French

At Knights Enham Junior School we provide…

Inclusive and ambitious learning experiences where our school community feels safe and motivated to achieve their best.

‘Together We Achieve’

Intent

Learning a language enriches the curriculum helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life. The skills, knowledge and understanding gained contribute to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture and those of others. 

Intent PlanIt French offers a carefully planned sequence of lessons, ensuring progressive coverage of the skills required by the national curriculum. The 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. PlanIt French enables children to express their ideas and thoughts in French and provides opportunities to interact and communicate with others both in speech and in writing. At the heart of PlanIt French 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 our PlanIt 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.

Implementation

Lessons are sequenced so that prior learning is considered and opportunities for 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 are suggested, providing 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. PlanIt French has been designed by our language specialist teaching team, including French native speakers, so that teachers feel confident and supported. All of our lesson packs contain adult guidance, accurate language subject knowledge and accompanying audio materials.

We use a variety of the following techniques to encourage children to have an active engagement with French:

• Games – in order to develop vocabulary through repetition, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
• Role-play – these should relate to the situations the children may find themselves in the future.
• Action songs and rhymes – to develop phonetic skills, memory skills and to further vocabulary.
• Reading and writing quality materials.
• ICT programs and websites; the use of ICT to develop communication skills.

Impact

Through the consistent teaching of French we will see the impact of the subject in the following ways:

• Children will be able to communicate with each other in French.
• Children will develop their language through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
• Children will enrich their language learning by developing an understanding of the French culture.
• Children will learn how language skills can be applied to a range of languages.
• Children will transfer to KS3 confidently and will be well prepared to continue and develop their language skills.