Intent

The national curriculum aims for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

1. understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
2. 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
3. can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
4. discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

At Sedgeberrow First School, children in Key Stage 2 have weekly lessons in French covering 6 units each year. In Lower KS2, children acquire basic skills and understanding of French with a strong emphasis placed on developing their Speaking and Listening skills with some development of their French literacy skills. These will be embedded and further developed in Upper KS2, alongside further Reading and Writing, gradually progressing onto more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy. Children will also develop their intercultural understanding throughout their learning of French over KS2, learning about the French speaking world and their customs and traditions.  

It is intended that when children leave Sedgeberrow First School, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures, and languages, accepting that, in a multilingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language.  They will be excited to continue their learning of languages at Middle School.

Implementation 

In line with the National Curriculum for MFL, pupils at Sedgeberrow First School are taught to:

1. listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
2. explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
3. engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
4. speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
5. develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
6. present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
7. read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
8. appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
9. broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
10. write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clear
11. describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
12. 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.

In KS1, children are introduced to words and phrases in other languages if and when appropriate, using our EAL influences to learn about the cultures of all children that are part of our school community.

KS2 children have weekly lessons that are carefully sequenced so that prior learning is revisited and built upon each lesson with ample opportunities to revisit language and grammar.

Impact 

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Observing children speaking and listening in anther language.
• Assessment of written work.
• Images and videos of children completing speaking and listening activities.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s work is scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum to parents.
• Learning walks.
• Subject tracking.

The MFL subject leader will continually monitor the impact MFL teaching is having on children’s learning, through work scrutiny, to ensure the progress of knowledge and skills is being taught.  They will also ensure the knowledge taught is retained by the children and continually revisited and that the learners are able to apply the skills they have been taught to a variety of different settings, showing independence with their learning. The impact will also be measured through key questioning skills built into lessons, video recordings of performances and speaking tasks, teacher assessments and self-assessments by the pupils.