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MFL Subject Intent

French Progression Document

French Unit Overview

At Birklands, we believe pupils should understand, recognise and celebrate the different languages and cultures within our school. We want to develop children’s curiosity and interest in the wider world and so use different international themes or foci throughout the year. We want children to understand the context and relevance of learning another language and to recognise why it is an important life skill. Research indicates the many cognitive benefits of learning a second language; people who speak more than one language have improved memory, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, enhanced concentration, the ability to multitask and are better listeners.

We teach French as a foreign language to all children in KS2 as a discrete lesson supported by the Planit scheme of learning. French understanding and spoken language skills are reinforced during other times of the day, for example when responding to the register, writing the date on the board etc.

The Birklands School progression ladder for French sequences the learning of the language according to the 3 strands of:

· oracy

· literacy

· intercultural understanding

Each strand has objectives identified by year group so that there is clear progression and development of skills building on the previous year’s learning for a spiral effect. In addition, a vocabulary bank lists the expectations for each year group.

Through the teaching of French, pupils should be taught how to:

· ask and answer questions

· use correct pronunciation

· memorise words

· interpret meaning

· understand basic grammar and structure of written and spoken language

· use bilingual dictionaries

· work in pairs and groups and communicate together