Foreign Languages
"Open our minds to discover new things about you and the world." - Sacred Heart Mission Prayer
What is Foreign Languages?
A high-quality languages education should foster children's curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.
Intent
At Sacred Heart, we believe that learning a Foreign Language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures.
We teach French in Key Stage 2.
As a school we aim:
To foster an interest in learning another language;
To introduce children to another language in a way that is enjoyable and fun;
To make children aware that language has structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another;
To help children develop their awareness of cultural differences in other countries;
To develop pupils' speaking and listening skills;
To extend language teaching beyond mother tongue learning;
To lay foundations for future study, equipping children with the skills to study a language/languages at secondary school, and to equip children with the aspiration to the possibility of studying and/or working in other countries when they are older.
Implementation
In KS2, children have weekly lessons, taught by two members of staff who are fluent French speakers. We use the French 'Kapow' programme of study as the main resource.
Our scheme of work promotes progression throughout Key Stage 2, while also allowing opportunities for the children to revisit and revise key vocabulary. Areas covered include numbers, colours, house and home, in town, food and drink, the classroom, clothes and hobbies.
Through this scheme of work, children are taught to:
Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and the link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help.
Speak in sentences using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases.
Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences.
Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing.
Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language.
Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary.
Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly.
Describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing.
Understand basic grammar, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.
Impact
Giving the children an opportunity to learn a foreign language, supports the belief that young children are intrinsically better language learners, and will therefore become more proficient more quickly. We also are living in an increasingly globalised world, where intercultural competence is essential, and it is therefore important to awaken children’s interests in other people and cultures at a time when they are open and receptive. As the children leave Sacred Heart, they will be academically prepared for the next phase of their foreign language education in secondary school. They will have fully rounded characters that prepare them for living in the community and in the world, demonstrating tolerance and equality.
Our Foreign Languages curriculum will ensure that all pupils are given the opportunity to gain key language learning skills set out by the national curriculum, as well as develop a love of languages and learn about other cultures.
These key skills are to:
understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
begin to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
write at varying length , for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
We also want our children to be equipped to cope with challenges they may face by demonstrating a ‘Growth Mindset’. Learning a new language can be difficult, but it is important that children don’t give up, are highly motivated to succeed and achieve and are equipped with all the personal skills to do this.
Our high-quality languages education will foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. When children leave Sacred Heart, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society, it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language. They will be engaged, excited and prepared to continue language learning at Secondary School and beyond.
Links
Foreign Languages Policy 2020.pdfPRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Languages.pdf