• Aims of the MFL Curriculum

The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

 

• Aims of the MFL Curriculum at Lancaster Christ Church:

Through the teaching of MFL at Lancaster Christ Church, we aim to ensure children are well-prepared for their future language learning journeys and help them to become life-long language learners by:

• Inspiring a love for languages and preparing children for a globalised world.
• Developing children's ability to communicate clearly and accurately in both speaking and writing.
• Helping children understand cultural similarities and differences between the UK and some French-speaking countries.
• Equipping pupils with the skills and knowledge needed for further study in Key Stage 3 by developing transferable linguistic abilities.

• Statutory Requirements

The statutory requirements for the teaching of MFL, as outlined in the National Curriculum Programme of Study are as follows:

Keystage 2

Teaching may be of any modern or ancient foreign language and should focus on enabling pupils to make substantial progress in one language. The teaching should provide an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and should lay the foundations for further foreign language teaching at key stage 3. It should enable pupils to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focused on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary.

The focus of study in modern languages will be on practical communication. If an ancient language is chosen, the focus will be to provide a linguistic foundation for reading comprehension and an appreciation of classical civilisation. Pupils studying ancient languages may take part in simple oral exchanges, while discussion of what they read will be conducted in English. A linguistic foundation in ancient languages may support the study of modern languages at key stage 3.

Pupils should be taught 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; seek clarification and help*
• 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 to a range of audiences*
• 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, including through using a dictionary
• write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
• 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 and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.

 

• How is the MFL curriculum planned at Lancaster Christ Church?

At Lancaster Christ Church, we are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum which provides rich opportunities for children to explore a range of subjects, thus developing a variety of knowledge, skills and interests which they can apply to opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life.

We value the individuality of our children and their various curriculum strengths and interests. As a school, we aim to provide opportunities for children to build upon these to become the best that they can be:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

1 Peter 4: 10

At Lancaster Christ Church, children in Key Stage 2 (Year 3 to 6) learn French weekly.  We use the ‘Rigolo’ French Curriculum published by Oxford Owl.  This scheme ensures that we teach a logical progression of French skills across Key Stage 2 and that children are immersed in the target language and have the opportunity to practise their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. 

Lancaster Christ Church's programme of study is in line with the requirements of the Primary Languages Curriculum.  Following the Rigolo programme, our children study six units in each year group; twenty-four in total over their four years in Key Stage 2.  Each unit and each new year aims to build on knowledge from the previous.  The units include learning about countries, cultures, peoples and communities.