MFL (French) at Thorpe.

Learning a foreign language provides an opening to other cultures. At Thorpe we aim for every child to develop confidence and competence in French. Children will discover and develop an appreciation for the French language and develop their communication skills in spoken and written words. They will also learn about other related countries and cultures.

Intent

The National Curriculum for MFL (French) aims to ensure that all pupils:

Listening:

Listen attentively to spoken language and show an understanding by joining in and responding. Explore the patterns and sounds of languages through songs and rhymes and link to spelling, sound and meaning of words.

Speaking:

Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help. Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and simple writing. Develop accurate and pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words or phrases. Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences. Describe people, places and things and actions orally and in writing.

Reading

Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing. Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language. Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including use of a dictionary.

Writing

Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences to express ideas clearly. Use familiar vocabulary in phrases and simple writing. Describe people, places and things and actions orally and in writing.

Grammar

Understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studies (where relevant) feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjunction of high frequency verbs, key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these to build sentences and how these differ from or are similar to English.

Intercultural Understanding

Provide an opening to other cultures. Foster curiosity and deepen understanding of the world.

Implementation

Speaking and Listening

The speaking and listening curriculum begins with a systematic approach to learning common words, phrases and sentences. These skills are used weekly to ensure children are developing accurate pronunciation skills. High quality interactive resources are used to support and embed knowledge according to the children’s ability. Effective modelling and questioning are used in lessons to develop speaking and listening skills. Children are expected to join in and respond, engage in conversations, express their opinions, and build upon previous knowledge to ensure progression.

Reading

The reading curriculum begins with reading and the use of interesting high-quality texts, linked to the unit. Songs, poems and stories provide children with familiar language. Children build on these initial skills with use of more complex texts and a dictionary to understand new vocabulary.

Writing

Children will be offered regular opportunities to develop their writing skills through individual, pair and group work. They will be in response to speaking, listening, and reading activities throughout the unit. They will begin by writing familiar phrases and then explore more descriptive vocabulary as they progress.

Grammar

Children will learn grammatical patterns and structures according to what is being learnt. They will discuss how these are similar/different to English. They will build grammatical knowledge by using high frequency verbs and conjunctions to build sentences.

Intercultural Understanding

Children will learn about the similarities and differences of British and French culture. They will understand and respect different cultures and learn in accordance with our school values.

Impact

All children will make expected or good progress across the French curriculum. Teacher assessments of knowledge and skills will be regular and moderated within the school.  Impact will be seen when children apply previous knowledge and skills to new learning this will indicate that knowledge is well embedded and has been taught in a progressive and meaningful sequence. Cross curricular learning and enrichment opportunities ensures that children develop a love of languages.

Assessment and review

At Thorpe we use the Rigolo scheme of learning as the basis of our planning. Assessment tasks at the end of each unit identify if children have met or not met the enquiry question. This also supports targets for children going forward. In addition, continuous observations are made to ensure that each child is reaching their full learning potential.