"There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning."

1 Corinthians 14:10

MFL Intent Statement

“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world”

Here at Our Lady’s we promote a love of language learning and strive for pupils to make outstanding progress at all levels.  We recognise the importance of languages and therefore aim to provide our pupils with a range of opportunities to inspire and engage them in learning French.

At Our Lady’s we believe that the learning of a language provides important educational, social and cultural experiences for our pupils, with children appreciating the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world in which we live.  Learning another language raises awareness of our mulit-lingual and multi-cultural world and through our school mission an appreciation of other cultures allows children to move forward with understanding and open mindedness. We foster curiosity and creativity to encouarge them to deepen their understanding of the world.

 We aim to provide a range of opportunities to support our pupils’ early development of the knowledge and skills necessary to become global citizens. Our ambitious programme of study, in line with the National Curriculum allows children to develop key skills of speaking and listening and extends their knowledge about how language works. Having a French teacher once a week provides real opportunities for the children to speak and listen to native speakers and ensures they gain the skills to communicate for practical purposes.

 “Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures.  A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.”  (NC 2014)

At our school, French has been selected as the principle foreign language to be taught as part of the curriculum.  This ensures coherence with other local primary schools and secures preparation for further study at secondary schools and beyond.  Furthermore, a wealth of varied and high-quality resources and training is available to support the teaching of French.  There is an expectation that pupils make substantial progress in this language. 

Aims

• Foster an openness to language learning
• Develop an appreciation of life and culture in another country
• Learn a range of appropriate vocabulary that is appropriate and progressive.
• Develop an understanding of the grammar of another language and be able to make connections with their own language
• Develop a secure phonic knowledge and an understanding of the rules of spelling and pronunciation to support reading and writing
• Have regular opportunities to practise reading and writing as well as speaking and listening
• Be exposed to a range of authentic texts, songs and finger rhymes to enhance their cultural awareness
• Experience language learning embedded within the creative curriculum
• Make significant progresss
• Feel confident and well prepared for further study of languages at High School.

Implementation

In line with the National Curriculum and the Programme of Study for Languages, the KS2 objectives for MFL are:

• 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, including feminine and 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