Intent:
The French Curriculum is designed to empower all of our young learners, including those with SEND with the skills to decode a foreign language, to understand how it is structured and to recognise the similarities and differences between their own language and French.
All children, regardless of their background and ability, will make good progress in the four main skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The three 'pillars' of phonics, vocabulary and grammar are the basis for all content taught. These are the building blocks of language learning and mastering them allows all children to spell, read and manipulate written and oral sentence structures with confidence. The curriculum has been designed to appeal equally to both genders, and can be easily adapted to accommodate all learning styles and ability levels.
The importance of Inter - Cultural Understanding, History and Geography are recognised and embedded within the curriculum. It is important that a language is not learned in isolation but as a part of a wider understanding of the Francophone world. Links are made between French and British history and the impact of the French language in our daily English lexicon.
It is vital that our children are imbued with a sense of curiosity, a desire to ask questions and the confidence to do so. They are encouraged to be active and reflective participants in their language learning journey. They are taught to recognise that they are learning transferable skills and to make links with other topic areas within the curriculum.
Above all else, we would like our children to have a strong sense of their identity as global citizens, to be curious about the culture, history and language experiences of other children and how with greater understanding we can improve and strengthen our relationships with one another, locally and internationally.
Implementation:
French is taught weekly by a qualified MFL teacher from Year 3 to Year 6. Lessons are 1 hour in duration and this enables each of the 4 main skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing to be included in every lesson.
Children are taught language learning strategies (LLS) that will help them to improve their memory skills, spelling and sentence structure. They become adept at translating between English and French by using their understanding of cognates and context. By recognising different word groups and how they are used in French, they can begin to decode new language and construct simple sentences with a degree of independence early in their language learning journey. They can use their Knowledge About Language (KAL) to make links between different languages and understand how languages have evolved worldwide.
Most language learning activities are song or game based in order to make lessons varied, active, fun and engaging with plenty of repetition and language consolidation. Children are encouraged to 'hear it and say it' before they attempt to read or write as this promotes greater independence and self confidence.
Grammar is taught both formally and informally through all topic areas. For example;
by the end of Year 6, children are expected to know that there are two gender classifications for nouns in French and they are taught that this impacts the spelling of adjectives and also phrases and verbs that use de and a. Children are expected to try to reflect this knowledge in their written work by making gender and plural agreements and by using au and du when appropriate. This will have been taught progressively through all topic areas from Year 3. Resources used in lessons include video clips from the Francophone world, traditional songs, rhymes and stories, and an interactive web based resource called Linguascope which can be used at home and at school. Key focus areas such as Remembrance Day and Black History month are included within the French curriculum as well as key French celebrations such as Bastille Day and The Epiphany.
Cross curricular links are embedded in the French curriculum through topics as diverse as Space, Healthy Eating and WW2. Key grammar points are revisited and,when appropriate, extended as the children progress from one word acquisition through to sentence formation.
Children are taught to recognise that Language Learning Skills are transferable such as comprehension skills and spelling strategies which can be applied in other curriculum areas. The children are encouraged to reflect upon their own learning styles and what might help them to improve memory and recall . These can include colour coding words, repetition, songs and using actions for muscle memory. All lessons incorporate activities for different learning styles and the children are made explicitly aware of the purpose of the activities that they are doing.
Children are helped to be resourceful and resilient in lessons. Examples include having access to physical tools such as knowledge organisers, word cards, sentence building grids, dictionaries and word banks but also emotional tools such as a talking partner for those who are less confident in speaking activities. Peer support is encouraged and children have opportunities to work in pairs, small groups or independently according to their preference or needs. All children are expected to achieve the main lesson objective with some able to extend their learning through additional activities and challenges. Children with SEND are fully integrated into every lesson with adaptations made for their needs as required.
Impact:
By the end of Year 6, all of our children should be able to recognise spelling and sound patterns in French using them to inform their pronunciation and spelling. Our children should be active participants in their language learning, curious to discover how they can manipulate and use new language and be willing to try without fear of failure. The children should understand basic grammar rules and try to use them correctly in speaking and writing tasks. They should be confident speakers, readers and writers. They should be able to listen attentively and have the ability to elicit key facts from spoken and written texts.
Our children should feel confident to speak before an audience and to memorise familiar phrases and expressions. They should be inspired to explore the culture, history and geography of France and Francophone countries around the world. They should understand the relationships between France and Great Britain both historically and in the present. They should recognise the importance of being global citizens.
By the end of year 6 our children should recognise, understand and know how to use the Language Learning Strategies that they need in order to learn a new language. They should approach their secondary education feeling confident in their ability to be effective language learners.
Holy Trinity's Progression of Skills in French:
Please see the link below to the Skills Progression Document.
Our French Curriculum Map:
Please see the link below to the French Curriculum Map.