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French

At Northfield the Modern Foreign Language we learn is French. 

Intent  

Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster children's curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. 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. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read books in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages and give them knowledge of other countries. 

The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:  

  • understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources  

  • speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation  

  • to write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the range of grammatical structures they have learnt  

  • discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.  

   

At Northfield Primary School:   

We follow the KAPOW scheme for French. 

It is intended that when children leave Northfield Primary, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language.  They will be engaged and prepared to continue language learning at Secondary School.  

  

Implementation  

Pupils are taught to:  

  • 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 using a bilingual dictionary and / or Translate.  

  • write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas  

  • describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing  

  • understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied  

  

Impact  

  • Children will know more and remember more about Modern Foreign Languages.   

  •  Children will recognise and apply key French vocabulary verbally.   

  • Children will be able to write a limited amount in French.   

  • They will demonstrate a love of learning languages and will become more and more confident in communicating in French.  

  • Most pupils will achieve age related expectations by the end of the year. 

 

Pupils will know more, remember more and understand more French vocabulary.   

Pupil Voice at Northfield

We value the views of our pupils and ask pupils in Key Stage Two about learning French at Northfield.

 

I like learning about different languages. In French, in one lesson we learnt Swedish and Dutch to see if there were any clues to our French words. It’s important to learn because when you’re older you might go to a shop in a different country, and you might want to buy something. Y3 pupil 

 

I think learning French is important because if you go to another country and someone only speaks French, you will be able to understand them and communicate. I like learning French using KAPOW as they give videos that tell us how to say the words in French. Y4 pupil 

French is really important because if you are travelling or meet someone from France you can make sure they are ok. I like learning French as I find it easy. I learn French at home on an app called Duolingo. It’s good education to learn a new language. Y5 pupil 

 

Learning French is fun, and I enjoy learning different languages. If I ever go to France or a French speaking country, I would understand the people and be able to communicate well. Y6 pupil 

 

MFL Progression Plan

  1. MFL Progression2 pdf