Intent

The national curriculum outlines that students should be given the opportunity to make significant progress in a foreign language. The language of choice here at Thorpe Lea is French and we strive to deliver our teaching of this subject to a high standard and create a passion for language learning amongst the pupils.  MFL is lead by Miss Hosford, who previously worked as an MFL teacher, teaching both French and Spanish to students in KS3 and KS4. Miss Hosford has a good understanding of MFL expectations in secondary schools, and has adapted the curriculum here at the Thorpe Lea to prepare pupils well for their future language learning journeys. Whilst Miss Hosford is away on maternity leave, Miss Rickett is leading the subject.

Implementation

Children start learning French in Year 3. Language learning is based on the development of four key skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Our planning allows for good coverage of these skills over the course of the four years. Pupils gradually develop and build on each competency year by year, as well as learning key grammar rules. By the time students reach year 6 they should have made significant progress in all four skills.

Learning a new language can be daunting so the lessons combine a mixture of games, songs and activities to make the experience stimulating and fun. Children are given many opportunities to practise their spoken French and we try and make this as relevant as possible by creating real-life scenarios such as the French Sweet Shop run by Year 6 where children in KS2  were able to practise their greetings, numbers and food flavours.

Please find below a basic overview of the KS2 curriculum which follows Rising Stars Eurostars scheme of work. 

Impact

Pupils progression in reading, writing, speaking and listening is assessed on a half termly basis, using assessments created to link to each stage in the Eurostars scheme of work. Learning walks and book looks are also used to monitor teaching and learning.