Our aim is to develop the confidence and competence of each child in the foreign language they are learning. Our goal is for them to be passionate, curious and confident about their own foreign language learning abilities when they finish the primary school phase of their education.

We will help them develop and demonstrate substantial progress in the 3 key language skills necessary for learning French

• Phonics
• Vocabulary
• Grammar

To develop these key areas, children in Key Stage 2 will learn through speaking, reading, writing and listening to French.

We aim to ensure that pupils of all abilities develop solid foundations in these key language learning skills – properly preparing them for the next stage of their language learning journey. These skills will develop children’s ability to understand what they hear and read and enable them to express themselves in speech and writing. We will extend their knowledge of how language works and explore the similarities and differences between the foreign language they are learning and English. We will also help strengthen their sense of identity through learning about culture in other countries and comparing it with their own. Learning a foreign language is underpinned by our school curriculum drivers and helps pupils to develop their basic skills, oracy and philosophy for learning, which teaches them about possibilities and supports their personal development.

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will:

• 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.

Where appropriate, work completed by the children is recorded in their French books which can be passed through the years and become a portfolio of their learning. Teachers can also upload scans of pupil written work along with audio and video recordings of pupils speaking and presenting to a centralised secure file store on the school’s system.

The successful, collaborative approach to the teaching of MFL results in an ambitious, engaging and high quality education that allows pupils to understand the world around them and encourages them to explore MFL further as they leave primary school.