Brandesburton Primary School Modern Foreign Languages

 Subject Leader : Mrs Platten

Intent

We believe that many children really enjoy learning to speak another language. Secondly, we also believe that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language in question is acquired. We also believe that it is a good idea to introduce a new language to children when they are at primary school, as they tend to be less self-conscious about speaking aloud at this stage of their development. We believe that learning a foreign language can be instrumental in developing a pupil’s communication, speaking and listening skills which transfers across the curriculum. We want to lay the foundations for future language study by our pupils.

 Implementation

 In our school a foreign language is taught to all Key Stage 2 pupils as a discrete subject within the curriculum. In Foundation and Key Stage 1 modern foreign language learning is encountered through other subject areas such as geography, PSHCE and RE. They also have the opportunity to attend a French club with an external provider. We aim to foster a love of language learning and stimulate children’s curiosity about language. We want our pupils to develop their awareness of cultural similarities and difficulties. French is the modern foreign language taught in our school. We follow the Ilanguages scheme of work.  We want to keep pupils engaged and language learning fun, so a range of approaches are used including games, songs, video-clips and role-play.  We use interactive whiteboard resources to support the delivery of the language. We also use a multi-sensory and kinesthetic approach to teaching, i.e. we try to introduce a physical element into some of the games, as we believe that this serves to reinforce memory. We make the lessons as entertaining and enjoyable as possible, as we realise that this approach serves to develop a positive attitude in the children to the learning of modern foreign languages. We build children’s confidence through constant praise for any contribution they make in the foreign language, however tentative.

In addition, opportunities are taken to integrate French into other areas of school life such as answering the register, simple classroom commands, counting in French and recording the date in French. Labels in the target language are displayed around out school designating different parts of the building and different resources.

Every year we hold a whole-school language celebration day. The whole school are involved in a day of activities aimed at broadening the awareness of cultural differences and fostering an interest in the language and traditions of other countries, drawing on pupils’ interests and backgrounds where possible.

Impact

By the time pupils leave Brandesburton Primary School we aim to develop pupils who:-

Are global citizens, able to express their ideas and thoughts in another language

Have developed an appreciation for other cultures.

End point:

By the end of Key Stage 2: pupils will:

• listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
• explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
• 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 basic language structures
• develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
• present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
• 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 through using a dictionary
• write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
• describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
• understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.