Foreign Languages

At Swallownest Primary School, we see learning a foreign language as an integral part of being a member of a multi-cultural society. Our languages education encourages, through the teaching of French, children’s curiosity in another culture and language and encourages celebration and respect for cultural differences.

Intent

The intent is that all content will be continuously updated and reviewed annually, creating a dynamic programme of study that will be clearly outlined in both long-term and short-term planning. This will ensure that the foreign language knowledge of our pupils progresses within each academic year and is extended year upon year throughout the KS2 and, in so doing, will always be relevant and in line with meeting or exceeding national DfE requirements. 

The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking (with a specific focus on phonics), reading and writing will be taught and all necessary grammar will be covered in an age-appropriate way across KS2. This will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning and also helping the children improve overall attainment in other subject areas. We see learning a language as a means of gaining cultural capital and raising aspirations to engage with the wider world, using it as a foundation for travelling, studying or working in other countries and seeing how much can be achieved through having the skills to do so.

In addition, the children will be taught how to look up and research language they are unsure of and they will have a bank of reference materials to help them with their spoken and written tasks going forward. This bank of reference materials will develop into a reference library to help pupils recall and build on previous knowledge throughout their primary school language learning journey.

We intend that all pupils will develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating and that by the end of our children’s primary education they have acquired an understanding of oral, phonetic and written French.

Implementation

At Swallownest Primary School, our FL curriculum is designed to develop not only our children’s language skills, but also their love of learning a language.

All classes will have access to a high-quality foreign languages curriculum using the ‘Language Angels’ scheme of work and resources. This will progressively develop pupil skills in foreign languages through regularly taught and well-planned weekly lessons in KS2. Lessons are designed to motivate, captivate and interest children from the first moment. They have clear, achievable objectives and incorporate different learning styles. SEN children have access to the curriculum through variation of task, grouping or support from an adult. Children are encouraged and supported to develop their speaking and listening skills through conversational work, video clips, actions, rhymes, stories, singing activities and games. As their confidence and skills grow, children record their work through pictures, captions and sentences, with further emphasis on grammar, sentence structure and dictionary work.

The planning of different levels of challenge (as demonstrated in the various Language Angels Teaching Type categories) and which units to teach at each stage of the academic year will be addressed dynamically and will be reviewed in detail annually as units are updated and added to the scheme. Lessons offering appropriate levels of challenge and stretch will be taught at all times to ensure pupils learn effectively, continuously building their knowledge of and enthusiasm for the language(s) they are learning.

Language Angels are categorised by ‘Teaching Type’ to make it easier for teachers to choose units that will offer the appropriate level of challenge and stretch for the classes they are teaching.

Early Language units are entry level units and are most appropriate for our Year 3 pupils or pupils with little or no previous French language learning. Intermediate units increase the level of challenge by increasing the amount and complexity (including foreign language grammar concepts) of the foreign language presented to pupils. Intermediate units are suitable for Year 4-5 pupils or pupils with embedded basic knowledge of the foreign language. Progressive and Creative Curriculum units are the most challenging units and are suitable for Year 6 pupils or pupils with a good understanding of the basics of the language they are learning. Grouping units into these Teaching Type categories ensures that the language taught is appropriate to the level of the class and introduced when the children are ready. Children will be taught how to listen and read longer pieces of text gradually in the foreign language and they will have ample opportunities to speak, listen to, read and write the language being taught with and without scaffolds, frames and varying levels of support.

At Swallownest Primary School, in order to ensure children have a solid foundation for their French learning, children in year 3 will work on Early Learning Units, and years 4, 5 and 6 will cover a carefully selected blend of Early Learning, Core Vocabulary and Intermediate lessons appropriate to their level.

Early Language Units (entry level) and Core Vocabulary lessons are designed to run for approximately 30 minutes. Intermediate, Progressive and Creative Curriculum units are designed to run for approximately 45 minutes.

