Intent and Vision
“We love our neighbour just as Jesus Christ loves us.” (Luke 10. 25ff)
Our school vision encourages pupils to love and respect their neighbours: in their class, their school, their community and across the globe. At Kirtlington CE School, we believe that learning a modern foreign language is a way of broadening pupils’ perspective on the world through developing an understanding and appreciation of another culture. By fostering curiosity about languages, cultural traditions and artistic styles, we aim for our pupils to become global citizens.
We believe that learning a modern foreign language provides a valuable educational and social experience for all our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including the core skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The pupils’ knowledge of how both the English and French language work, phonology and elements of grammar will be developed and extended through systematic teaching of French, with comparison to English language.
Pupils are made aware of the transferable language learning skills that they gain through their French learning and encouraged to see these as foundations for further language learning, both at secondary school and in adult life.
Implementation
Pupils in KS2 receive a 35 – 40 minute weekly French lesson. Our school follows the ‘Click2Teach’ Primary Languages Network scheme of work. The scheme is supported by accompanying videos, PowerPoints, audio files (spoken by native speakers), links to authentic literature, songs, games, cultural points of reference, seasonal events and cross-curricular links. The PLN scheme of work is an ambitious scheme which ensures progression in language learning across the four core skills, the three pillars of progression (vocabulary, phonics and grammar) and also the DfE 12 Attainment Targets.
To promote an active learning of languages, a range of teaching methods are implemented to ensure that the children are developing their linguistic skills through listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to be secondary ready. Activities can consist of actions, rhymes, stories, song, drama, grammar focus, video clips, air writing, sentence structure, dictionary work, book making and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills.
As a school, we also celebrate and hold events outside of the normal French lessons to enhance children’s learning and promote enjoyment of language learning, such as celebrating European Day of Languages (September), running a French café (summer term) and singing songs in other languages in music.
Impact
Our curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression both in core skills and language learning skills. Assessment for learning takes place during lessons in order to evaluate and provide immediate feedback to improve further. Errors are corrected by being ‘re-framed’ and growth mindset is encouragement for all to ‘have a go’ and learn from any mistakes.
In addition, pupils complete a short, simple summative assessment (Puzzle It Out) in two of the four core skills towards the end of each 6-week unit. The outcomes of these assessments allow staff to identify any of the core skills which still need developing and any areas of content which need further reinforcement.
Additional information: National Curriculum – Languages