Curriculum MFL

At St James our French curriculum was chosen to further engage our school community in our role as global citizens. By teaching MFL to children, they receive a wider education that is enriching and opens the world to them. French is one of the major languages spoken in the world and by allowing children at primary level the chance to learn it, it gives them a valuable opportunity to help them understand that their world is a wider place made up of different languages and cultures, that not everyone speaks the same language as them, has the same beliefs as them and so on thus developing positive differences between people.

Using language as a tool in our multi-lingual environment, we can broaden our understanding of cultures around the world, alongside developing an appreciation of the diversity within our local community and also our school environment.

We aim to introduce the learning of the French language and the understanding of its culture in enjoyable and stimulating ways. We hope to embed the essential skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing.

We aim to foster children's curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world, alongside providing opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes and learn new ways of thinking. At St James the teaching of language will provide the opportunity to compare and contrast many languages in their oral and written form. It will also allow pupils to develop and share a deeper understanding of other less familiar cultures, as well as a better awareness of self, others and cultural diversity. It is intended that children will leave St James with a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language.

At St James, we follow a tailored scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum, this enables pupils to explore the cultural capital of another country through its language and traditions. Units are carefully selected that are relevant and meaningful to the children and to ensure that children have opportunities to recap and build on prior learning and skills in the areas of speaking, reading and listening.

We aim for our children to develop an appreciation of songs and stories in French throughout their time at the school. Children are encouraged and supported to develop their speaking and listening skills through practical activities:  conversational work, singing activities and games to help improve memory and recall.

SEND children are able to join in with the whole lesson and be active participants. They may have more structures or supportive frames to help them achieve objectives, so that they can develop along with the other children in their class.

The overall impact of our MFL curriculum is that children are encouraged to understand the relevance of what they are learning in languages and how it relates to everyday life and travel and the ability to talk with another French speaker.

All children should make age appropriate progress across the school. Progression of learning should be evident in the acquisition of new skills and key vocabulary.

All children should leave KS2 with the appropriate knowledge of French to access the KS3 curriculum in Year 7.

Children’s progression should be evident through the development of key speaking and listening skills and acquisition of topic related vocabulary which is evident in their French books and the oral work that they complete in class.

Please find our MFL Curriculum Map below

• Curriculum Map MFL