MFL - French
"To foster pupils’ curiosity and love of learning languages and discover and understand new cultures globally, whilst enriching their command of English and value their home languages."
Intent
The intention of the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) curriculum at Chestnuts Primary School, is that children are taught to develop an interest in leaning other languages in a way that is fun and exciting. We encourage children’s confidence and curiosity about different languages. The MFL planning is carried out in order to create links with the cultural differences of other countries, including our children’s home countries, allowing them to explore links between their own languages and those taught. We strive to embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing necessary to enable children to use and apply other languages in a variety of contexts and lay the foundations for future language learning. We follow the National Curriculum for MFL.
Implementation
Children are encouraged and supported to develop their speaking and listening skills through conversational work, singing and games. As confidence and skills grow, children record their work through pictures, captions, sentences and then paragraphs – using learnt conjunctions to extend their pieces of writing.
- Displays are used to remind children of vocabulary
- Actions and pictures are used when being taught phonics to help them with punctuation of words
- In the classroom, wherever possible, instructions are given in French, common phrases such as ‘Qu’est que c’est ?’ (What is it?) Whilst pointing to an object allow the children to both listen and respond in French, gaining confidence as they do so.
Our MFL curriculum is designed to progressively develop children’s skills in languages through weekly taught lessons. Children progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics. We follow the ‘LanguageNut’ scheme of work to ensure coverage and progression across the school. The children are also invited to learn Spanish in Reception and Year one, where the language is taught alongside learning about the geography and culture of Spain.