Vision

To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world‘. Chinese Proverb

At Paxcroft, we want children to be passionate about learning French and to deepen their understanding about the world around them through the exposure of a different culture.

Intent

The 2014 National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all children:

-Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.

-Are able to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what    they want to say, and that they are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.

-Can write at varying lengths, for different purposes, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.

A high quality languages education should foster children's curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. At Paxcroft, we are committed to ensuring that competence in another language enables children to interpret, create and exchange meaning within and across cultures. It also helps children develop skills that will open further opportunities in life. The teaching of French across all year groups in KS2 provides an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and lays the foundations for further language learning in KS3.

Implementation

In KS2, each class has a weekly timetabled French lesson of 30 minutes. Lessons across KS2 support the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. 

• Children are taught to listen attentively to spoken language and respond, joining in with songs, rhymes and games.
• Children are taught to use and adapt basic phrases so that they are able to ask and answer questions  and use vocabulary in the context of a sentence.
• Children are taught to recall key vocabulary from different topics, verbally to begin with, through games, then moving onto recognising and using its written form. 
• Planning French lessons at Paxcroft is mainly based on the primary French scheme of work from 'La Jolie Ronde' but is supplemented by additional resources. 

Impact

As a result of our MFL curriculum, children will have the skills, knowledge and understanding required to learn a new language. They will have developed their oracy and literacy skills as well as their understanding of their own culture/s and those of others. Our children will be enthusiastic about learning languages and inspired to continue their learning journey with confidence as they move up to KS3 and beyond, thereby equipping them with the means to widen their horizons, and possibly, in the future, to work or study  in other countries. 

Useful and Fun Websites and Apps

Duolingo

Duolingo is one of the best French learning apps on iOS and Android. It uses a game like format to deliver bite- sized lessons to learn vocabulary, grammar,  verb conjugation, writing, pronunciation and listening. Duolingo is a highly recommended app for beginners who want to learn French. Duolingo has been ranked as the highest rated app on the Apple App Store for good reason. The free version is very easy to use and offers a choice of over 30 different languages. 

• Duolingo

• Memrise
  Memrise is a great app to learn French words and basic grammar all the way through to advanced phrases and vocabulary, you can advance in French all the way from beginner to pro. The Memrise French app is designed to get you to practise speaking the French language as quickly and confidently as possible, with all words and phrases.

• Hello World!
  Hello world French offers free French activities which help learn basic concepts in French, such as learning the alphabet colours and numbers. There are even links to learn other languages for those who love language learning