'One language sets you in the corridor of life. Two languages open every door along the way.' Frank Smith 

Bonjour! bienvenue au coeur du bois  (Hello! welcome to Heartwood)

At Heartwood CE VC Primary School, we want to promote a love of learning languages and a fascination for how language works. We teach MFL in Key Stage 2 as the entitlement set out in the National Curriculum 2014. We also intend to provide rich and engaging extra-curricular learning in MFL that may include EYFS and Key Stage 1. Our focus language is French because Swaffham is twinned with the town of Couhe in France and as a Swaffham school we believe it is important to share a role in fostering the friendships and understanding of twinned towns.

Intent

The French scheme of work aims to instil a love of language learning and an awareness of other cultures. We want pupils to develop the confidence to communicate in French for practical purposes, using both written and spoken French. Through the scheme of work, we aim to give pupils a foundation for language learning that encourages and enables them to apply their skills to learning further languages, developing a strong understanding of the English language, facilitating future study and opening opportunities to study and work in other countries in the future.

The French scheme of work supports pupils to meet the national curriculum end of Key stage 2 attainment targets (there are no Key stage 1attainment targets for Languages).

Implementation

French is taught weekly in KS2, using Kapow. The Kapow French scheme of work is designed with six strands that run throughout.

These are:

• Speaking and pronunciation

• Listening

• Reading and writing

• Grammar

• Intercultural understanding

• Language detective skills

The National curriculum mapping shows which of our units cover each of the National curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the strands. Our Progression of skills and knowledge shows the skills and knowledge that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of Key Stage 2. Through Kapow Primary’s French scheme, pupils are given opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines. The scheme provides balanced opportunities for communication in both spoken and written French, although in Year 3 the focus is on developing oral skills, before incorporating written French in Year 4 and beyond.

The Kapow Primary scheme is a spiral curriculum, with key skills and vocabulary revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Cross-curricular links are included throughout our French units, allowing children to make connections and apply their language skills to other areas of their learning.

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including role-play, language games and language detective work.

The scheme of work focuses on developing what we term ‘language detective skills’ and developing an understanding of French grammar, rather than on committing to memory vast amounts of French vocabulary. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed and enjoyed by all.

Impact

After the implementation of Kapow Primary French, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of language-learning skills to enable them to study French, or any other language, with confidence at Key Stage 3.

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary French scheme of work is that children will:

•  Be able to engage in purposeful dialogue in practical situations (e.g., ordering in a cafe, following directions) and express an opinion.
• Make increasingly accurate attempts to read unfamiliar words, phrases, and short texts.
• Speak and read aloud with confidence and accuracy in pronunciation.
• Demonstrate understanding of spoken language by listening and responding appropriately.
• Use a bilingual dictionary to support their language learning.
• Be able to identify word classes in a sentence and apply grammatical rules they have learnt.
• Have developed an awareness of cognates and near-cognates and be able to use them to tackle unfamiliar words in French, English, and other languages.
•  Be able to construct short texts on familiar topics.
• Meet the end of Key Stage 2 stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for Languages.

The 2014 Primary National Curriculum states that  learning a foreign language compulsory at Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6). 

By studying a foreign language, children are given the opportunity not only to learn about other cultures but, more importantly, to communicate with others too. It is also a thoroughly enjoyable subject to learn, with less emphasis on the written word and more on practical tasks, such as drama, story-telling, role-play, speaking and listening.