M.F.L. Curriculum
French Curriculum (Herne Junior School)
Intent
At Herne Junior School, we want our children to have the opportunity to learn a modern foreign language, which we see as a necessary part of being a member of a multicultural society and which provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world (being a good global citizen). The teaching should enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. Language teaching started early on in a child’s education, should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping children to study and work in other countries. It is our intention that by the end of their junior education, they will have acquired an understanding of both written, and more importantly spoken French, and will have developed the enthusiasm and confidence to speak in French with others and know how important other languages can be to their futures.
Implementation
To ensure that we provide a rich French curriculum, with memorable lessons and experiences, to inspire our children to write and speak a foreign language, we have introduced (September 2024) the online teaching package, Language Angels. The use of Language Angels’ scheme of work and resources will ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite our pupils using a wide variety of topics and themes. All pupils will be expected to achieve their full potential by encouraging high expectations and excellent standards in their foreign language learning - the ultimate aim being that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2.
All classes will have access to a very high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources. This will progressively develop pupil skills in foreign languages through regularly taught and well-planned weekly lessons in KS2, which will be taught by class/PPA teachers.
Children will progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge organised around age-appropriate topics and themes - building blocks of language into more complex, fluent and authentic language.
The planning of different levels of challenge (as demonstrated in the various Language Angels Teaching Type categories) and which units to teach at each stage of the academic year will be addressed dynamically and will be reviewed in detail annually as units are updated and added to the scheme. Lessons offering appropriate levels of challenge and stretch will be taught at all times to ensure pupils learn effectively, continuously building their knowledge of and enjoyment for the language they are learning.
French is taught regularly to provide progression and repetitive reinforcement and where possible teachers incorporate French into everyday activities such as general greetings, counting, taking the register and simple classroom commands. We incorporate the creative approach of songs and games, as well as individually completing differentiated written tasks to reinforce the vocabulary learnt. Lessons are interactive and French is spoken as much as possible. During speaking and listening activities, children are encouraged to work collaboratively with others, helping and supporting each other while having fun! Each unit is formally assessed, to provide a picture of the children’s progression in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and grammar
Impact
When children leave Herne, we want their learning of French to enable them to feel confident and motivated to speak French in a variety of situations. They will be able recognise and write simple sentences in French. Most importantly, they will have a better understanding of another culture and the importance of respecting others’ beliefs and traditions. With this knowledge, they should have the resilience and a greater desire to continue to develop a love of learning of foreign languages in the next phase of their education.
“As Britain leaves the European Union, it’s more important than ever to show how much we value international opportunities, language-learning, and ensuring our young people have a global outlook.”
Damian Hinds
