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French

Intent

“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” (Frank Smith). Our French North Star is for children to develop a love of languages through our teaching. We want them to learn about cultures other than their own so that they develop their understanding of the world they are growing up in. We want to teach our children the skills to interact with French speakers and to develop their conversational skills so that they are able to do so confidently and with ease. Specifically, we want children to be able to communicate for practical means and make substantial progress in both spoken and written French. We want to give our children access to a variety of authentic language sources to give them the best opportunities to broaden their vocabulary and develop their pronunciation and intonation.

Implementation

At Ashfield, French is taught in a timetabled weekly session and lessons are planned with a clear progression across each year group. As we do not have any French specialist teachers at Ashfield, we use a scheme of work (Language Angels) to teach French.  Using Language Angels ensures teaching of the key skills and knowledge and confirms full coverage of the National Curriculum.

Our French curriculum covers the four aspects of language learning (reading, writing, speaking and listening).  It has been carefully planned to ensure that children have sound knowledge of topic – related vocabulary, grammar and immersion in French culture and traditions. Language learning is connected to cultural ways and traditions. For this reason, cultural learning plays an essential role in French lessons in every year group at Ashfield.

Each year group will complete units of work with opportunities for cultural and traditional immersion through classroom learning and/or enrichment activities each year.  A complete immersion involves correct pronunciation, therefore there is also a phonics element embedded in the learning for each year group. Every year group will be allocated a set of phonic sounds (related to the vocabulary) to learn and build upon.

The foreign language knowledge of our pupils progresses within each academic year and is extended year upon year throughout the primary phase and will be relevant and in line with meeting or exceeding national DfE requirements. This progression will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning. Exposure to different topics and aspects of the foreign language will help all pupils to develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating.

In Year 3  the children will begin with a short introduction to France and will also learn salutations and how to introduce themselves, their family, colours and numbers. This learning will be revisited throughout different units in year 5 and 6. They will also learn different names of animals, instruments and ice-cream flavours, as well as a range of verbs ‘I am able to..’ which will be further extended in year 4. At the end of year 3, the children will learn more about France (location, food and traditions) and Francophone countries, as their main cultural learning. This has been selected as it links with our Geography topic, in which children learn about France. Learning to pronounce the names of cities in France will give children a positive and authentic perspective to their learning.

In Year 4 children will have a range of units of work, building on their knowledge in year 3. They will extend their verbs understanding (I am able) as well as learn new vocabulary about fruits and vegetables. One of their units will focus on traditional foods and cafes in France. The children will enjoy an afternoon where they will serve some French foods (our French café!) to their parents and will use the learned vocabulary.  Having a French cultural event will give children the opportunity to learn more about French culture and life whilst learning the language.

Learning in Year 5 further builds on vocabulary and grammatical structures and provides opportunities for children to write well-built sentences with scaffolding through numerous resources as appropriate. Topics include presenting myself and clothes, as well as units linked to time of the day/days of the week/months of the year and seasons. Children will also be exposed to Le poisson d’Avril (cultural learning) and have an opportunity to play this game. This will link in with PSHE learning about understanding the joke and learning when to stop it.

After the exposure in Year 4 and 5 to classroom objects and presenting myself, children will be able to link and build on their knowledge in Year 6 and complete units of work on ‘Ma Famille’, ‘Chez-moi’.  This will give children the opportunity to draw on their knowledge learnt throughout KS2 to present themselves in French and to be able to talk about their home, family and pets in a more detailed way.  Also in Year 6, children will enrich themselves further in French culture by learning about the Lemon Festival in France and other cultural events like Bastille Day.  To prepare our pupils for secondary school, in the summer term, we have a unit of work that will expose children to some German and Spanish taster workshops.

Our French lessons will include:

  • A progression of French knowledge
  • A clear sequence of learning for each unit
  • Specific topic – related vocabulary for units of work and year group
  • Exposure to various cultural aspects
  • Develop French vocabulary and grammatical structures
  • Provide opportunities to reflect and build on prior learning
  • Challenged to think about similarities and differences and the importance of acceptance of others
  • Make links with other subjects in the curriculum
  • Adaptive teaching and High Quality Teaching strategies
  • Differentiated activities or support (e.g., word maps, enlarged maps, iPad and technology etc) for children with SEN

Impact

  • Children will explain the value of learning another language
  • Children can discuss the key vocabulary taught
  • Children will show an appreciation of French culture and identify similarities and differences with the British culture
  • Children showing confidence and willing to participate in French lessons
  • Children recalling key vocabulary and speaking with increasing confidence
  • Children reading simple words and phrases in French
  • Children writing simple sentences and phrases in French

Our children will be successful and engaged in lessons because:

  • Teachers use assessment for learning in lessons and ‘Language Angels’ to enhance learning
  • Teachers build on a progression of skills and knowledge from the previous year
  • Teachers make links and connections with prior learning in French and in other curriculum subjects
  • Teachers scaffold activities, model key vocabulary in French
  • Teachers organise activities with our linked French schools throughout the year which enable children to read and/or write in French for a purpose and learn more about French culture