MFL (French)
Aim
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. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
Implementation
At Snapethorpe Primary School we use ‘La Jolie Ronde’ in key stage two to ensure pupils progressively develop language skills. The sessions last for a minimum of 30 minutes on a weekly basis and each lesson introduces the children to a new phoneme, as well as reviewing previously learnt phonics knowledge. Pupils use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary to equip them with the skills to be confident global citizens. La Jolie Ronde is a course that uses a variety of mixed media making French accessible and exciting to pupils. La Jolie Ronde provides several excellent ways to extend the engagement beyond the whiteboard. We read French-language books in order to offer the possibility not only for enjoyment but for seeing and hearing the language in a different way. Children are exposed to French songs as another powerful way of developing children’s learning; they read the lyrics and learn to sing along. Children partake in lessons given by a designated French team, who are confident in the language and have undergone French training. Children will hear the French phonemes through our soundbites and will use French phonics flashcards to embed new and previously learned sounds. These graphemes will then be used in context; children will look at new vocabulary for the lesson and begin to use the language themselves. Any newly taught language is then practised in a mixture of whiteboard and class activities using flashcards, games, mixed media, and worksheets. Children develop their oracy skills separately by practising speaking and listening before applying them to resources and activities.
Impact
We hope that by the end of Key Stage 2 children are able to listen attentively to the spoken language of French and respond appropriately. Pupils will be able to speak in full sentences and write phrases from memory, and they will be able to form sentences using basic grammar rules appropriate for the language of French. By the end of year 6, children will have developed an accurate pronunciation and intonation so that they are understood by others. This will have been developed through the learning of songs and rhymes, which in turn will give children the confidence to present information orally to a range of audiences. Along with developing their speaking and listening skills and written skills, children will read the French language carefully whilst developing their understanding of what they have read.
Below you will find the KS2 coverage for the French curriculum and half termly breakdown.
To find further information relating to learning in individual year groups, please use the year group tabs on the website homepage.
