French
At Mill Lane Primary, we celebrate the fact that as a multicultural school we have many children who speak another additional language or languages. We embrace with confidence and open mindedness the learning of languages, secure in the knowledge that our young people will be equipped with the ideology and skills needed to both live and succeed in a multicultural, European and International society.
In that spirit we aim to enthuse our students, throughout KS2, to learn French through stimulating and challenging lessons delivered using a wide variety of teaching and learning styles, which we are continually seeking to develop. We will not stand still as we seek to increase the motivation and raise the achievement of our students. Emphasis is placed on students working actively in lessons and on the teacher building up students’ confidence in order to enable them to understand and enjoy using French.
MFL Intent Statement
Intent
At Mill Lane Primary School, we celebrate and welcome different cultures and languages within our school community, as many of our pupils speak an additional language or languages. Language is at the heart of all learning that a pupil does, and it is through language that pupils receive knowledge, express themselves and communicate from the earliest of stages.
Across all year groups, we seek to raise pupils’ awareness of other languages and cultures by celebrating a language each month. Pupils learn some basic greetings in that language, they acquire some background knowledge about the country, and they celebrate the culture through exploring images and discussion. This is done in order to “foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world” (National Curriculum, 2013). Within Key Stage 2, the MFL curriculum focuses on French in order for pupils to make substantial progress in one language and to prepare them for their secondary education.
Implementation
We teach a curriculum that enables our pupils to become effective users of language, and show an understanding and respect of different cultures in our local, national and global communities. Through the teaching of French, and through raising the profile of a whole host of languages, at Mill Lane Primary School, we aim to:
- Ensure every child has the opportunity, throughout Key Stage 2, to study French as a foreign language; developing their interest in the culture of other nations, communities and beliefs.
- Ensure pupils have access to high-quality teaching and learning opportunities.
- Ensure pupils have exposure to simple commands including day-to-day French language, including days, months, numbers and classroom instructions.
- Ensure pupils develop an increased wider cultural understanding through our enriched and varied curriculum to which languages contribute.
- Provide language informed by the National Curriculum and the skills expressed in this: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Cultural Understanding.
Impact
Our MFL curriculum is fun and enjoyed by learners, well-resourced and planned to demonstrate progression through Key Stage 2. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through:
- Pupil discussions about their learning;
- Monitoring and reflection against subject-specific skills defined in the progression of skills document;
- Children applying their knowledge of language to other areas of the curriculum;
- Children applying their cultural understanding and tolerance across society and cultures.