Purpose of study
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
To go directly to the National Curriculum for Modern Foreign Languages, please click on the attached link: National Curriculum - Languages key stages 1 to 2 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
The Modern Foreign Language we teach at Upton St James is French.
Our MFL Lead is:
Mrs Alice Thompson
At Upton St James (USJ), we believe that learning a foreign language is an essential part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and that it helps children to gain a better understanding of their role as global citizens (i.e learning to ‘love their neighbour as themselves’, taken from Mark 12 v30-31). We offer a high-quality languages education that enables children to develop their listening, speaking and reading and writing skills within the Modern Foreign Language of French. At USJ we teach French due to our close proximity to France and as a precursor to the languages taught at local secondary schools.
We assert that by learning a language, our pupils are enabled to ‘rise to their best’ and to also learn more about cultural awareness, develop their ability to see the world from different perspectives and to extend their problem solving capabilities as they find new ways of understanding and communicating a message. Learning a modern foreign language can also help pupils in the development of the English language, as well as other cross-curricular features such as mathematics and critical thinking. The teaching of French in KS2 lays the foundations for further foreign language teaching at KS3 and beyond, opening up further opportunities later in life.
We intend to provide an interesting and varied curriculum, meeting the needs of pupils from a range of backgrounds, cultures and abilities. This includes making links between MFL and other subjects where possible.
The curriculum is led and overseen by the MFL Lead and a regular programme of monitoring, evaluation and review is in place to ensure that the teaching of MFL continues to improve and evolve.
At USJ, we use the ‘Language Angels’ scheme of learning for French for children from Year 3 to Year 6 and is taught each week. The scheme meets the needs of our learners but also supports our non-specialist teachers in the planning and teaching of this curriculum area, within the framework of the National Curriculum. The scheme provides teachers with a guide to grammar and French pronunciation and each unit overview provides key vocabulary and points for adults to note. The scheme is run using the interactive whiteboard, with opportunities for children to listen and respond to language being spoken by native French speakers.
The scheme of work has a focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing, as well as making children aware of grammatical features of the French language. Our scheme of work fully supports the National Curriculum content for MFL in Key Stage 2.
The scheme of learning has a clear progression document for MFL, mapping out the knowledge taught in each year group. This ensures that all teachers are clear about what is to be taught in each unit that they cover, enabling the teaching of high- quality lessons which build on pupils’ prior knowledge, skills and understanding.
Children’s written work is recorded in a designated French book ‘Je suis linguiste’, which stays with the child as they move through the key stage. Knowledge of all key areas (speaking, reading, writing and listening) is assessed through the use of teacher assessment and the assessment tool provided by the scheme of work and retrieval vocabulary quizzes. This ensures that children are supported and challenged as appropriate.
In addition, we seek to increase the visibility of languages within our school through additional experiences such as French cafe experiences and learning more about the culture and traditions of France through specific study projects. This may include experiences to bring learning to life, such as trying French foods, labelling classrooms using French vocabulary, undertaking a project about famous French artists/musicians etc.
Our MFL curriculum will ensure all pupils develop key language learning as set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures.
Our pupils will enjoy the experience of learning a foreign language and acquire new knowledge which they can build upon throughout their school career.
The clear progression through the key stage will enable children to articulate what they have learned and make links to prior learning. Revisiting key vocabulary and grammatical features will enable pupils to apply their learning using increasingly sophisticated sentences, both spoken and written. Ongoing assessment informs teachers and supports their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. The progression documents support this.
Varied learning experiences will ensure that languages are celebrated throughout the school community. This provides a context for language learning and develops the children’s understanding of different cultures, giving them purpose and meaning. Monitoring will show that cross curricular links are being made, supporting children to develop their mother-tongue literacy skills as well as cross-curricular features such as numeracy, thinking, geographical skills, and cultural understanding.
Pupil voice demonstrates that pupils feel fulfilled and enthused about their French learning and are knowing and remembering taught learning.