Intent
Our aim at Lydgate is for every child to develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating. Learning an additional language will also offer pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity and develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them. The intention is that they will be working towards becoming life-long language learners and will go into secondary school ready and equipped with the knowledge they need.
We teach French regularly throughout the school, with some exposure in KS1 but beginning in Y3 and these lessons build up their knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary and cultural knowledge.
We follow the National Curriculum for Languages establishing cross-curricular links where appropriate.
Lydgate uses the Language Angels scheme of work and resources to ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite our pupils using a wide variety of topics and themes. All pupils will be expected to achieve their full potential by encouraging high expectations and excellent standards in their foreign language learning - the ultimate aim being that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2.
Click here for the National Curriculum expectations for Foreign Languages
Click here for our Long Term Plan for French in Cycle 1 and Cycle 2
Click here for French Skills Progression in KS2
Implementation
Lessons are formalised in a class timetable for 30 minutes on a weekly basis each lesson then introduces the children to new vocabulary, as well as reviewing previously learnt knowledge. At the start of each cycle children revisit and learn new phonemes that support their learning and can be used in context. Pupils use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary to equip them with the skills to be confident in French. Language Angels uses a variety of mixed media making French accessible and exciting to pupils. Each lesson children will look at the new vocabulary for the lesson and they begin to use this language themselves. Any newly taught language is then practised in a mixture of whiteboard and class activities using games, videos, songs, games and activities. Children develop their oracy skills throughout the lessons, practising speaking and listening before applying them to resources and activities.
Monitoring
Every year, the subject lead takes work samples from each class to ensure parity and progression. Regular pupil interviews are conducted to evaluate learning against intent. The subject lead also observes a sample of lessons across key stage 2. Through the monitoring process, next steps are identified and shared in staff meetings. Examples of work across school are collected by the subject lead to evidence show progression.
Impact
We hope that by the end of Key Stage 2 children are able to listen attentively to the spoken language of French and respond appropriately. Pupils will be able to speak in full sentences and write phrases from memory, and they will be able to form sentences using basic grammar rules appropriate for the language of French. By the end of year 6, children will have developed an accurate pronunciation and intonation so that they are understood by others. This will have been developed through the learning of songs, poems and conversation, which in turn will give children the confidence to present information orally to a range of audiences. Along with developing their speaking and listening skills and written skills, children will read the French language carefully whilst developing their understanding of what they have read.
At the end of every unit, staff assess the children for the unit covered and the data updated every half term onto a tracker. This is accessible to all staff including the Subject Lead. End of unit quizzes cover the areas of listening, speaking, writing and reading.
Christmas Performances – We have picked some key French songs for our Christmas performances recently that the children had to sing along and perform which they enjoyed.