French
"A new command I give you: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another," (John 13:34).
Inspired by Jesus’ example, the Trent school community aims to
serve one another in love.
We show kindness to others because God has shown us great kindness.
We live thankful lives because every good thing comes from God.
And we persevere, not giving up, because God is our helper.
At Trent, French begins in Year 3, where the children learn basic vocabulary through rhymes, songs, dance and movement and have fun.
Intended Curriculum
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Our dedicated language teaching at Trent encourages a curiosity and fascination for learning languages, enabling our children to deepen their knowledge and understanding of living in today’s multi-cultural society. By introducing our children to French, they will have opportunities to express their thoughts and ideas in another language which gives them an opportunity to have a lifelong love of languages and a way to communicate more fully to others throughout the world.
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The National Curriculum for Modern Foreign Languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
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Understand and respond to written languages from a variety of authentic sources.
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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.
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Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
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Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
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To develop an interest in learning other languages.
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To introduce young children to another language in a way that is enjoyable and stimulating.
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To encourage children’s confidence and creative skills through the exploration of another language.
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To stimulate and encourage children’s curiosity about language.
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To help children develop their awareness of cultural differences in other countries.
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To develop listening, speaking and writing skills.
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To lay the foundations for future learning.
Curriculum Delivery
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French lessons are taught weekly throughout Key Stage 2 using the resources and units of work from La Jolie Ronde, in line with the National Curriculum for MFL. Our children are taught to:
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Listen and show understanding of the spoken language by joining in and responding.
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Through songs and rhymes explore the patterns and sounds of language to link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
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Using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures, to speak in sentences.
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Ask and answer questions, engage in conversations and express opinions and respond to others’ opinions.
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Careful reading and understanding of words, phrases and writing of simple sentences.
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Describe orally and in writing, people, places and things.
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Understand grammar including masculine and feminine forms and conjugation of high frequency verbs to build sentences and how they differ to English.
In Year 3 and Year 4 our children are introduced to French with an emphasis on songs and rhymes and also speaking and listening skills. In Year 5 and Year 6 these skills are embedded and alongside reading and writing they progress into more complex language concepts. The French Café with role play and conversation (as well as French food) is very popular!
Impact
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The impact of our curriculum is measured through the following methods:
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The observation of children speaking and listening to each other in French.
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The marking of written work.
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Interviewing the children about their learning (pupil voice).
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Subject tracking.
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When children leave Trent they should have developed a love of learning French with the curiosity and confidence to explore other cultures and languages realising that it is an essential skill to be able to communicate with others in another language. This foundation of French will prepare them to continue learning languages at secondary school.