French

Because of our languages Curriculum, our children Grow and Flourish as linguists through-

Wisdom- the knowledge and confidence to speak with good intonation and pronunciation.

Love- a passion for languages and a commitment to learning French and a strong awareness of culture of the countries where the language is spoken.

Perseverance- ability to use language creatively and spontaneously.

Wisdom-Love-Perseverance

French Day 2023!

Our French Café!

During this activity, Mrs Bennett opened a French café where we listened to French music and learnt about different popular French food. On the menu we had: pain au chocolate, croissants, French bread and French toast. We also tried some different cheeses including Brie and a garlic roulade, some of us really enjoyed them and we even learnt how to say them in French! Bon appetite! 

All about the Eiffel Tower!

In this activity, we worked with Mrs Wardale and Miss Watkins and used our design skills and created Eiffel Towers out of art straws! Did you know the Eiffel Tower has 7,000,000 visitors each year?

Henri Matisse inspired art!

Henri Matisse ‘The Snail’ was the inspiration for our collages with bold colour and shape. We spent time looking at the different styles of Art Matisse created over his lifetime. Our French day was the first time children were in their St Andrews house teams. It was great to see the teams which had a mix of Reception through to Year 6 and family members together enjoying time being creative with colour and shape!

We were inspired by the artist Henri Matisse and his collage l'escargot!

French Conversations!

During this activity, the children worked with Mr Finn and focused on language work; Children looked at basic conversational French to be able to say hello, ask how someone is and respond appropriately and how to ask someone's name, age and where they live. Older children supported the younger ones with this verbally and then completed a higher level task, responding to these questions in writing. We also looked at where in the world France is in relation to the UK and thought about how we might travel there. Children were taught some nouns for modes of transport including, 'Une voiture, Un train and un avion'. Younger children considered which might be the best way to cross the sea. 

Our Learning!

Pupil Voice!

This is what our children had to say about French Day 2023!

Intent:

Learning a foreign language provides individuals with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of other cultures in the world. We aim to spark enthusiasm and enjoyment in language learning. Using an exciting and interactive approach, we strive to develop our children's reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in French in order to lay the foundations for future language learning. We intend for our pupils to appreciate the value of being able to communicate effectively with others in a multi-lingual society, develop an awareness of cultural differences around the world and leave our schools prepared to continue their language learning journey at secondary school. 

The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and 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

Implementation:

Below, you will find a copy of our long-term curriculum map. Our two-year rolling programme ensures that our mixed-age classes have full coverage of the National Curriculum whilst not repeating any topics. Our classes have access to a high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the Kapow scheme of work and resources. In Class Two and Class Three, children are taught French weekly by their class teachers to support progression and develop confidence. Our language learning journey is broken down into stepping-stones to ensure that the children in our schools achieve the expectations required of them by the end of each year group in KS2. 

Key Documents

Languages are presented in a fun, informal manner whilst still following a comprehensive scheme of work which builds upon previous knowledge. This approach to learning languages embraces the children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm whilst developing strong foundations for the acquisition of a second language.

It is intended that when children leave us, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore, other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language.  They will be engaged and prepared to continue language learning at Secondary School.