Shaw-cum-Donnington C.E. Primary

At Shaw-cum-Donnington we recognise the importance of learning a modern foreign language and the positive impact this can have on every aspect of daily life.  We believe that learning a modern foreign language is inclusive and fosters 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 and respectfully with others.  It also deepens understanding of the world and our place in it.

The teaching enables pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to speakers, both in speech and in writing.  It provides opportunities for communications for practical purposes and to learn new ways of thinking.  Language teaching provides the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.’

Through our MFL curriculum we encourage the children to:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language.
• Speak with confidence, fluency and spontaneity.
• Find ways to communicate what they want to say through discussion and asking questions.
• Continually improve the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures.

Throughout key stage Two, children will participate in learning French. Through this, they will be exposed to culture and places where this language is spoken and which are different to that of Berkshire. Work produced is recorded in in their French folders. The Language Angels programme of study deepens their understanding of French in a two-year cycle. Speaking, writing, reading and listening are covered within the lessons.

We use a variety of techniques to encourage children to have an active engagement in French, including:

• Multi-sensory elements to reinforce memory and engagement.
• Making the lessons enjoyable, to develop a positive attitude to the learning of foreign languages.
• Songs, rhymes and games

Our two-year cycle, which has been carefully constructed for our children, along with the program of study overview can be found at the end of this document.

By the time children leave our school, they will have 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 and respectfully with others in another language.

At Shaw-cum-Donnington we assess:

Assess - Assessment is conducted according to the objectives. Teachers informally identify who meets the objectives. This information informs planning, is passed on to subsequent teachers and collated by the French subject leader.  This will help gain an understanding of pupils’ achievements and where further teaching might be required.

Monitor - The French subject leader undertakes the following to ensure French is effectively taught and what can be done to improve in the future:

• Reviewing assessment information
• Monitoring assessment procedures
• Learning walks to see learning of French

• Feeding back to the Head Teacher and Governors
• Pupil Interviews
• French work scrutiny, where appropriate.

• Children experience an embedding activity linked to a unit of work where appropriate
• School library and the local library where children can access books in different language