Statement of Intent
At Blackgates Primary Academy we promote a high-quality languages education as we believe it is important to provide an opening to other cultures. We aim to develop children’s’ natural curiosity and to deepen their understanding of the wider world. The modern foreign language that children will study throughout key stage 2 is French.
Autumn term
In the autumn term, year 3 Children learn numbers 0-10 in French and learn to use greetings such as “Hello,” “Goodbye” and “How are you?” They focus on the key skills of rhyme and on the letter strings oi and eu. They progress to learning and giving classroom instructions and learning a French carol. They discriminate between masculine and feminine (un and une) and practise intonation through performing a simple rhymes and songs. Children perform rhymes and songs to an audience and experiment with writing.
Year 4 learn about the parts of the body and become familiar with some adjectives. They further practise discrimination between masculine and feminine by learning that nouns have a gender (un and une). They use “il est” (he is) and “elle est (she is) in simple sentences and improve their pronunciation of words. Children begin to learn the names of zoo and farm animals and begin to learn the six vowels of the alphabet.
In year 5, children learn the names of shops on a typical high street, compare French and English high streets and give simple directions. They recap the use of un and une and extend this to “le” and “la” (masculine and feminine discrimination for the word “the.”) Children write simple sentences and memorise and present their sentences to an audience. They ask where places are, learn the days of the week and tell the time. They engage in simple conversations where they focus on expression and intonation and they practise letter strings “in” and “oi.”
Year 6 learn about classroom routines and use the simple negative “As tu….?” when asking a question. They respond using the simple negative “Je n’ai pas…..” They broaden their vocabulary through learning the names of items of clothing and use a dictionary to check the meaning of unfamiliar words. Children look at descriptions of family members, occupations and games and learn the prepositions “sous” “sur,” “derriere” and “devant.” They read simple texts and develop comprehension skills by responding “true” or “false.”
Spring term
Year 3 children revise numbers 0-10 and learn to say their name and age. They ask questions related to names and ages and learn the names of basic colours. Children focus on letter strings oi and eu and learn the verb “est” and the word “et.” They learn the names of fruits and express likes and dislikes whilst experimenting with writing.
In year 4 children explore language patterns through songs and rhymes and link the spelling sound and meaning of words. They recap the names of zoo animals and farm animals and the names of the vowels. They ask and answer simple questions and follow commands. They focus on letter strings oi and eu.
Year 5 are introduced to hobbies and sports and use the simple future tense (“je vais”). They learn the months of the year and build on expressing opinions from previous years. Children listen to a native speaker and attempt to imitate pronunciation as they start to understand more complex sentences. They begin to identify social conventions (for example birthday celebrations) and compare those at home to those in other countries.
They work on numbers 0-50 and they focus on more than and less than an amount within 50. Children also cover sports and practise using a dictionary to help with any unfamiliar vocabulary
Children in year 6 learn the names of rooms in a house. They revise classroom items and clothes. They recognise and practise the French vowel sounds and identify nouns within a sentence. They begin to identify letter patterns e.g. the eau pattern in chateau and bateau. They practise reading for enjoyment and continue to use a dictionary to check for the meaning of words. Children begin to understand more complex sentences.
Summer Term
In year 3, children learn the days of the week, the months of the year and the seasons. They understand social conventions such as birthday celebrations. Children locate countries where French is spoken and locate major French cities.
Year 4 learn about French sports and learn how to give opinions (j’adore/ je n’aime pas). They conduct a survey in French and say some words from memory. They progress to writing one or two sentences from memory. Children learn numbers 12- 31 and learn the names of some items of clothing. They learn the names of some countries and learn simple descriptions of weather (il fait froid/ il fait chaud).
Year 5 learn food names under the heading “What’s for supper?” They revise weather, express likes and dislikes and build on their dictionary skills. They say and write simple sentences and learn to say where they live. They revise shop names, directions, the days of the week, months and food (focusing on breakfast). They learn a French song and start to learn about how it is possible to have a stereotypical view of another country.
In year 6, children deepen their intercultural understanding. They learn the places where French is spoken and learn about the climate in an area of France. They become familiar with “holiday” vocabulary and revise the days of the week / months of the year. Children revise adjectives: superb, petit and grande.
They create a presentation for younger children, possibly in the form of a booklet linked to weather/ animals/ colours. They share these with KS1. They write a letter to year 7 pupils, asking them questions relating to starting high school.
Wherever possible, our MFL curriculum is enhanced by the inclusion of first- hand experiences. We work in partnership with other schools in the academy so that children can take part in activities such as Petanque (French bowls). In class, children are given the opportunity to take part in activities such as tasting French food and drink.
Throughout Key stage 2 our aim is to ensure that all pupils:
Understand and respond to spoken and written language in French, from a variety of authentic sources.
Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, through discussion and asking questions. Continually improve 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 French.
