Modern Foreign Languages
French at Barden
INTENT
At Barden Primary School it is our intent to provide children with the opportunity to develop a foreign language additionally to languages already spoken and english as a second language. We embrace and acknowledge that some of our children are already skilled in acquiring languages. A survey is being carried out to find out how many languages are spoken at Barden Primary School making our children super linguists already!!! We want to share their experiences and successes.
We want to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they not only know more but remember more and understand more. We believe that children need to enjoy lessons, be engaged and challenged in order for them to understand, retain knowledge and progress. Our aim is that all children in KS2 will assess quality teaching of French and leave Barden Primary School confident and motivated to continue to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and beyond.
At Barden Primary School, in conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum, our Language teaching offers opportunities for children 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 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
•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
•write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences
•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
The National Curriculum aims provide a structure and skill development for the Language curriculum being taught throughout the school
IMPLEMENTATION
At Barden Primary School French is taught from Years 3-6 using the ‘Salut’ scheme of work to plan, teach and assess. It is our intent to deliver a fun and friendly way of learning a language, to deliver engaging French lessons to all KS2 pupils, therefore each lesson is designed to motivate children and are mainly practical in focus. Each lesson has clear, achievable objectives and incorporate different learning styles. SEN children have access to the curriculum through variation of tasks, grouping or adult support. 
At Barden Primary School children have weekly lessons in Language throughout Key Stage 2 and are encouraged within EYFS and Key Stage 1 to begin introducing MFL through exploring other languages and cultures informally when appropriate. Each class has a timetabled lesson of at least thirty minutes per week. French can also be revisited in short sessions throughout the week to consolidate knowledge and ensure new language is retained.
French lessons provide a variety of sources to model the language, use games and songs to maximise enjoyment and make as many connections to real life situations as possible. Lessons focus on speaking and listening. However, when appropriate, children record written work informally in books which are now passed through the years and become a portfolio of their learning.
We endeavour to ensure that the Language curriculum we provide will give children an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and should lay the foundations for further foreign language teaching at key stage 3 and beyond.
IMPACT
At Barden Primary School our pupils are Linguists! Through pupil voice children shared how Salut makes their learning fun and pupils spoke about their enjoyment for taking part in competitive games in French lessons. They spoke about how it helps make them concentrate when they know there might be a team quiz with a prize at the end of the lesson! Children across KS2 spoke about how learning French can be important and helpful in their future.
Pupils understand the importance of learning another language and how this can be used in the outside world, the workplace and in the school to communicate with children who have EAL using assessment tools available on Salut, teachers can access pupil knowledge during and at the end of each unit.
We believe that when children leave Barden Primary School, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, welcoming that, in a multilingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language. They will therefore be engaged and prepared to continue their language learning journey at Secondary School.
French
Curriculum Map- 2023-24
The MFL curriculum is taught progressively through three interrelated pillars:
The pillars of MFL are developed through the curriculum which progressively builds pupils knowledge and skills of the following key concepts:
Key concepts are the skills and knowledge essential to pupils achieving and exceeding expected standards in that specific subject. Key concepts are subject specific and build progressively as pupils move through the school. When pupils encounter a key concept, they will revisit other topics where they learnt about the same concept to enable them to make connections between different learning and build the schema they need. Below is a summary of the key concepts for MFL at Barden- Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Grammar.