At AddMore Federation, we recognise the importance of teaching a foreign language to foster pupils’ curiosity, appreciate other cultures and deepen their understanding of the world. By making MfL lessons and experiences engaging and enjoyable at and early age, children develop a positive attitude to the learning of modern foreign languages which will follow them throughout their schooling and later life.
Our teaching aims to enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to be able to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. We will provide opportunities for pupils to communicate for practical purposes and acquire new ways of thinking, supporting pupils to make substantial progress in one language to provide a foundation for learning further languages.
Teaching will focus on enabling pupils to make substantial progress in one language, with an emphasis on practical communication. The school’s chosen language is French. Teaching will provide an appropriate balance of spoken and written language, laying the foundations for further foreign language teaching at KS3.
EYFS
We introduce French to our children in the early years through song and games, with children from reception having a half an hour lesson with our specialist teacher every week.
KS1
Although not statutory at this stage, pupils in KS1 are introduced to other languages. Greetings, registers, classroom routines and praise words are regularly conducted in another language. KS1 pupils will also be taught for half an hour per week by a specialist teacher in a whole-class setting, this acts as an introduction to basic language skills, with activities including songs, rhymes and games.
KS2
In KS2, each class has a timetabled French lesson of 1 hour per week taught by a specialist teacher. We emphasise listening, responding and speaking skills in Years 3 and 4 with the addition of simple reading and writing skills as the pupils progress through Years 5 and 6.
Lessons will use a variety of sources to model the language and encourage engagement from pupils, including the use of videos, games and songs as appropriate to maximise interest and make connections to real life situations. We use mime to accompany new vocabulary as this serves to demonstrate the language without the need for translation. We use a multi-sensory and kinaesthetic approach to teaching i.e. we try to introduce a physical element into some of the games, rhymes and songs as we believe this serves to reinforce memory. We make lessons as enjoyable as possible so that the children develop a positive attitude to the learning of modern foreign languages. We build the children’s confidence through praise for any contribution they make however tentative.
The curriculum and lessons will be planned carefully to allow pupils to progress by considering the building blocks of the subject – the sounds, words and rules about how these connect to create sentences and meanings – and the sequence of these blocks.
Vocabulary will be built into the curriculum, with the choice of the vocabulary carefully considered in line with the age of pupils and how often words occur in the language. Pupils will be able to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focussed on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary.