MFL (French) Learning at Batchley First School
Introduction
Learning a foreign language is part of the primary National Curriculum and is a requirement for all children within key stage 2 (KS2). Batchley First School has adopted an approach to teaching French in readiness for the children’s transition to middle school .
At Batchley First School we believe that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for pupils. Our Curriculum is designed to help children develop communication and literacy knowledge that lays the foundation for future language learning. The curriculum intent is that all pupils will have the opportunity to develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works and explore differences and similarities between the foreign language (French) and English, as well as observing links when children speak another language at home. Learning another language raises awareness of our multi-lingual and multi-cultural world and introduces an international dimension to pupils’ learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and that of others. The learning of a foreign language provides a medium for cross-curricular links and for reinforcement of knowledge and understanding developed in other subjects.
Aims
Our aim is to develop the confidence and competence of each child in the foreign language they are learning. Our goal is for them to be passionate, curious and confident about their own foreign language learning abilities when they finish the primary school phase of their education.
We will help them develop and demonstrate substantial progress in 5 key areas of language knowledge necessary for learning French:
- Speaking
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Grammar
We aim to ensure that pupils of all abilities develop solid foundations in this key language learning knowledge – properly preparing them for the next stage of their language learning journey. This knowledge will develop children’s ability to understand what they hear and read and enable them to express themselves in speech and writing. We will extend their knowledge of how language works and explore the similarities and differences between the foreign language they are learning and English. We will also help strengthen their sense of identity through learning about culture in other countries and comparing it with their own.
Teaching and Learning Overview
Our whole school approach to language teaching and learning is in line with the recommendations of the National Curriculum and the requirements outlined in the Department for Education Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2.
The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
- 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
- Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
- Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of authentic writing in the language studied.
The National Curriculum states: By the end of key stage 2, pupils should be able to:
- Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
- Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
- Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help.
- Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.
- Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.
- Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.
- Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.
- Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language.
- Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.
- Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.
- Describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing.
- 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.
At Batchley First School the curriculum is structured to meet the needs of pupils and prepare them for the curriculum at middle school. This has been put together in conjunction with Birchensale Middle School.
Displays of the topics being taught in French will be displayed around individual classrooms (if space allows) or will feature on a general school board.
Organisation & Delivery
During the summer term, French is taught in a whole-class setting by the class teacher and is therefore not reliant on one key member of staff.
The lessons are designed to motivate, captivate and interest children from the first moment. They have clear, achievable objectives and incorporate different learning styles. SEN children have access to the curriculum through variation of task, grouping or support from an adult.
Each class has a timetabled lesson of at least thirty minutes per week, during the summer term to build the foundations needed for the curriculum they will be encountering in middle school.
French can also be revisited in short sessions throughout the week to consolidate knowledge and ensure new language is retained.
French lessons include:
- Slideshows and interactive whiteboard materials
- Interactive games (which pupils can access from home to consolidate their learning)
- Songs & raps
- Differentiated desk-based consolidation activities
- Worksheets (at three different levels of challenge) are provided throughout each teaching unit and can be used in class or can be sent home to be completed as a homework exercise
Each lesson will focus on a combination of the 5 key areas of language learning knowledge (speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar).
Assessment of Pupil Learning & Progression
This will often take the form of…
- Peer and self-assessment ‘I can do…’ grids. A quick and easy way for all pupils in the class to record which units they have completed and the progress they are making.
- More detailed knowledge-based assessments using bespoke knowledge assessment sheets. This form of assessment enables us to determine the learning and progression of all pupils in the key language learning knowledge as well as monitoring their progress against the 12 attainment targets stipulated in the DfE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2.
Monitoring and evaluation
The Subject Leader monitors the effectiveness of the language teaching provided throughout the school via regular termly observations with feedback given to teachers delivering foreign language lessons. The Subject Leader and class teacher will together monitor the learning and progression made by pupils across the key stage.
Knowledge
To be uploaded