Modern Foreign Language - French
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ASPIRE - LEARN - FLOURISH
The Aspire Learning Federation is made up of two schools - Elm Park Primary School and R J Mitchell Primary School in the London Borough of Havering.
At R J Mitchell Primary School, we believe that learning a modern foreign language supports our children to understand and appreciate the diversity in their own country and in the wider world. We aim for our children to learn to express themselves in French and understand the responses of their audience. They will appreciate the similarities and differences between French and English and develop the linguistic fluency to help them find their place as a global citizen.
Through our Modern Foreign Language curriculum, we aim to promote resilience, develop communication and ensure all pupils have access to all learning possibilities both in and out of the classroom.
It is statutory for all children in Key Stage 2 to learn a modern foreign language. At R J Mitchell all children in Key Stage 2 have a scheduled weekly French lesson based on the CUSP Curriculum.
French is currently taught in 30 minute weekly sessions, in each KS2 Class, which include regular bursts of retrieval practice each week. French lessons primarily focus on vocabulary development, oracy, phonics and reading and writing French. They follow the familiar lesson structure of Connect, Explain, Example, Attempt, Apply, Challenge, which is used across our curriculum in order to reduce cognitive load through clear, repetitive learning routines which enable children to focus on what they are learning as opposed to how they are learning. As in other foundation curriculum subjects, knowledge organisers and knowledge notes are used to support the children’s retrieval of French vocabulary over time.
The CUSP French curriculum is ambitious, and as a school we felt strongly that we wanted our pupils to have a solid foundation of French, to then build upon throughout their educational career. To ensure this is the case, we have mapped out that all year groups started the new French curriculum following the Year 3 planning for 2024 -2025. This will progress overtime, so that in 2025 - 2026, Year 3 will be taught the Year 3 curriculum, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 the Year 4 curriculum etc.
The French curriculum allows children to develop their ability to listen to French phrases and pronounce them, to read and write French, to gain an understanding of French grammar and finally to develop intercultural understanding through the exploration of wider French culture.
French lessons allow children the opportunity to retrieve and revise previous learning regularly and to develop their knowledge of new French vocabulary. Children are encouraged to participate in mostly verbal activities to listen to and refine French pronunciation. They enjoy participating in games and oral discussion to improve their pronunciation. They will also record their ideas when creating grammatical sentences in French.
Progression within the French curriculum allows children to build on a growing bank of French vocabulary and phrases. They develop their confidence in engaging in conversations, in asking and answering questions and in expressing opinions and responding to those of others. The children develop an understanding of the differences and similarities between the English and French languages and cultures.