Shay Lane Primary School Curriculum Drivers

Subject: French

Acquisition of Language	· The key graphemes and phonemes are introduced gradually over four years to ensure that the most common sound spelling rules are learned and embedded. · In each year group, rhymes, songs and stories are selected to ensure sufficient practise of the sounds emphasised in each particular year. · Children develop the skills of developing language and oracy so they can express themselves to others confidently.
Celebrating Differences and Diversity	· Through learning a language, children develop an understanding and respect of other cultures. · Learning MFL fosters curiosity and deepens understanding of the world. · Teachers and leaders develop children’s understanding of languages and cultures celebrating diversity. · Helps children understand their place in the world, enabling them to communicate with those from other countries.
Community and Social Justice	· Learning in MFL is enriched by theme days and assemblies. · Prepares children for future language learning and transition to Secondary school.
Broad Experiences	· Art is used to develop cross curricular links with other subjects throughout school. · Learning a language provides the opportunity to foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. · Provides the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
Happiness and Wellbeing	· The learning environment in classrooms and around school celebrates and promotes learning in MFL · Enables children to learn the skills of perseverance and learning from mistakes as well as being active learners. · Supports children in understanding the importance of self-expression for maintaining a healthy mind.

French

Intent Statement

At Shay Lane, we consider learning a foreign language essential to understanding and respecting other cultures. Learning MFL fosters curiosity and deepens understanding of the world. Through our MFL curriculum, teachers and leaders develop children’s understanding of languages and cultures, celebrating diversity.

We foster a love of learning languages, which begins in Key Stage One where children become introduced to the French language by taking part in games, songs and rhymes, led by our specialist language teacher.

Through the teaching of French in KS2, the children will develop skills in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. Learning is progressive in each skill area, ensuring that pupils reach the standards expected within the National Curriculum Programme of Study.

We supplement our French Curriculum with the use of storybooks, songs and poems to ensure that pupils are able to read and appreciate literature in the original language.

One of our key aims is to ensure that our pupils leave Key Stage Two with a very good understanding of how to read words in French with accurate pronunciation. Whenever we teach a group of words or a list of vocabulary, we focus pupils’ attention to the sound- spelling link, so that pupils become increasingly confident at decoding as they move through Key stage Two.

In teaching the grapheme-phoneme correspondence, we focus on both individual letters (with a particular focus on letters with accents that affect pronunciation) and on common graphemes, for example:

Oi-noir, au revoir, bon soir, trois
Eu- bleu, cheveux, deux, monsieur
In- lapin, matin, magasin, train

These are introduced gradually across the four years of study with teachers identifying common sounds across a group of words whether through a list, a rhyme or through song.

As a result, pupils are able to confidently apply their phonic knowledge by the end of Year 6 and attempt to read unfamiliar vocabulary with increasing accuracy.

It is our belief that learning French at Shay Lane will provide children with the foundation for learning further languages at Key stage Three and beyond..

The aims of MFL in our school are:

To foster a love of learning languages and a fascination of how language works

To provide the opportunity to read and appreciate stories, poems and rhymes in a foreign language

An understanding of key concepts: gender, adjectival agreement
To develop fluency in using high frequency verbs to form sentences
To develop an understanding of how gender affects other words within a sentence
An understanding of how word order may differ from English
An understanding of how to use a bilingual dictionary
Confidence in learning vocabulary and understanding how to commit words to memory
The opportunity to understand and respond to language from authentic sources
The confidence to write, integrating new language into previously learned language

‘To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world’ Chinese Proverb

We use the LA scheme for French. Copies can be obtained from the school office.

Policies

MFL Policy

Useful Resources

Gallery

We have a wonderful selection of French Language story books in our library for the children to read and enjoy.