Why we teach French

Fleetville children will not only learn the French language, but develop a sense of appreciation for other languages and cultures. Our children are lucky to grow in a school community that is rich in cultural diversity; we aim to inspire and excite them about the wider world in which they live. In lessons, we hope to develop a love of learning and inquisitiveness about how children live in other parts of the world. 

Although our current MFL taught is French, we strive to provide children with opportunities to experience a range of other languages and celebrate the growing diversity of our pupils, the communities they live in and the languages they speak.

We hope that our pupils will develop a genuine interest and curiosity about languages, finding them enjoyable and exciting and show a desire to continue their language learning beyond Key Stage 2.

We hope that our pupils will feel confident engaging in spoken French, develop skills in reading, listening and writing and grammar, and know how important languages will be in their future.

How we teach French.

We are very excited to have regular French lessons in our French classroom. with our specialist teacher. French has traditionally been taught in line with the National Curriculum across the year groups, with seamless progression as the children move through the school from Year 3 to Year 6. Where possible, lessons are planned in parallel to the current class topics, where topic based learning can reinforce learning by providing the backdrop of the Learning Objectives and language skills progression. 

We also take advantage of current events, as these can provide wonderful learning opportunities. Using events such as the Tour De France, Rugby Six Nations, Football World Cup, The Olympics as well as annual dates and festivals, such as April Fool’s Day, Halloween, Remembrance Day, for example, helps the children to acquire and use key vocabulary and to apply language skills in real life contexts.  

Each lesson focuses on a combination of the 5 key language learning skills:

• Speaking
• Listening
• Reading
• Writing
• Grammar

Phonics lessons throughout the term, support the development of key language skills and allow for language progression.

French stories, poems and songs are shared in lessons. French books may appear on classroom shelves and French is prominent on class displays and throughout the school, so that the children are exposed to the language through various mediums.

Here are some quotes from our Pupil Voice, June ’22:

“Can we write more?” Beech

“Can we have more French lessons – can we write and draw more in our books?” Hazel

“I would like longer French lessons!” Larch

“We learn to say something that is real life, so when we go to France, we can speak French.” Pine

From our French Subject Specialist (a member of Year 5), after we conducted the Pupil Voice:

“They were keen.” “They were happy to share their feelings and comments about French.” “They want to do more.”

…..and, that is why we teach French at Fleetville.