Languages

INTENT
At Cheadle Heath Primary School we believe that learning French provides an opening to another culture.  It is our intention that children will make substantial progress in French developing communication skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The emphasis is on learning the basic sounds of spoken French and how these correspond to written French to form simple sentences. We learn basic greetings and describing ourselves, as well as about life in France.  As they progress through Key Stage 2, children explore the sounds and rhythm of the spoken language through songs, poems, rhymes and learn how this links to the letters and words in writing. They also learn how to express basic information and opinions, as well as ask questions. In addition, they will learn how to describe people, places and actions through speaking and writing French.

We aim 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, including through discussion and asking questions, and that they are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.

• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.

• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

• Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.

• Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.

• Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help.

• Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures.

• Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.

• Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.

• Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.

• Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language.

• Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.

• Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.

• Describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing Languages – key stage 2.

• Understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.

IMPLEMENTATION
The children are introduced to French in Year 3 through songs, stories and key vocabulary which is taught through topics which are age appropriate. We have created a bespoke scheme of work to deliver exciting, focused lessons using conversational French and engaging resources. As we acknowledge children’s different learning styles and encourage active participation through actions, rhymes, stories and song.  Children learn more about life in a European country and its language on ‘Big Languages Day’, which is celebrated annually in line with European Day of Languages. On this day, each class celebrates a particular language and explores the countries where that language is spoken as well as its art, cuisine and culture. 

IMPACT
Our languages curriculum ensures that children develop their knowledge of where different languages, including the range of home languages spoken by the families of the school, as well as French, are spoken in the world.  Through quality first teaching, the impact of learning a language is seen through chidlren:

• being provided with opportunities to communicate with each other in French

• being given the opportunity to look at other languages – particularly if children are bi-lingual

• learning how language skills can be applied to a range of languages

• becoming aware that language has structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another

• developing their language through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing

• enriching their language learning by developing an understanding of the French culture