“Une nouvelle langue est une nouvelle vie”
“A new language is a new life.” – proverb
Intent
At Newham Bridge Primary School, we believe that learning a language is a wonderful opportunity for children to develop their confidence, curiosity and understanding of the world around them.
Our French curriculum follows the National Curriculum and the Department for Education’s Programme of Study for Key Stage 2. We want every child to enjoy learning a new language and feel confident having a go, even when they are not sure of the answer.
Speaking and listening are at the heart of our French lessons. Children are encouraged to listen carefully, practise new words and phrases, and use French as much as possible. They enjoy taking part in conversations, asking and answering questions, singing songs, playing games and working with their friends to practise their language skills.
We use the Language Angels programme to support our teaching across Key Stage 2. This provides children with a clear and progressive journey through French, allowing them to build on what they already know and develop their skills over time.
Through our lessons, children develop their skills in:
- Speaking – using French to communicate with others
- Listening – understanding familiar words and phrases
- Reading – recognising and understanding French words and sentences
- Writing – beginning to write and express ideas in French
- Grammar – understanding how the French language works
We believe that making mistakes is an important part of learning. Children are encouraged to be brave, have a go and celebrate their progress. We revisit and practise vocabulary regularly so that children can remember what they have learned and use it with increasing confidence.
Learning French is also about discovering the world beyond our classroom. Children learn about the culture, traditions and everyday life of French-speaking countries. They have opportunities to compare French and English and discover the similarities and differences between languages and cultures.
Most importantly, we want our children to enjoy learning French. We hope that they leave Breckon Hill feeling proud of what they can achieve, excited about languages and confident in communicating with others. We want to inspire a lifelong interest in languages and help our pupils understand that learning another language opens the door to new people, places and experiences.
Implementation
Teachers use Language Angels’ carefully planned resources, lesson materials and audio to deliver high-quality, engaging language lessons. Pupils are given regular opportunities to hear and practise accurate pronunciation and intonation through interactive activities, songs, games and speaking tasks. This helps to develop confidence, enjoyment and a positive attitude towards learning languages.
Our scheme of work is carefully structured to ensure that learning is progressive and builds securely on pupils’ prior knowledge. Units revisit and extend key vocabulary, phonics and grammatical structures, allowing pupils to deepen their understanding and develop their language skills over time.
Lessons are designed to be inclusive, accessible and engaging for all pupils. By building on what pupils already know and providing appropriate support and challenge, we ensure that every child has the opportunity to participate, make progress and succeed in language learning.
Impact
Through regular formative assessment and the structured progression, pupils make sustained progress in oracy and the wider language skills, ensuring they are well prepared for further language learning at Key Stage 3.
By the end of key stage 2, pupils should be able 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.
