French

Intent

French is the modern foreign language taught at St Anselm’s for Years 3-6. It is our aim to encourage children to enjoy and develop a curiosity about learning languages by exploring the French language and French-speaking culture. The four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing are practised equally and lessons have an emphasis on being entertaining and enjoyable to motivate our children and increase their self-confidence, creativity, and sense of achievement. Wherever possible, cross-curricular links are made to reinforce learning. French achievement certificates are presented weekly to pupils to celebrate their success.

Implementation

MFL is an important part of St Anselm's curriculum. All key stage two pupils have a weekly 45-minute French lesson with a specialist French teacher. Our curriculum is developed in accordance with the aims of the MFL Programme of Study in the National Curriculum. Different topics are completed in a logical order and include an appropriate balance of spoken and written language. Units are planned and sequenced to ensure that pupils revisit and build on new vocabulary and grammatical concepts. Lessons are structured to include the pillars of progression: phonics, vocabulary, and grammar. Our focus is for pupils to progress beyond producing individual words to forming sentences and paragraphs.

There is a KS2 French lunchtime club held once a week during the Winter and Spring terms, and a Year 2 French Club offered during the Summer term. Children enjoy food-tasting, singing French songs, doing craft activities, and playing French games. Our Year 4 students are also involved in a French pen-pal project with a primary school in Paris where we exchange postcards and Christmas cards.

During International Week the French curriculum is brought to life at St Anselm’s with an annual ‘French Singing Competition’. The project aims to combine French, music, and dance and for the children to have fun learning the language. The languages, cultures, and traditions of other countries around the world are explored across the whole school during International Week and children complete themed activities and are encouraged to share an aspect of their heritage.