Wroot Travis Charity C of E Primary School

The 2014 Primary National Curriculum made learning a foreign language compulsory at Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6).

“Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.”
Primary National Curriculum 2014.

An understanding of language prepares pupils for a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are often carried out in languages other than English. The rise of international commerce means that pupils need to be equipped with the skills needed by the international workplace. The choice of language is secondary to the lifelong language learning skills that the pupils will be encouraged to develop. Children will develop skills that they will be able to access in the future, to learn new languages or to deepen their knowledge in an existing language. Increased capability in the use of languages promotes initiative, confidence and encourages diversity within society."

At Wroot our pupils begin learning French in Year 3. Language learning is based on the development of four key skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Our planning allows for good coverage of these skills over the course of the four years. Pupils gradually develop and build on each competency year by year, as well as learning key grammar rules. By the time students reach year 6 they should have made significant progress in all four skills.

Learning a new language can be daunting so the lessons combine a mixture of games, songs and activities to make the experience stimulating and fun. Children are given many opportunities to practise their spoken French and we try and make this as relevant as possible by creating real-life scenarios through our French themed days.

Please find here the Overview of the scheme of work which is based on the 'LightBulb' Programme of study.

More information and detailed can be found here: KS2 French Scheme of Work (lightbulblanguages.co.uk)

Even though learning a language is only compulsory from Year 3 upwards we believe there is no reason children cannot be introduced to some informal learning in the years before this. At Wroot we use songs, rhymes, stories and simple flashcards to help the younger children and in Key stage 1 we teach greetings, numbers, colours.. 

All children in Key Stage 2 are also expected to be given opportunities to learn how to: 

• communicate orally 
• share their ideas and feelings using speech 
• compare their use of English grammar and spelling to another language 
• express some ideas in writing 

Pupils tend to really enjoy learning a new language at primary school. Most language-learning techniques are great fun, and children get a real sense of achievement from mastering and using new key phrases! 

By studying a foreign language, children are given the opportunity not only to learn about other cultures but, more importantly, to communicate with others too.  

Children gain a great sense of accomplishment from learning to say something in a foreign language – it's like learning to crack a code! 

If you would like to know more about MFL at our school or if you have any questions please contact the MFL subject leader (Mrs Higginson) at the school.