Rationale

At Broad Square, we have a clear rationale for teaching French. We believe that the learning of another language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for children and plays a significant part in their ability to progress and achieve. Not only this, but it furthermore helps to develop communication skills and extends knowledge of how language works – thus lending itself heavily to the learning of English (Reading and Writing). It provides excitement, enjoyment and challenge; it also helps to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life.

Introduction

At Broad Square, we have a clear rationale for teaching French. We believe that the learning of another language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for children and plays a significant part in their ability to progress and achieve. Not only this, but it furthermore helps to develop communication skills and extends knowledge of how language works – thus lending itself heavily to the learning of English (Reading and Writing). It provides excitement, enjoyment and challenge; it also helps to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning and cultures throughout life.

Intent

At Broad Square, our intent is to give our children linguistic and cultural experiences, allowing them to enjoy learning a language. With the success of this, we will then be able to see clear progression in the understanding of French throughout Key Stage 2. Our aims are to:

·         understand and respond to spoken and written language

·         speak with increasing confidence and fluency

·         find ways of communicating what we want to say, including through discussion and asking questions

·         improve accuracy of pronunciation and intonation

·         write at varying length for different purposes and audiences using a variety of grammatical features

·         discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in French

A high quality language education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world whilst also equipping them with skills and confidence to interact within it. Our teaching will be an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and should lay foundations for further foreign language teaching at Key Stage 3.

 

Implementation

Each Key Stage 2 class will have a thirty-minute lesson each week focused around a short text. Pupils will follow a progressive scheme of work that will recognise children’s prior learning and build upon this. They will be taught purposeful skills, concepts and vocabulary. Lessons will be fast paced and will include speaking, listening and reading skills and in most lessons, will include a written activity. Consolidation is vital and lessons will be based on practising the same learning point in different skill areas. Lessons will develop interpersonal skills as children will be required to work in pairs and small groups as well as individually. Assessments will take place through songs and role play, and self and teacher assessments. Like in all other subjects, mini plenaries throughout the lesson will inform the teachers about what needs further practice which can be acted upon within the lesson or added into the following lesson.

As an inclusive school, we strive to ensure that all pupils are able to access a broad and balanced Modern Foreign Languages curriculum offer. Pupils with SEND are supported within lessons to ensure that a ceiling is not put on their learning. This is achieved through regular retrieval activities, over learning of vocabulary and different ways of recording evidence of learning.

 

Impact

Children’s written work is recorded in a whole class floor book that is displayed in each classroom. Evidence of writing, singing and oracy will be stored within this floorbook to ensure standards can be monitored (QR codes can be used as a means of recording auditory evidence). Knowledge is assessed through songs, recorded conversations, written activities and live feedback within the lessons.

 Children will be able to:

·         speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity

·         write at varying length for different purposes using a variety of grammatical structures

·         develop an appreciation of French culture through celebrating it via whole school French Days

·         reflect on their own learning at the end of each unit

Our Statement

Through our varied Curriculum, our children will;

• Participate in and respond to, artistic, sporting, musical and cultural opportunities.
• Enjoy learning about themselves and others through communicating in another language
• Have a better understanding of sentence structure and grammar in another language, as well as their native language

Links

Here are some website links that you can explore at home with your children!

• www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
• www.mamalisa.com/blog/frere-jacques-stirs-interest-in-foreign-languages
• www.duolingo.com