics and vocabulary and then learning where French is spoken around the world. They learn about French family life and what to see and do when visiting a French town. They learn how to talk about places in the locality, directions and their position and how to plan a French holiday. Sport is a big topic, with children learning to express their preferences and to engage with popular French sports such as cycling and football in addition to discussing the Olympics. Children compare sporting activities in France and the UK and compete in an inter-year group league in the traditional French game of la pétanque. They learn to appreciate the popularity of football in France, reflected in the fierce pride of supporters for their national team, Les Bleus, and research information about the famous Tour de France, understanding the significance of the maillot jaune and how it is awarded.
Modern Foreign Language Progression
SEND Information
We aspire to ensure that SEND and disadvantaged children are given the necessary support in class to fully access the learning of French and embrace the culture in French-speaking countries.