French is a subject where we learn how to communicate in a different language to our own and appreciate the different culture.

Leader: Sandra Whiting

Intent

At Frimley, teaching and learning in French aims to instil a love of language learning and an awareness of other cultures. We want pupils to develop the confidence to communicate in French for practical purposes, using both written and spoken French.

We aim to give pupils a foundation for language learning that encourages and enables them to apply their skills to learning further languages, developing a strong understanding of the English language, facilitating future learning at KS3 and opening opportunities to study and work in other countries in the future.

Our French curriculum enables children to meet the end of Key Stag 2 attainment targets in the National Curriculum.

Implementation

• We use a mastery-based curriculum that is progressive and broken into modules.
• Teachers deploy the Rosenshine principles to support the teaching and learning process: reviews of previous learning, new information is presented in small steps, high-level questioning, carefully considered models, guided practice, checks for pupil understanding, obtainment of a high success rate, scaffolds for difficult tasks, opportunities for independent practice and reviews of learning over extended periods. 
• Our French curriculum is designed with three knowledge strands that run throughout each unit with knowledge building cumulatively. The three strands are phonics, vocabulary and grammar.
• The knowledge can be applied within the skill strands, which also run throughout each unit. These are language comprehension (listening and reading) and language production (speaking and writing).
• The French curriculum gives pupils opportunities to communicate for practical purposes around familiar subjects and routines. There are balanced opportunities for communication in both spoken and written French, although in Year 3 the focus is on developing oral skills, before incorporating written French in Year 4 onwards.
• Key skills and vocabulary are revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning.
• Cross-curricular links are incorporated into each unit, promoting the importance of making connections across different areas of learning.
• Teaching and learning approaches in French are varied to ensure lessons are engaging and meaningful: lesson activities include independent tasks, paired and group work including role play, language games and language detective work.
• Lessons focus on developing ‘language detective skills’ and developing an understanding of French grammar and key vocabulary rather than on committing to memory vast amounts of vocabulary. There is a strong emphasis on pronunciation with plentiful modelling and opportunities to practice.
• Lessons will provide opportunities for children to make connections to a big picture or previous learning, to encounter new knowledge and skills, to demonstrate understanding by applying new knowledge and skills and to consolidate their learning. 
• French is delivered by a specialist teacher in three-week blocks (with one lesson a week).
• End of unit assessments are used to assess the children’s understanding of crucial learning; this informs future teaching and areas of focus for retrieval.
• Links to careers in the French field are made to show how children’s learning links to the wider world of work.
• As well as learning walks to observe teaching and learning, the Book Study approach is used to monitor the effectiveness of the French curriculum, teaching and learning, to identify strengths and areas for development in provision and to garner pupil voice.

 

Impact

Children will:

• Leave Frimley equipped with a range of language-learning skills to enable them to study French, or any other language, with confidence at Key Stage 3.
• Be able to engage in purposeful dialogue in practical situations, such as ordering in a cafe or following directions and will be able to express an opinion.
• Make increasingly accurate attempts to read unfamiliar words, phrases and short texts.
• Speak and read aloud with confidence and accuracy in pronunciation.
• Demonstrate understanding of spoken language by listening and responding appropriately.
• Use a bilingual dictionary to support their language learning.
• Be able to identify word classes in a sentence and apply grammatical rules they have learnt.
• Have developed an awareness of cognates and near-cognates and be able to use them to tackle unfamiliar words in French, English and other languages.
• Be able to construct short texts on familiar topics.
• Demonstrate a secure understanding of a unit’s crucial learning, skills and knowledge in the end of unit assessment.
• Understand how their learning in French links to the wider world of work.
• Meet the relevant end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for languages at the end of Key stage 2.