Sankey Valley St James CE Primary School

At our school, we believe that the learning of language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop key skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing and the children’s knowledge of how language works will be developed and extended. Lessons will enable pupils to make substantial progress in a language and the linguistic skills gained will assist and lay foundations for further language learning. The curriculum will provide pupils with the confidence and independence to explore and be able to attempt manipulation of the structure of language. Learning another language gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and the cultures of others.

How and when we teach themes and topics has been determined by the age and stage of learners, progress in language knowledge, links to school calendar, times of year or whole school curriculum focuses. Please see the long-term plan for more information.

Children in year 3 and 4 learn French and children in year 5 and 6 learn German.

In year 5 and 6, children are taught by a specialist teacher directly for an hour a week. In year 3 and 4, children are taught by a member of staff using the Primary Languages Network scheme of work. School aims to follow up activities when appropriate outside of the language lesson.

To ensure the language skills of staff are developed and sustained, the school is a member of the Primary Languages Network. This provides materials, resources and support sound files and activities to enable the school to ensure progression in language learning across the four core skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) and also the DfE 12 attainment targets.

Over the year, children will progress in the four core skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) as well as being taught French/German grammar and about the French/German culture. The following skills are covered in KS2:

• Listening attentively to spoken language and showing understanding by joining in and responding
• Exploring patterns and sounds and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
• Speaking in sentences and engaging in conversations
• Developing accurate pronunciation and intonation
• Reading carefully and showing understanding
• Writing phrases from memory
• Broadening vocabulary and developing an ability to understand new words that are introduced
• Understanding basic grammar

-Learn alongside them. Find out the language your child is learning and get them to teach you some key words and phrases.

- Find books, films or songs in the language your child is learning. These can be a wonderful way to learn a language without even realising it.

-https://www.duolingo.com/ -  A fun and effective way to learn languages.

Our vision in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) is to provide a languages curriculum which enables all children to foster their curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.

Our children will be able to express ideas and thoughts in another language and understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. They will learn new ways of thinking and develop linguistic skills that will lay foundations for further language training.

We want to provide an opening to other cultures and give our children a new and broader perspective of the world. We want our children to ask questions and be inspired, motivated and engage in the joy of discovery.

To promote an active learning of languages, a range of teaching methods are implemented to ensure that children are developing their linguistic skills through listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to be secondary ready. Activities can consist of actions, rhymes, stories, song, drama, grammar focus, video clips, dictionary work, book making and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills.  

Our Foreign Languages curriculum immerses children in learning about culture in exciting and active ways such as food sampling, storytelling, music and art. Our KS1 and KS2 children are given the opportunity to investigate and explore festivals and celebrations around the world such as Chinese New Year, Eid, Christmas in other countries and Epiphany celebrations. We also celebrate European Day of Languages as a whole school. Our year 6 children have recently been involved with a pen pal scheme with a school in Germany and they had the opportunity to write letters to Year 6 children in a German primary school. Our children loved receiving a letter back from their pen pal and translating it. It gave them a real insight into German culture and school life for children their own age.

We believe that the learning of languages provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. Learning a language increases critical thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility of the mind. Language skills also help children to develop key skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.  

Additionally, learning a foreign language opens the mind greatly and helps to open the door to the wider world for our children. Through foreign language learning, children learn about the different countries where the new language is spoken and this helps them to better understand other cultures, expressions and styles of communications. Language learning also encourages children to reflect on their own surroundings and culture whilst also appreciating how big the word is. Outside of French and German lessons, we welcome and celebrate the fact that many of our children already speak a language in addition to English at home. Through practising simple greetings from around the world and exploring and learning about songs and stories from other cultures, our children appreciate that there is so much that they can learn from each other.