French
Intent
At Earlham, we intend for our children to gain an understanding of another culture and through language learning, we hope to equip them with the skills they need to communicate in French through speech and writing. The teaching provides valuable opportunities for our pupils to communicate in purposeful everyday settings, fosters pupils’ curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world in relation to themselves.
Implementation
All pupils engage in a weekly session taught by a native French teacher. Lessons in Early Years consist of spoken languages which are delivered through stories with props, songs and role plays. In Key Stage 1, listening and responding as well as exploring patterns of the language are achieved. In Key Stage 2, writing is introduced and children develop the skill of speaking in sentences using familiar vocabulary. Pronounciation and intonation are a focus and writing skills are developed using basic grammar and sentence building. By the end of Year 6, pupils are able to write short paragraphs on a given topic. Throughout, repetition of key vocabulary and sentence structures are recycled with new vocabulary and grammatical points introduced progressively.
By teaching French from as early as Nursery to Year 6 consistently, we are enabling our pupils to make substantial progress in this language. Through constantly using a balance of high quality spoken and written French, we are giving our pupils the skills they need to communicate and express themselves in a practical manner.
At Earlham, we pride ourselves to offer all our children the experience of language learning through formal teaching and extra curriculum activities. This includes outings where they are required to use their French language skills in real life situations such as eating in a French café, watching French theatre performances and engaging in an after school French club with our native French speaking specialist. In collaboration with Trust peers, Year 6 pupils apply the spoken language during their visit to France and enjoy an immersive experience in the French language and culture, whilst exploring the historical significance of Normandy.
Impact
At the end of Key Stage 2, having had this widened range of experience in French, our pupils leave with a comprehensive set of skills and a heightened level of confidence towards Key Stage 3 learning and future endeavours. We actively use Pupil Voice to further refine the MFL curriculum, by taking on board pupils’ interests and views to learning the French language.
Please click here to see the subject overview for French.