Modern Foreign Languages
Intent
We believe that the learning of a language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our children. It helps them to develop communication skills in speaking, listening and writing and in addition, children’s knowledge of how language works will be developed to lay the foundations for further language learning in future.
Learning another language also gives our children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand both their own culture and those of others, and links with the importance we place on global learning in our school. It is intended that when children leave our School, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society, it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language. They will be enthusiastic and well prepared to continue language learning at secondary school.
In order to deliver a progressive and immersive French curriculum to KS2, we use Kapow Primary. This ensures that children are taught to develop oracy, litercay and intercultural understanding over the course of four years. The progression of skills can be viewed below.
French Rationale for KS2
Year 3
During this first year of French, the children will initially learn where France is located on a map and what makes France, French! They will watch video clips and power points about the country, introducing them to the different Provinces, Landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, popular foods, people and customs. Children will be given the opportunity to investigate independently, using the internet to discover information about the country and its culture. The children will then learn basic greetings and vocabulary through fun and interactive games such as bingo, lotto, matching games and role play. As a whole class they will learn some popular songs and the English translation. Children will learn how to ask simple questions to others about how they are feeling and respond with a variety of answers. Children will learn to count to 12 and know colours. They will become familiar with the French accent, and learn about feminine and masculine nouns.
Year 4
Children begin the year by describing appearances of people in French including hair colour, eye colour, size and personality. Within this unit, children focus on how the adjective changes depending on whether the subject is masculine or feminine. By the end of this unit the children will have practiced listening to, writing and reading descriptions. Building upon their knowledge of numbers up to 12 learnt in year 3, the children learn numbers up to 31. Additionally, the children learn the days of the week, months of the year, dates and seasons through a variety of memorable songs. Following this, the focus turns to clothing where children learn to recognise several items of clothing, understand the different forms of the indefinite article and possessive adjectives. Next, the children turn their attention to a unit which links in well with their Geography learning; weather and the water cycle. They learn a range of weather phrases, make statements about the weather and temperatures in French cities. Children then go on to learn arguably the most useful aspect of French – French food! By the end of this unit, children will have role played ordering some simple foods in a shop or restaurant scenario. Imbedded within all units of French are elements of listening, writing and reading.
Year 5
In year 5, children will build on their prior knowledge of sentence structure. Looking at animals and monsters, they will describe their body parts, colours and behaviours, extracting information from authentic French sources, to write a paragraph about their own monster pet.
They will build on their French vocabulary, using adjectives to describe space and apply these by using these to write a poem about space. Through games, stories and role play, they will learn vocabulary they could use on a trip to France, creating a shopping list. Pupils will build their confidence, when speaking French, asking questions about prices, using the prior knowledge of numbers, and learning to give directions in a range of French speaking countries.
Building on their prior knowledge of describing people in year 4, the children will learn to describe their family members likes and dislikes using the correct verb agreement and they will increase their knowledge of French grammar, learning the verbs ‘avoir’ and ‘être’, identifying the infinitive and other forms of verbs, and learning to use the correct verb ending for different subject pronouns, whilst recognising that some verbs are irregular.
Year 6
During their final year school, year 6 children will be drawing from many different French topics to build their confidence with conversational skills. They will be able to answer questions with lengthier answers and sustain brief conversations about a particular topic. Children will be more confident at perfecting their French accent and will speak confidently with their peers.
Children will further extend their vocabulary with sports, being able to explain their likes and dislikes and further explaining why. They will build on from work done in year 5, not only naming the rooms in a house but describing them through the use of prepositions such as ‘on, under, behind’.
In year 6 the children will discuss holiday types and describe their family holidays, sports and what they will wear. To extend this knowledge they will plan a holiday to suit their hobby and sport of choice. In the summer term the children will begin to learn directions and role play following directions and routes to school.