French 

French is taught to all Key Stage 2 pupils as part of the school curriculum.  We believe that learning a language encourages children to be curious and deepen  their understanding of the world.

Our school includes a large number of children from a range of cultures with first languages other than English. This is a situation to be celebrated and used to widen the horizons of all our pupils.

Intent | What and why do we teach what we teach?

At Mount Street Primary, we recognise the importance of all children having the opportunity to learn another language. We adhere to the DFE’s belief that, ‘ language and competence and intercultural understanding are essential parts of being a citizen’. Language skills are a vital tool that enable children to better understand each other and the world around them. Our high quality languages curriculum fosters children’s curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world. At Mount Street Primary, we are committed to ensuring that competence in another language enables children to interpret, create and exchange meaning within and across cultures. Our curriculum helps children develop skills that will open up opportunities later in life. The teaching of KS2 French provides an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and lays the foundations for further teaching of foreign languages at KS3.

Implementation | How and when do we teach what we teach?

Children are introduced to a Modern Foreign Language in KS2 and receive a weekly lesson. This enables the children to develop early language acquisition skills that facilitate their understanding of patterns of language and how these differ from, or are similar to, English or their own language. Children learn French throughout KS2, which is timetabled for a 30 minute session per week; this is then followed up by regular practice in the form of games, or stories. The class teacher delivers lessons and incorporates language into daily routines where possible.

Lessons support the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing:

• 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: feminine, masculine 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.

Language and International Days enable schools to be immersed in the inclusion of the culture and to use languages meaningfully and in context. These are celebrated across Key Stage 1 and 2.

Impact | How do we assess the impact of what we teach via pupil outcomes?

Our languages curriculum ensures that children develop their knowledge of where different languages, including the range of home languages spoken by the families of our school, are spoken in the world. Varied learning experiences ensure that languages are celebrated throughout the school community whilst providing a context for language learning and developing the children’s understanding of and curiosity about different cultures. 

At Mount Street Primary, we teach language that builds on vocabulary and grammar taught in the past year. This ensures that children revisit and reuse language, continually building on and securing skills. iLanguages resources support this, ensuring children hear native language speakers and build up their stamina for language acquisition.

In planning for the development of Literacy and Oracy and the acquisition of language comprehension, our curriculum assesses the development of skills within the three pillars:

VOCABULARY- the lexicon, lexical terms, words. Revisit. Build on previous learning- long term memory.

PHONICS- the meaning- bearing sounds (phonemes) of the language; how they are formed; how they are pronounced.

GRAMMAR- the rules for combining words to make universally understood meaning; how words change to convey meaning.

Assessment happens through the planning of activities around 4 core skills:

READING

Children are able to:

• 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.

WRITING

Children are able to:

• 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 and understand how this differs from or is similar to English (or their own language).

SPOKEN LANGUAGE

Children are able to:

• 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.

LISTENING

Children are 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

At Mount Street Primary School, we then develop the children's conceptual knowledge and understanding through 'Big Ideas' which develop both in depth and knowledge as the children progress through the school.