French
Subject Leader
Mrs E Patrick and Mrs H Wall
French at William Shrewsbury Primary School
At William Shrewsbury Primary School, we believe it is important for all children in Key Stage 2 to not only be given the opportunity to learn a new language, but to also gain an understanding of another country and its culture. Instilling a love of languages at an early age has many benefits, which is why we offer pupils the chance to explore French in a variety of ways, enabling them to express their thoughts and ideas in a foreign language and to communicate with native speakers for practical purposes. Our aim is that pupils will develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about learning French, finding it both enjoyable and stimulating.
How French is taught at William Shrewsbury Primary School
At William Shrewsbury, we use the Language Angels scheme of work and resources to ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious French curriculum that will inspire and excite our pupils using a wide variety of topics and themes. All pupils will be expected to achieve their full potential by encouraging high expectations and excellent standards in French - the ultimate aim being that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond Key Stage 2.
The Language Angels scheme provides six units for each year group (one per half term) with six lessons in each unit. Each class in Key Stage 2 has a timetabled lesson of at least thirty minutes per week. The lessons are designed to motivate, captivate and interest pupils from the first moment. They have clear, achievable objectives and incorporate different learning styles.
Pupils will progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge organised around age-appropriate topics and themes, building blocks of language into more complex, fluent and authentic language. French can also be revisited in short sessions throughout the week to consolidate knowledge and ensure new language is retained.
French lessons include:
- PowerPoints and interactive whiteboard materials.
- Opportunities for all pupils to get involved and take part.
- Speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar opportunities.
- Interactive games.
- Songs and physical games.
- Assessment opportunities at the end of each unit.
At William Shrewsbury, we help pupils develop and demonstrate substantial progress in the 5 key language skills necessary for learning French:
- Speaking
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Grammar
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 pupil’s ability to understand what they hear and read and enable them to express themselves in speech and writing.
National Curriculum:
Learning a foreign language is part of the primary National Curriculum and is a requirement for all children within Key Stage 2. Our whole school approach to language teaching and learning is in line with the recommendations of the National Curriculum and the requirements outlined in the Department for Education Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2.
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 authentic writing in the language studied.
There are lots of ways in which you can support your child with their French learning:
- Talk to your child about the French they have been learning each week - can they teach you a new word or phrase?
- Look at a world map together and discuss French speaking countries around the world. Can you choose one to research together?
- French puzzles/games are available online to download.
- Practise counting in French.
- Cook a French meal or listen to French songs/music.
- Explore the following useful websites:
Links:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects