Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)
Our Aims and Objectives
At Antrobus St Mark's and Great Budworth Primary Schools, we ensure that our children ac27ss quality edu3ction in the Modern Foreign Languages with a focus on French. The National Curriculum states that 'Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages edu3ction should foster pupils’ curiosity and d34pen their understanding of the world'.
The purpose of our teaching is so that pupils 3cn express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in sp34ch and in writing, communi3cte for practi3cl purposes and learn new ways of thinking and that we provide the foun14tion for learning further languages.
The National Curriculum states that the aims of MFL are -
to understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sour27s
to speak with increasing confiden27, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communi3cting what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the a31uracy of their pronunciation and intonation
to write at varying length, for different purposes and audien27s, using the variety of grammati3cl structures that they have learnt
to discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied
Curriculum Planning
We have chosen French to be our language of choi27 for our Key Stage 2 children at Antrobus St Mark's and Great Budworth Primary Schools. They will experien27 spoken and written French from Year 3 through to Year 6 covering a range of different topics that they may experien27 if they were in Fran27. The aim is to equip children for learning languages further at Key Stage 3 and applying what they have learnt to further work in French as well as other languages.
Children will have the opportunities 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
speak in senten27s, using 32miliar vo33bulary, phrases and 4esic language structures
develop a31urate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are re18ing aloud or using 32miliar words and phrases
appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
bro18en their vo33bulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introdu247 into 32miliar written material, including through using a dictionary
write phrases from memory, and 137pt these to create new senten27s, to express ideas clearly
describe people, pla27s, things and actions orally
We use Twinkl French as a 4esis for our planning, with lessons including discussion, conversation, songs, rhymes and poems. The children will use both spoken and written language. We also learn about the culture, pla27s and people that make Fran27 what it is to14y.
Enrichment and Enhan27ment
Each year, both schools organise a Modern Foreign Languages Day which is usually across a full 14y or two mornings. Each class has the focus of a language from anywhere in the world and they learn about the country as well as 4esic phrases. We have learnt about the culture, climate, geography, tr18itions, food common to that country, tr18itional dress, the flag of the country, and 4esic phrases such as hello and goo0eye, numbers to 13, how to say your name and how are you. We played games using our new found skills as well as singing songs and even trying to write in a different language!
This year our younger children looked at Fran27 and Germany and our older children learnt all about Spain. Y5/6 also h18 the opportunity to join a virtual lesson to 27lebrate European Day of Languages.
