Modern Foreign Languages
We teach Modern Foreign Languages because we believe that learning languages broadens children’s horizons and deepens their understanding of the world and other people and can inspire new ways of thinking. Our planned curriculum aims to give our children a foundation for further learning in children’s futures, both at secondary school and beyond, acting as a gateway to varied cultures, opportunities and relationships. By introducing children to additional languages, we aim to help children to further appreciate the vocabulary and grammar of the languages (including English) that they are already learning. With a strong emphasis on speaking and listening in our lessons, we aim to develop an appreciation of the importance of listening for understanding.
Children in the Early Years will learn to greet each other in each other’s home languages. As children move into Key Stage One, we will build on this by introducing European and other modern languages for simple counting and greetings and other simple phrases, where appropriate relating to topics e.g. Chinese New Year.
In Key Stage Two, teaching will focus on Spanish and French, taught and revisited in alternate years to enable children to revise, consolidate and build on prior knowledge. In our lessons in Key Stage Two the emphasis will be on children learning varied vocabulary by listening attentively to spoken language, showing their understanding by joining in and responding. Our aim is to encourage children to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation over time. Our children will learn to read and show understanding of words and simple phrases and to write these for different purposes and audiences. Children will also have the opportunity to hear popular stories in other languages.
MfL Curriculum Materials