MFL curriculum statement
INTENT
We believe that learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others. It extends their knowledge of how language works and helps them to develop communication skills, including the key skills of speaking and listening. Each of the four main learning aims and the twelve content points for the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum for Languages are revisited throughout the four-year scheme that we follow at William Ford, ensuring that pupils have every opportunity to make progress in their:
• knowledge about language;
• language-learning strategies;
• functional knowledge and use of grammar and spelling;
• intercultural understanding;
• speaking, listening, reading and writing skills
Our MFL curriculum is broad and balanced. French is taught in discrete sessions enhanced by bite size chunks where practicable at other times, such as answering the register or counting in French at appropriate times during the day to consolidate learning.
Where meaningful, our MFL curriculum has links with other subjects so that our children broaden their understanding and apply their learning to different contexts (a major example of this is the repeated focus on grammar in French lessons which complements and enhances the study of grammar in English by comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences in the two).
Our MFL curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced for all our children.
Our MFL curriculum is ambitious for all our children, including those with SEND and EAL, enabling every child to work to their full potential, recognising that the influence of children’s home settings and the diversity of their experiences of learning other languages may well be very different to that of other subjects.
In keeping with our Christian ethos, each MFL unit of work is introduced through discussion and debate around ‘big questions’ that explore the awe and wonder of God’s world and our place within it.
IMPLEMENTATION
Our MFL curriculum is purposeful and engaging. The key concepts of speaking and listening; reading; writing and grammar within our MFL curriculum are regularly revisited through our spiral curriculum, which enables our children to continually build upon, develop and consolidate prior learning.
Children access their MFL lessons through highly interactive lessons where they are encouraged to participate enthusiastically through a range of engaging learning experiences including call and response, repetition, conversations with peers and the use of games and learning through music and songs.
There is a strong focus on listening and repeating language and consolidating new vocabulary through conversations with peers and written tasks.
All MFL lessons build upon prior learning and have clearly defined end points.
In MFL lessons, teachers check pupils’ understanding effectively, identifying and correcting misunderstandings.
Our MFL curriculum is taught via the following units:
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Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6 |
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Autumn |
Unit 1 – Getting to Know You (1-6)
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Y 3 Unit 6 – Time (lessons 1-6) |
Y4 Unit 6 – Going Shopping (Lesson 6)
Unit 1 – All About Ourselves (Lessons 1-5) |
Y5 Unit 5 That’s Tasty (Lessons 3-6) Unit 1 – Let’s Visit a French Town (Lessons 1 & 2)
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Spring |
Unit 2 – All About Me (1-5)
Unit 3 – Food Glorious Food (lesson 1)
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Unit 1 All Around Town (Lesson 4-5)
Unit 3 On the Move (Lessons 1-3; 5)
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Unit 1 – All About Ourselves (Lesson 6)
Unit 2 – School Life (Lessons 5-6)
Unit 4 – Getting to Know You (Lesson 2, 4-5) |
Unit 1 – Let’s Visit a French Town (Lessons 3,4 & 6)
Unit 3 – Let’s Go Shopping (Lessons 1-3) |
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Summer |
Unit 3 – Food Glorious Food (lesson 2-4)
Unit 5 – Our School (lessons 1-3 and 6)
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Unit 5 – What’s the Time? (Lesson 1 & 3)
Unit 6 – Going Shopping (Lessons 1: 3-5) |
Unit 4 – Getting to Know You (Lesson 6)
Unit 6 _ Time Travelling (Lessons 1-3)
Unit 5 That’s Tasty (Lessons 1-2)
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Unit 3 – Let’s Go Shopping (Lesson 4 & 6)
Unit 4 – All in a Day (Lessons 1-4 & 6) |
IMPACT
All lesson planning units include success criteria grids dedicated for each lesson to enable teachers to immediately assess childrens' knowledge, understanding and progress during lessons.
Written work is appropriately differentiated and is kept in individual folders, which are marked and monitored to assess understanding and progress.
We evaluate the knowledge, skills and understanding that children have gained in their MFL lessons against carefully planned end points to measure progression.
Our MFL curriculum ensures children have added knowledge and the valuable cultural capital of learning another language to broaden their horizons and develop key mental skills associated with this.