Ethos

One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way. – Frank Smith

Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things. – Flora Lewis

We believe that the ability to speak another language is an invaluable skill. Research has shown that the earlier children learn another language, the better they are at speaking it. This is the reason why Grimes Dyke pupils are being taught French from Reception onwards. Our French curriculum gives pupils the opportunity to grow a love for languages and develop linguistic skills which, if pupils pursue with language learning in higher education, will enable them to travel, study, work and live abroad.

What we teach

• To teach the National Curriculum for Foreign Languages
• To make cross-curricular links enabling the embedding of linguistic skills and cultural knowledge.

Our French scheme of work, tailored to our school’s decision to deliver French over 1 day every half term, has been designed by the SL who is a native speaker. She has created engaging presentations with resources, detailed lesson plans and clear audio files to support non specialist teachers.

The curriculum is planned for progress with a clear learning sequence inspired by the mastery approach. Topics are revisited and expanded on. This helps pupils to feel successful in their learning. Explicit teaching, intentional learning and awareness of language learning aim to enable pupils to see themselves as linguists.

Each French Day focuses on a shared topic: Greetings (Autumn 1), Numbers (Autumn 2), Colours (Spring 1), Opinions (Spring 2), Family (Summer 1), Animals (Summer 2).

In Reception and KS1, the focus is on oracy, developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills, in order to establish a solid base for the introduction of writing in KS2. We believe that if one doesn’t know how to say something, they won’t know how to write it.                                                

Intercultural understanding is valued at Grimes Dyke. In the presentations, materials have been included about French artists, French foods, and traditional stories. Additionally, every September, our school celebrates European Day of Languages (EDL), where each year group chooses a country and a language to focus on. Activities are organised so that children can learn other languages as well as be proud of, and share, their home language. Every 2 years, for EDL, class teachers are given a choice of francophone countries to study with their class. The aim is for children to understand that the language they are learning is spoken in more than one country and that francophone countries have different cultures too.

How we teach

French is taught from Reception to Year 6, one day every half-term, by class teachers who choose to deliver the content of each French Day over one full day, 2 half days or spreading it over a week, depending on what suits their class best. In Reception, French is taught weekly by the SL during PPA.

Active learning is present throughout, with attention to a wide range of listening, speaking, reading and writing activities and resources that encourage recall and retention. For example, our pupils use songs, visuals, sign language and objects when learning vocabulary. They practise with partners, individually and on the interactive whiteboard. ‘There is clear enjoyment for French across the year groups’ as stated in a recent report from an independent language consultant.

Between French days, class teachers create opportunities for pupils to engage in different retrieval practice activities. Revisiting vocabulary, phonics and grammar points regularly help pupils embed their knowledge in their long-term memory. There is a French display in each classroom. Together with the floor books, which are kept with each cohort, displays are updated half-termly and act as a visual reminder of previous learning as well as of the characteristics of linguists.