John Stainer

French

At John Stainer we aim for our pupils to have a love of learning another language and respect for other cultures.

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At John Stainer we aim for our pupils to have a love of learning another language and respect for other cultures. In all primary schools there is a requirement for a modern foreign language to be taught to pupils in KS2 and the modern foreign language that our children learn is French.

We use the Euro Stars New Primary French scheme which enables teachers to use engaging interactive whiteboard activities to deliver each lesson, together with printable picture cards and word cards, and animations. The activities are interactive; by clicking on a word, sentence or phrase the children can hear it being spoken in French. 

Through this scheme the children are able to develop their knowledge and understanding of French vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, intonation and spelling, as well as cultural knowledge

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Lessons are taught for 30 minutes each week. Children participate in a range of different activities to allow them to engage with the French language. They have the opportunity to listen to others and have a go at speaking and writing. Lessons can also include games and songs to create a happy and fun learning environment.

 

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 At the beginning of Year 3 children learn to greet other and say goodbye; ask someone their name and read and say the numbers 0 – 6. By the end of Year 6 children will be practising simple sentences to exchange personal information and using verb phrases. As well as the language, children also learn about the country of France itself; for example they are introduced to famous people and important cities.

 Here is a snippet of one of our Year 4 French lessons - can you tell what they are discussing?

Watch the video below to find out more about our French scheme at John Stainer

 

 

 

Intent

At John Stainer Primary and Nursery, we believe that our high-quality bespoke French curriculum inspires learners to become inquisitive and resilient learners, wanting to know more about the French-speaking world, showing an interest in language learning and communicating with their peers. 

Our French curriculum intends to:

  • Develop a growing knowledge of French vocabulary and structures.
  • Inspire learners’ knowledge of French culture.
  • Introduce learners to a new phonic system to develop good pronunciation.
  • Develop oracy skills.
  • Enhance listening skills and language learning behaviour.
  • Create links between other subjects.
  • Engender an appreciation that cultures are different but also have similarities.
  • Teach skills that can be applied in other languages.
  • Ensure that pupils are ready to learn a language at KS3 as confident resilient learners.
  • Use language learning as an opportunity to explore SMSC, engender British Values and align our school values with curriculum content.

Implementation

  • Weekly lessons delivered in a communicative way.
  • A cycle of lessons which enables progress and development in the areas of phonics, grammar, vocabulary and culture.
  • Regular opportunities to revisit and reuse previous vocabulary and structures to lead to better retention and retrieval.
  • Challenge provided for those pupils who are bilingual or able in the subject.
  • Planning special days such as French day and links with other events like Culture Day.
  • Entering competitions and celebrating our successes.

Impact

Our French curriculum is enriching and of a high quality. It tracks the learner’s journey of French through their school experience to allow for progression and retention. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods.

  • Ongoing formative assessments in lessons and across the school day (greeting children in French during registration)
  • Marking of books to see progress in listening, reading, writing and reading.
  • Pupil discussions about their learning.

Beyond the Curriculum

Our annual celebration of all things French took place when we celebrated French Day 2022

We spent the day enjoying exciting opportunities to experience French culture and traditions.  We all came to school dressed in the colours of the French Flag, 'le tricolore': rouge, blanc et bleu.  We really enjoyed tasting a traditional French breskfast, first asking for 'une brioche' or 'jus des fruits' before saying 'merci'. We learnt vocabulary relating to food, shopping and travel.  

 

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