Children will build on previous knowledge gradually as their foreign language lessons continue to recycle, revise and consolidate previously learnt language whilst building on all four language skills: listening, speaking (with a specific focus on phonics),, reading and writing. Knowledge and awareness of required and appropriate grammar concepts will be taught throughout all units at all levels of challenge. Teachers are provided with a Progression Map and Grammar Grid to ensure all children are progressing their foreign language learning skills and are taught the appropriate grammar at the right time in their foreign language learning journey. Grammar rules and patterns will be taught by level of challenge:

We start with nouns and articles and 1st person singular of high frequency verbs in Early Learning units.

We move on to the use of the possessive, the concept of adjectives, use of the negative form, conjunctions/connectives and introduce the concept of whole regular verb conjugation in Intermediate units.

We end with opinions and introduce the concept of whole high frequency irregular verb conjugation in Progressive units.

Grammar is integrated and taught discreetly throughout all appropriate units. Teachers can also use the specific Grammar Explained units to ensure pupils are exposed to all of the appropriate grammar so they are able to create their own accurate and personalised responses to complex authentic foreign language questions by the end of the primary phase.

The Progression Map shows precisely how pupil foreign language learning across the key skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar progresses within each Language Angels ‘Teaching Type’ and also how the level of learning and progression of each pupil is increased as pupils move across each subsequently more challenging Language Angels ‘Teaching Type’. It is a visual demonstration of the progression that takes place WITHIN a ‘Teaching Type’ and also ACROSS each ‘Teaching Type’.  

The school has a unit planner in place which will serve as an overall ‘teaching map’ outlining for all teachers within the school what each class in each year group will be taught and when it will be taught. Each class in each year group will have an overview of units to be taught during the academic year to ensure substantial progress and learning is achieved. Each teaching unit is divided into 6 fully planned lessons.

Each unit and lesson will have clearly defined objectives and aims.

Each lesson will incorporate interactive whiteboard materials to include ample speaking and listening tasks within a lesson.

Lessons will incorporate challenge sections and desk-based activities that will be offered will three levels of stretch and differentiation. These may be sent home as homework if not completed in class.

Reading and writing activities will be offered in all units. Some extended reading and writing activities are provided so that native speakers can also be catered for.

Every unit will include a grammar concept which will increase in complexity as pupils move from Early Language units, through Intermediate units and into Progressive units.

Extending writing activities are provided to ensure that pupils are recalling previously learnt language and, by reusing it, will be able to recall it and use it with greater ease and accuracy. These tasks will help to link units together and show that pupils are retaining and recalling the language taught with increased fluency and ease.

Units are progressive within themselves as subsequent lessons within a unit build on the language and knowledge taught in previous lessons. As pupils progress though the lessons in a unit they will build their knowledge and develop the complexity of the language they use. We think of the progression within the 6 lessons in a unit as ‘language Lego’. We provide blocks of language knowledge and, over the course of a 6-week unit, encourage pupils to build more complex and sophisticated language structures with their blocks of language knowledge.

Pupil learning and progression will be assessed at regular intervals in line with school policy. Teachers will aim to assess each language skill (speaking, listening, reading and writing) twice throughout each scholastic year to be able to provide reference points against which learning and progression in each skill can be demonstrated. Children regularly revisit prior learning in French through their weekly retrieval practise sessions and key vocabulary is displayed around school.

Impact

Two forms of assessment are available at the end of every Language Angels unit:

Peer and self-assessment ‘I can do…’ grids. A quick and easy way for all pupils in the class to record which units they have completed and the progress they are making.

More detailed skills based assessments using bespoke skills assessment worksheets. This form of assessment enables us to determine the learning and progression of all pupils in the key language learning skills as well as monitoring their progress against the 12 attainment targets stipulated in the DfE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2.

Regular lesson by lesson assessment and feedback is undertaken by teachers in years 3-6 and this is utilised to check pupils understanding of key substantive and disciplinary knowledge. Feedback is given in line with our feedback policy.

Children grow in confidence with their understanding of all parts of their French learning. The children’s progress is shown when they explain their learning when referring to their individual files and/or their class floorbook. The way children talk about their French learning from pupil voice interviews shows they are keen learners and enjoy discussing the French they have learnt.