French is the language studied at Broke Hall.  This is because many children will go on to study French at local high schools and because children will recognise many cognates and root words from English.  We also chose French as Francophone countries are common holiday destinations (it is an official language in 29 countries across the world and is one of the six official languages used by the United Nations) and learners may have the opportunity to use their language skills in real-life situations. 

Intent statement

At Broke Hall we want all children to develop an interest in learning other languages in a way that is enjoyable and stimulating. It helps them to develop communication skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing French, with an aim of making progress in one language. We strive to stimulate and encourage children’s curiosity about language and therefore encouraging a broader perspective of the world. We celebrate other languages our pupils speak at home and encourage them to share this with their peers.  We want to build confidence so that the children are not afraid to have a go at communicating in French. KS1 children will be introduced to other languages informally, through song and language days, when appropriate.

We understand that children should not just be learning basic vocabulary, it is an expectation that they should be reading and writing simple sentences by year 6.

Implementation

Children's skills in languages are developed through weekly lessons in KS2. Children develop their love of language learning and progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics.  The children develop their skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Our school follows the ‘Rigolo’ scheme of work, adapted to meet the needs of our children.  

As all children learn at different speeds and have different learning styles, we try to make French lessons as active as possible with carefully chosen songs and activities supplementing the Rigolo scheme.

We also use languages days as whole school events that enable everyone in the school to be introduced to a range of languages and link this to a greater understanding of different cultures. Pupils in the lower phase are also introduced to songs in different language in singing assemblies. Pupils in key stage 1 are also introduced to skills such as numbers, colours, days of the week and body parts informally.

Impact:

Through the high quality first teaching of French, we will see the impact of the subject in the following ways:

• Children will become aware that a language has a structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another.
• Children will develop their language and communication through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
• Children will enrich their language learning by developing an understanding of the French culture.
• Children will transfer to KS3 effectively, successfully and will be well-prepared to continue and develop their language skills.