Modern Foreign Language - French
Modern Foreign Language at St Margaret Clitherow Primary School – Statement of Intent
At St Margaret Clitherow Primary School, we believe that learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including key skills of speaking and listening, and extends their knowledge of how language works. Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.
Our Intent
Through our high-quality French curriculum, we intend to:
- Foster pupils' curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world
- Enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in French and respond to its speakers both in speech and writing
- Provide opportunities for pupils to communicate for practical purposes
- Develop pupils' confidence in language learning and lay the foundations for further language learning at secondary school
- Provide a rich linguistic and cultural experience that broadens pupils' horizons
- Develop transferable language learning skills that can be applied to other languages
- Create enthusiastic linguists who are not afraid to take risks with their language use
Implementation
We implement our vision for Modern Foreign Languages through:
- The use of the Language Angels scheme of work from Year 3 to Year 6, which provides a structured and progressive approach to learning French
- Regular weekly lessons that focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills
- Opportunities for pupils to practice their pronunciation and intonation through songs, rhymes, stories and games
- Cultural experiences that enhance pupils' understanding of French-speaking countries and their traditions
- Differentiated activities that enable all pupils to access the curriculum and make progress
- The use of authentic materials to provide real-life context for language learning
- Cross-curricular links to reinforce vocabulary and structures in a range of contexts
Impact
The impact of our MFL curriculum is that by the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written French from a variety of authentic sources
- Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity
- Find ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions
- Be able to write at varying length for different purposes and audiences
- Discover and develop an appreciation of French culture
- Be well-prepared for continuing their language learning journey at secondary school
- Develop a love of languages and a curiosity about the wider world
Through our French curriculum, we aim to equip pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life, while fostering respect for different cultures and ways of life.
