KS2 National Expectations 

Pupils should be taught to:

• 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;

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.

Intent

At Christ the King, the teaching of French offers a carefully planned sequence of lessons, ensuring progressive coverage of the skills required by the national curriculum. Our chosen themes - Time Travelling, Let's Visit a French Town and This Is France - provide an introduction to the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. It aims to foster children’s curiosity and help deepen their understanding of the world. A linear curriculum has been chosen to allow opportunity for children to gradually build on their skills. The French units enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in French and provide opportunities to interact and communicate with others both in speech and in writing. At the heart of the units is the desire to expose children to authentic French, so the scheme offers regular opportunities to listen to native speakers.

In Lower KS2, children acquire basic skills and understanding of French with a strong emphasis placed on developing their Speaking and Listening skills. These will be embedded and further developed in Upper KS2, alongside Reading and Writing, gradually progressing onto more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy.

Through the French scheme, we intend to inspire pupils to develop a love of languages and to expand their horizons to other countries, cultures and people. We aim to help children grow into curious, confident and reflective language learners and to provide them with a foundation that will equip them for further language studies.

The scheme is carefully planned to ensure that it is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist teacher, supporting those who have less experience in MFL.

Implementation

At Christ the King, lessons are sequenced so that prior learning is considered and opportunities

 revision of language and grammar are built in.

Our lessons and resources help children to build on prior knowledge alongside the introduction of new skills. A series of lessons provide structure and context as well as offering an insight into the culture of French-speaking countries and communities. The introduction and revision of key vocabulary and grammatical structures is built into each lesson. This vocabulary is then included in display materials and additional resources so that children have opportunities to repeat and revise their learning.

Impact

The learning environment consists of key French vocabulary displayed, spoken and used by all learners.

Whole-school and parental engagement will improve through the use of language-specific home learning tasks and opportunities suggested in lessons and overviews for wider learning.

We want to ensure that French is loved by teachers and pupils across the school, therefore encouraging them to embark on further language studies. The impact can also be measured through key questioning skills built into lessons, child-led assessments such as success criteria grids, jigsaw targets and KWL grids and summative assessments aimed at targeting next steps in learning.