Intent

 

In our school we teach a foreign language to all children as part of the National Curriculum.

Firstly, we believe that many children really enjoy learning to speak another language. Secondly, we also believe that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language in question is acquired. We also believe that it is a good idea to introduce a new language to children when they are at primary school, as they tend to be less self-conscious about speaking aloud at this stage of their development. Learning a foreign language also provides an opening to other cultures and should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries in their adult lives.

 

Implementation

We teach French to children in all years for one hour per week.

 

The curriculum that we follow is based on the guidance given in the revised National Curriculum. We teach the children to know and understand how 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 Languages 

• 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.

 

 

The Junior Jam scheme of work is organised at four levels of difficulty intended for each year within KS2. All children at Christ Church are taught as follows: 

 

Year 3 – Level 1

Year 4 – Level 2

Year 5 – Level 3

Year 6 – Level 4

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Level 1 Syllabus

 

Unit 1 – Greetings and Numbers

Unit 2 – Colours and Animals

Unit 3 – Days of the Week, Seasons and Fruit

Unit 4 – Food, Drink and Giving Preferences

Unit 5 – Family, Stories and Conversation

Unit 6 – Cultural Diversity

 

Level 2 Syllabus

 

Unit 1 – Revising numbers and telling the time

Unit 2 – Parts of the body and feeling unwell

Unit 3 – New food and drink

Unit 4 – Likes and dislikes

Unit 5 – Weather and transport

Unit 6 – Clothing and shops

 

Level 3 Syllabus

 

Unit 1 – Verbs including tenses and questions

Unit 2 – TV, music and movies

Unit 3 – Around the house and at school

Unit 4 – Food and eating out

Unit 5 – Leisure and sport

Unit 6 – Friendship and personalities – familiar conjugating verbs in the present tense

 

Level 4 Syllabus

 

Unit 1 –  Friends and family. Gender, adjectives and wider vocabulary

Unit 2 –  Descriptions, adjectives, placement prepositions

Unit 3 – Familiar places. Conjugate the verb ‘to go’ in the present tense

Unit 4 – Our World – culture of France and vocabulary about the environment

Unit 5 – Special Occasions including French celebrations

Unit 6 – Daily routines

 

Impact

Our language curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression and build on and embed skills. It focuses on progression of knowledge and skills in the different language components. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good progress or better.

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