Modern Foreign Languages – our statement of teaching and learning
Modern Foreign Languages – our statement of teaching and learning
At Wetheirngsett C of E Primary School we teach children to start and
develop their ability to speak, read and write French under our Three Big Ideas
– Culture, Understanding and Fluency. The children are taught to appreciate
some cultural aspects of living in France as a child, in a family and in the
context of pursuing leisure activities, rooted in some locational understanding
of place and in contrast to comparative aspects of life in Britain.
Our teaching scheme has been written by T Davies from our MAT on a four-
year rolling programme which is contemporary and fit for purpose. All children
regularly rehearse French words for weather, numbers, days of the week,
seasons, months and weather, whilst they progress into learning vocabulary in
the context of short, longer and more complex sentences. Grammatical
structures of the French language are progressively built across year groups in
stages, moving on when children have secured a particular stage and are ready
to apply their understanding to speaking, reading and writing in French on
particular themes. In this way, opportunities for repetition gradually build
understanding of the structure and sound of a language new to the majority of
our pupils. Our intention is to make the learning of a new language fun whilst
at the same time appreciating some cultural aspects of another country and
growing understanding of the wider world.
Our Three Big Ideas in teaching and learning French are:
Culture, Understanding and Fluency
Intent
It is our intention to educate our pupils to learn not just the fundamentals of a new language, but to understand some of the cultural underpinnings of living in a different country. As we focus on learning French, we teach pupils about aspects of life they are already familiar with, and how these are the same and different in France. Acquiring skills and knowledge to be able to read, write, speak and listen in another language can potentially expand life experience and opportunities beyond anglophone countries. Learning French at Primary school also enables children to be familiar with a second language before moving onto Key Stage 3.
Implementation
To teach French we use a scheme which is bespoke to our MAT. Our pupils are taught about French spelling patterns, punctuation and accents, to enable the mechanics of writing. Children learn about famous French events, exposing them to French history and culture. Teachers are part of the reading and writing experience, modelling hand written example texts, sharing, guiding and editing writing together and reading aloud for all our enjoyment. Speaking and Listening in French is developed through asking and answering questions and building upon the ideas of others. Unfamiliar vocabulary is explored through the use of bi-lingual dictionaries to help children develop meaning of a text in which is context.
Impact
We expect our pupils to enjoy and achieve in speaking and understanding French and to be motivated to explore and challenge themselves when writing it. Over time, we want our pupils to be able to read phrases, sentences and paragraphs independently using current knowledge, word banks and bi-lingual dictionaries. They will understand a range of vocabulary and have opportunities to use this in their writing and spoken language. Children will have opportunities to enable them to communicate in French with opportunities to explore the language and cultures of France.
