Modern Foreign Languages
Intent
At Christchurch, our aim is to provide an engaging and ambitious foreign languages curriculum. We strive to inspire and excite our pupils with a wide range of topics and themes, fostering a genuine interest in language learning. By setting high expectations and standards, we ensure that all students achieve their full potential and feel confident to continue studying languages beyond Key Stage 2.
Our curriculum is dynamic and regularly reviewed to ensure relevance and alignment with national requirements. We focus on developing the four key language skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - alongside age-appropriate grammar. This equips students to apply their learning across various contexts and supports overall attainment in other subjects.
We believe in offering memorable experiences that inspire our pupils, enabling them to thrive and flourish both academically and personally. As part of this journey, we embed cultural capital throughout our curriculum, exposing our pupils to diverse opportunities and experiences beyond their immediate surroundings, while also celebrating the rich diversity within our school community. We believe that the early acquisition of French will facilitate the learning of other foreign languages later in life. We will prepare pupils for the KS3 language curriculum to enable them to transfer confidently and successfully.
We provide a broad and balanced curriculum that inspires curiosity and a love of learning. Our approach embeds cultural capital, celebrates diversity, and evolves to meet the changing needs of our students. By setting high expectations and fostering self-belief, we empower our children to thrive and succeed, regardless of their starting points.
Implementation
‘A high-quality language 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.’ (National Curriculum 2014 – Appendix A)
We teach French across Key Stage 2. Our school uses the Language Angels scheme of work to support the teaching and learning of Spanish. This provides clear progression for the development of speaking, listening and vocabulary acquisition. There are varied resources and strategies used during lessons to ensure that pupils are actively engaged in French:
Games – in order to develop vocabulary through repetition, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
Role-play – these should relate to the situations that pupils may experience now and in the future.
Action songs and rhymes – to develop phonetic skills, memory skills and to further embed vocabulary.
We build children’s confidence through praise for any contribution they make in the foreign language, however tentative
The knowledge and skills taught are detailed in the National Curriculum through the Language Angels. We have adapted this to the context of our school. This provides teachers with clear progression grids and content for teaching and learning.
In addition to following the lessons provided in the Language Angels scheme of work and resources, we also include:
Foreign language celebration assemblies.
Cookery sessions of traditional foods from other countries
Fashion shows demonstrating typical / traditional clothing from the country of the language being studied.
Weather forecasts based on maps from the country of the language being studied.
School celebrations of national feast days from the country of the language being studied when appropriate to facilitate a whole school approach to foreign language learning along with improved cultural awareness.
Language Angels units provide step-by-step learning, guiding pupils from basics to more complex language. Teachers use planning documents to cover the curriculum effectively and assess pupils at the end of each unit, giving tailored feedback. Progress tracking tools help identify areas needing extra support. Pupils also gain insight into languages like Spanish through our after school clubs and school events like Chinese New Year. This prepares pupils well for Key Stage 3, ensuring they can continue to develop their language skills confidently.
Impact
Learning an additional language will offer pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences. It is our intent that pupils will foster a love of language and a desire to further learn beyond the classroom and in their future. We also intend that children will:
develop their language and communication through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
enrich their language learning by developing an understanding of the French culture.
transfer to KS3 effectively and successfully and will be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills