French

Curriculum Drivers

Our vision for learning (Quoted from Teaching and Learning policy)

The vision for our school is to provide our children with the best possible start in life through the provision of a vibrant, engaging and relevant curriculum where children are challenged and inspired to excel. We strive to develop a community of life-long learners who are ready to succeed in the 21^st century.

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.

The teaching should enable pupils 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 great literature in the original language.

Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.

Aims
Our languages curriculum 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
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

Our pupils get the opportunity to formally learn a foreign language in Key Stage 2 through lessons with their teacher. Pupils also have access to modern technology to further develop their skills with their class teacher during the week.

Prior to that, our EYFS and Key Stage 1 children develop an understanding of other countries, their customs and their languages through the rich and varied opportunities experienced in other curriculum subjects, such as RE, Geography, History, PSHCE and the interwoven Global curriculum.

To find out more information about the National Curriculum for this subject & others, please click here

Books to support our learning in Languages

Lost in translation

by Ella Frances Sanders 

Did you know that the Japanese have a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees?

Or, that there’s a Swedish word that means a traveller’s particular sense of anticipation before a trip?

Lost in Translation, a New York Times bestseller, brings the nuanced beauty of language to life with over 50 beautiful ink illustrations.

Welcome to Our World: A Celebration of Children Everywhere!

by Moira Butterfield 

Children all over the world are very different, but they also have much in common. In this beautifully illustrated book, young children can learn all about what people in other countries eat, wear and play, and how they speak and celebrate.

From breakfasts to birthdays, cakes to clothes, and hiccups to hellos, there are so many ways to say and do things - but everyone shares a love of family, friends, food and fun. This delightful book teaches us that despite different languages, customs and traditions, it really is a small world, after all.

Languages at Home

Want to continue your Languages learning at home?

Have a look at some of these ideas: 

Learn some French using actions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUX0A1a1VN0 

Try learning this French greetings song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BgyvEXTZbk