Intent

Here at Collis, we believe that learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils: it is important for encouraging a natural curiosity about the world.  It also helps pupils to develop practical communication skills as well as extending their knowledge of how a language works. Learning a foreign language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others. It enhances self-esteem, as well as laying a firm foundation for language learning throughout their life.

By the end of KS2 children will be able to do the following things:

• Engage in conversations about themselves using correct pronunciation. This could be through asking and answering questions, expressing their likes and dislikes and/or describing people, places or things.
• Be able to read simple texts that are written about subjects they are familiar with, using a French/English dictionary to look up unknown words.
• Be able to write sentences and paragraphs of increasing length and adapt known grammatical structures to construct new sentences.
• Understand the relationship between key French letters/groups of letters and their pronunciations.
• Understand key grammatical rules used to structure sentences and how they are the same/different from the English language.
• Understand the key cultures and traditions of French speaking countries and how they are different/similar to each other and England.
• Know and appreciate some songs and stories in the French language.

Implementation

The children undertake a broad and balanced curriculum that takes account of abilities, aptitudes and physical, emotional and intellectual development. At Collis, we will ensure that learning of both language and culture is embedded into the broader curriculum for the children to develop an international outlook. French planning is carried out centrally rather than by each year group to ensure a clear progression of skills. Additionally, the use of Early Start Languages and other resources available online supports teachers, who are not linguistically confident. This ensures that the children have a correct model for pronunciation and develop a clear understanding of grammatical constructs.  Cross-curricular links are made when appropriate. For example in year 4 both the English and French unit of work focuses on the story of Cinderella (Cendrillon). Opportunities for using French are utilised across the curriculum. For example, giving instructions in French in PE lessons, when doing the register and the date is always written on the board in both English and French.  This acts to reinforce the vocabulary and structures they have learned and give learning a real purpose. ICT is used where appropriate to enhance teaching and learning. We always make every effort to ensure that the teaching of a language is inclusive and find that learning a language creates a level playing field for EAL children and children who may find other subjects challenging.

If you were to walk into a French lesson at Collis, you will see some of the following things:

• Re-visiting of key vocabulary, knowledge and skills from previous topics
• New vocabulary taught through games with a focus on pronunciation
• Clear links made between the spelling of letters/groups of letters and their pronunciation
• Children learning about key grammatical rules in the French language, comparisons made with English grammatical rules and links made from previous learning
• Children learning about the culture and traditions of French speaking countries
• Children learning songs and stories in French
• Opportunities for teachers to assess children’s French knowledge

An example of the progressions of skills for listening from year 3 to year 6.

Topics covered in each year group.

Impact

Work Samples

Children taking part in a scavenger hunt:

Outstanding work sample: Year 4 Cendrillon – one child was inspired to re-write the story in French.

Successes

• Streamlining of the topics and skills covered within French lessons to ensure progress and continuity throughout KS2
• Having a French folder that children will use from years 3-6. This will help show progress and remind children of learning in previous years
• Being clear about the key grammatical knowledge that will be learnt in each year group
• Central approach to French planning meaning that there is consistency and clear progress
• Celebrating French culture with activities such as the French picnic

Priorities for 2023 – 2024

• Develop the teaching of phonics within our French lessons
• Develop display boards which include the key learning for each year group
• Creating a knowledge map for each year group detailing key skills and vocab
• Creating an assessment document to record French attainment in each class

If you were to walk into French lessons at Collis, you will see

• Interactive learning with resources
• French vocabulary being used for specific topics
• Engagement in learning
• Children practicing how to pronounce certain words
• Learning to sing song in another language

Example of listening progression throughout KS2