The Primary Years Programme (PYP) views 'Languages' as fundamental to learning and central to the development of intercultural understanding. It's not just about acquiring vocabulary and grammar, but about developing the ability to communicate effectively, think critically, and connect with the world around us.
The PYP breaks down the Languages curriculum into three interrelated strands:
Oral Language: This focuses on listening and speaking skills, including expressing ideas, engaging in conversations, and presenting information.
Written Language: This encompasses reading and writing, developing comprehension, constructing meaning, and expressing ideas in written form.
Visual Language: This involves interpreting and creating visual texts, understanding how images, symbols, and media communicate meaning.
These strands are not taught in isolation but are integrated across the curriculum and within the Units of Inquiry, the central organising framework of the PYP. Language learning is seen as a continuous process that is dynamic, challenging, and relevant to the children's lives and their inquiries into the world.
It is broken down into the following National Curriculum subject areas:
English (including Reading and Writing)
Phonics
Modern Foreign Langauges (MFL)
