Modern Foreign Languages (French) 

Intent Statement:

At Leigh St Mary’s we understand that there are essential characteristics that linguists demonstrate. The intent of the French curriculum in Key Stage 2 is to build these characteristics within our pupils.

The essential characteristics of linguists are:

• The confidence to speak with good intonation and pronunciation.
• Fluency in reading.
• Fluency and imagination in writing.
• A strong awareness of the culture of the countries where the language is spoken.
• A passion for languages and a commitment to the subject.
• The ability to use languages creatively and spontaneously.
• An independence in their studies and the ability to draw upon a wide range of resources.

(The Essentials Curriculum, Chris Quigley Education)

Modern Foreign Languages (French) Implementation:

At Leigh St Mary’s we use Kapow French condensed scheme of work for Year 3-6. Our curriculum is designed to develop engaged and independent learners who are able to grow their language skills.

It involves:

• Recognising learnt vocabulary when listening or reading.
• Spotting cognates (words which have the same origin or are in some way similar) and near-cognates.
• Using context and their own knowledge of the world to predict the meaning of unknown words.
• Considering word order to anticipate the meaning of words.

The MFL programme develops these skills in a progressive way so that by Year 6 pupils are able to use these strategies to confidently grapple with unknown spoken and written language and search for meaning. The development of these skills also helps pupils develop their understanding of the English language and its grammar conventions.

Kapow Primary’s French scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:

✓ Cyclical: Pupils revisit key vocabulary and grammar concepts again and again

✓ Increasing depth: Each time vocabulary or grammar learning is revisited, it is covered with greater depth

✓ Prior knowledge: Upon returning to each area, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build on previous foundations, rather than starting again

Modern Foreign Languages (French) Impact

The impact of following our Kapow French curriculum is that pupils engage in purposeful dialogue and make increasingly accurate attempts to read unfamiliar words, phrases and short texts. They read and speak aloud with confidence and accuracy. They demonstrate understanding of spoken language by listening and responding appropriately. Learning French has a positive impact on pupils’ grammatical knowledge, both in French and English, and deepens their understanding of the roots of the English language. Pupils are equipped with a range of language-learning skills to enable them to study French, or any other language, with confidence at Key Stage 3.

Assessment

• Teachers are guided on assessing pupils against the learning objectives.