MFL:

Vision: To develop the confidence and competence of each child in French. Our goal is for them to be passionate, curious and confident about their own foreign language learning abilities and to properly prepare them for the next stage of their language learning journey. We will help them develop and demonstrate substantial progress in the 5 key language skills necessary for learning French – Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing and Grammar.

We aim to ensure that pupils of all abilities develop solid foundations in these key language learning skills. They 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 French and English. We will also help strengthen their sense of identity through learning about culture in other countries and comparing it with their own.

What we teach: 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.

We aim 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 French.

What learning looks like: French is taught in a whole-class setting by cover teachers and is therefore not reliant on one key member of staff. Teachers plan their lessons using the Language Angels scheme of work and can supplement this with their own ideas and experience and those of their colleagues. 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 year, every class has a term of timetabled lessons of at least one hour per week. French lessons include PowerPoints and interactive whiteboard materials, Interactive games (which pupils can access from home to consolidate their learning), songs & raps, differentiated desk-based consolidation activities and 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 language learning skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar).