Our Pupils’ perspective
Learning other languages helps us to communicate with people; you can speak the language of a country you are visiting.
Subject Leader
Mrs Webster is our Modern Foreign Languages Lead, for the chosen language - French. Being the Inclusion Manager for a school where over 30 different languages are spoken, Mrs Webster has been wowed by the skills some of our bilingual and multilingual children and families have and has found it fascinating how children use their knowledge of similar vocabulary across different languages to help us to communicate.
Learning to speak French is not just about learning a different language, it’s learning about the culture and traditions of another nation, promoting our school vision of embracing diversity and learning from one another.
To ensure the quality of French being taught is of the highest standard, we are very pleased to have Mrs Wardle delivering our French lessons, whilst also providing valuable training to our teaching staff.
“My love of languages began in primary school despite our weekly lessons being nothing more than 30 minutes of ‘listen and repeat’ and certainly comprised no element of fun. A seed was definitely sown though and I went on to study French and Italian at university, then lived and worked in France and Spain before deciding that I wanted to teach languages in primary schools. At that time MFL was not part of the curriculum so I decided to set up Le Club Français, offering lunchtime and after-school French Clubs. Many years on, I still run my clubs but also deliver French in curriculum time now that MFL is compulsory in KS2.
I believe it is so important to introduce languages at a young age and give children a positive experience by making learning fun and engaging. Learning another language also gives children a deeper understanding of their own language and an appreciation of other cultures helps to broaden the mind.
I really hope that through my lessons, children learn to appreciate their place in the world with relation to other cultures, learn to think more broadly, and realise that learning is something that we continue to do through life and not just at school. Acquiring a language is a wonderful skill for life and the amazing thing is, that however fluent you become, there is always more to learn.” - Mrs Wardle.
Subject Intent
The intention of the French curriculum at St Luke and St Philip’s Primary Academy is for children to develop an interest in learning other languages in a way that is enjoyable and stimulating.
We aim to -
-
Embrace the diversity of our community through igniting the children’s curiosity about language and the culture of another nation, comparing and contrasting with our own and finding links to our British values,
-
Provide exciting and enriching experiences throughout the curriculum;
Develop children’s confidence with their French oracy skills, so they can hold a conversation using social vocabulary;
Embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing necessary to enable children to use and apply their French learning in a variety of contexts and lay the foundations for future language learning.
Useful Website Links
https://www.minilanguagesforkids.com
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z39d7ty
French
.png)