French
French Information
Our French Lead is Miss McIntyre.
Intent
Our Lady of Mount Carmel uses the Language Angels scheme of work and resources to ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that inspires and excites our pupils using a wide variety of topics and themes.
All pupils are expected to achieve their full potential through high expectations and excellent standards in their learning of French – the ultimate aim being that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2.
Units of work have been specially chosen for each year group to ensure progression of knowledge and skills across the year and the year groups. They are also in line with meeting or exceeding national DFE requirements.
The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing are taught and all necessary grammar is covered in an age-appropriate way across the primary phase. This enables pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning and also helping the children improve overall attainment in other subject areas.
We hope that all pupils develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating. Learning a second language offers 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. The intention is that they will be working towards becoming life-long language learners.
Implementation
All classes have access to a high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources. This develops pupils’ skills in a foreign language through regularly taught and well-planned weekly lessons in French in Key Stage 2.
Children progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge, organised around age-appropriate topics and themes – building blocks of language into more complex, fluent and authentic language.
Lessons offer appropriate levels of challenge and stretch to ensure pupils learn effectively, continuously building their knowledge of and enthusiasm for the language they are learning.
Language Angels units are categorised by ‘Teaching Type’ to ensure that the language taught is appropriate to the level of the class and introduced when the children are ready. Children are taught how to listen and read longer pieces of text gradually in the foreign language and they will have ample opportunities to speak, listen to, read and write the language being taught with and without scaffolds, frames and varying levels of support.
Early Language units are entry level units mainly used by Year 3 pupils who have little or no previous experience.
Intermediate units increase the level of challenge by increasing the amount and complexity (including foreign language grammar concepts) of the foreign language presented to pupils. Intermediate units are used mainly with Year 4 and 5 pupils.
Progressive and Creative Curriculum units are the most challenging units and are used mainly with Year 6 pupils
Units, where possible and appropriate, are linked to class topics and cross curricular themes. Children build on previous knowledge gradually as their foreign language lessons continue to recycle, revise and consolidate previously learnt language whilst building on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Knowledge and awareness of required and appropriate grammar concepts are taught throughout all units at all levels of challenge.
- Early language learning involves nounsand articles and 1st person singular of high frequency verbs
- Intermediate language learning involves the use of the possessive, the concept of adjectives, use of the negative form, conjunctions/connectivesand introduce the concept of whole regular verb conjugation
- Progressive language learning involves opinionsand introducing the concept of whole high frequency irregular verb conjugation
Grammar is integrated and taught discreetly throughout all appropriate units.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel has a curriculum overview which serves as an overall ‘teaching map’ outlining what each class in each year group will be taught and when it will be taught.
Each teaching unit is divided into 6 lessons. Each lesson incorporates
- clearly defined objectives and aims
- interactive whiteboard materials to include ample speakingand listening tasks
- reading and writing
- challenge sectionsand desk-based activities that are well differentiated.
Every unit includes a grammar concept which increases in complexity as pupils move from Early Language units, through Intermediate units and into Progressive
Extending writing activities are provided to ensure that pupils are recalling previously learnt language and, by reusing it, will be able to recall it and use it with greater ease and accuracy. These tasks will help to link units together and show that pupils are retaining and recalling the language taught with increased fluency and ease.
Pupil learning and progression is assessed at regular intervals in line with school policy. Teachers assess each language skill (speaking, listening, reading and writing) at the end of each unit and make a judgement at the end of each term as to whether each child is working towards age related expectations, at age related expectations or above age related expectations.
‘European Day of Languages’ is celebrated as a whole school to develop pupils’ interest and awareness of different languages and cultural differences across the world.
Impact
Units of work increase in level of challenge, stretch and linguistic and grammatical complexity as pupils move from Early Learning units through Intermediate units and into the most challenging Progressive units. Units in each subsequent level of the teaching type categories require more knowledge and application of skills than the previous teaching type.
Activities contain progressively more text (both in English and the foreign language being studied) and lessons have more content as the children become more confident and ambitious with the foreign language they are learning.
In Year 3, units start at basic noun and article level and teach pupils how to formulate short phrases. By the time pupils reach Year 6 they are be exposed to much longer texts and are encouraged to formulate their own, more personalised responses based on a much wider bank of vocabulary, linguistic structures and grammatical knowledge. They are able to create longer pieces of spoken and written language and are encouraged to use a variety of conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, opinions and justifications.
Pupils continuously build on their previous knowledge as they progress in their foreign language learning journey through the primary phase. Previous language is recycled, revised, recalled and consolidated whenever possible and appropriate.
Teachers have a clear overview of what they are working towards and if they are meeting these criteria. They use Language Angels unit planners to ensure the correct units are being taught to the correct classes at each stage of the scholastic year. Short-term planning covers the learning targets for each 6-week unit and individual lesson plans layout the learning aims and intentions of each individual lesson within a unit. These planning documents ensure that teachers know what to teach and how to teach it in each lesson, across whole units and across each scholastic term.
Pupils are aware of their own learning goals and progression as each unit offers a pupil friendly overview so that all pupils can review their own learning as they progress through each unit. They know and are able to articulate if they have or have not met their learning objectives and can keep their unit learning intention sheets and unit core vocabulary sheets as a record of what they have learnt from unit to unit and from year to year.
The opportunity to assess pupil learning and progression in the key language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and against the 12 DFE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2 attainment targets is provided at the end of each 6-week teaching unit. This information is recorded and monitored by the MFL Subject Leader who uses this data to ensure teaching is targeted and appropriate for each pupil, class and year group as well as to feedback on progress to SLT and stakeholders. Teachers are able to record, analyse and access this data easily using the Tracking and Progression Tool that monitors school, class and individual progress in the foreign language.
Children are expected to make good or better than good progress in their foreign language learning and their individual progress is tracked and reported to pupils and parents / carers in line with school policy.
If pupils are not progressing in line with expectations, this will be identified in the End of Unit Skills Assessments provided in the Language Angels Tracking & Progression Tool. This enables teachers to put in place an early intervention programme to address any areas that require attention in any of the language learning skills.
Aspirations
In order to inspire and prepare our pupils for the world of work, we want them to understand how learning French can be useful to them in everyday life, and in their future careers.
As linguists our pupils could be:
- A Field Researcher
- An Airline Pilot
- A Medical Translator
- A Doctor or Nurse
- A You Tuber or Podcaster
- A Translator
- A Holiday Rep
- A Blogger
- A Book writer
- A Teacher
More ideas can be found here on the First Careers website.
Policy
| Name | |
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| French-Policy-Sept-2021.pdf | Download |
Curriculum Overview
| Name | |
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| French-Curriculum-Overview-2021.pdf | Download |
