Foreign languages are a statutory subject requirement at KS2 and at Rhodes Avenue all pupils study French from Y3-6, with our specialist teacher.
We believe learning a foreign language provides an essential opening to other cultures and is a key contributor to our school ethos and values of respecting others for who they are and consideration as everyone is of equal value.
In particular, it can provide a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for pupils – providing them with:
• Opportunities to communicate for practical purposes in the wider world.
• A foundation for further learning of languages beyond KS2, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
• An essential opening to other cultures and a widening of experiences and aspiration.
• A new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.
Intent
We aim to our children French to generate a fascination for words and how language works, a wider curiosity about the peoples and cultures of French-speaking countries and the foundational knowledge to support confident communication and future language learning.
Implementation
All KS2 classes have 30 minutes a week of French with our specialist teacher.
Lessons follow a bespoke scheme of work of termly units that often link to other areas of the curriculum. We plan for progression in the core knowledge strands of phonics, vocabulary and grammar:
1. Phonics – the key components of the sound-writing relationship
2. Vocabulary – a set of the most frequently used words
3. Grammar – the essential building blocks required to create simple sentences independently (including gender of nouns, singular and plural forms, adjectives (place and agreement), and the conjugation of key verbs)
In line with the NC PoS, our children develop the skills to:
• Listen and show understanding by joining in and responding
• Link the sound, spelling and meaning of words
• Read aloud with accurate pronunciation
• Read and show understanding of phrases and simple texts
• Speak in sentences
• Describe people, places, things in speech and writing
• Ask and answer questions
• Express opinions
• Write phrases from memory
• Adapt phrases to create new sentences
• Use a dictionary
Our children also learn key cultural and country-specific knowledge.
Children are continuously assessed on the knowledge they are taught in lessons, whenever they are called upon to understand and/or produce language with little reference to resources. They also produce an extended piece of spoken or written work at the end of each term which assesses the knowledge and skills covered in that whole unit.
Impact
Through the high quality first teaching of French taking place we will see the impact of the subject in the following ways:
• Books and pupil outcomes evidence substantial progress in learning French, meeting the targets of the KS2 Programme of Study for Languages.
• Children are motivated, enthusiastic and inspired by the French language and culture.
• They have a positive attitude to other languages and language learning.
• They leave at the end of KS2 with sound foundations for further language learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond.
Useful websites to support learning
