French Curriculum Intent, Implementation              and Impact statement

We aim to create

Confident linguists

 

Intent

 At St Chad's we want our pupils to develop a love of learning a new language and to feel confident when in a foreign country to ‘try out’ their knowledge of the French language.  Through our carefully thought-out programme of study, our pupils will expand their knowledge of the world and the culture and traditions of another country. The curriculum is planned so that children are provided with the opportunity to experiment with expressing their ideas and thoughts in another language. We use the teaching of French to add cultural capital to our pupils, especially our disadvantaged pupils who might not have the opportunity to travel abroad.  Our belief is that the acquisition of a different language deepens pupil’s understanding of the world around them and makes a contribution to the development of their oracy and literacy.

 

The sequence and structure of teaching reflects the national curriculum, but is also set within a context that reflects the needs of the school community with an emphasis on listening and responding to spoken French as well as an early development of oracy.

It is the aim of our MFL curriculum to ensure all of our pupils:

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity with a focus on the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• absorb the culture of a different country.

 

 

Implementation

Our pupils are taught French by their class teacher.

We use the Language Angels Resources to facilitate learning and progression.

Our pupils have exercise books and are taught to write French words, phrases and sentences. Worksheets are used in junior classes to consolidate learning.

French grammar, as well as vocabulary is taught throughout the curriculum to ensure that our pupils are ready to write in full sentences by the time they leave St Chad's

Our junior teachers are committed to ensuring that French is used throughout the week, not just during the weekly lesson. Vocabulary is displayed and used regularly to ensure that our pupils transfer new vocabulary to their long-term memory.

Our teachers understand the importance of teaching in a manner that is conducive to pupils learning and retaining the vocabulary and grammar taught. Pupils are given regular mini quizzes to ensure that they are constantly retrieving important information.

All pupils have a French cultural experience at least once a year. Our Year 5 pupils have a French pen pal and write to them throughout the year.

Impact

Our pupils develop a good working knowledge of French vocabulary and feel proud of their ability to converse and write in a second language.  Their positive experience of learning a second language at St Chad’s encourages them to build upon their French vocabulary and grammar to become fluent in French or any other language of their choosing. Their curiosity about another country and its language is ignited and they are ready to further develop their learning of a foreign language at secondary school.