MFL

At Hovingham, we are in the fortunate position to have a special community of learners from a very diverse heritage. This means that most of our pupils learn English as a second language. Most are bi-lingual and many can adapt and tune into a range of lexicons linked to settlement and culture. There are many languages spoken by pupils as their first language and it is so important to recognise and value this as their core identity. Our pupils understand the challenges learning new languages bring but they embrace this challenge with enthusiasm.

The National Curriculum
“Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world” (National Curriculum 2014 programme of study for Languages).

For our pupils, learning a foreign language together, as a school community provides another lens to learning. It allows pupils to learn and experience this together.

The 2014 National Curriculum for Modern Foreign Languages aims to ensure that all children:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
• Are able to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and that they are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

The MFL content, for every year group, from Year 3 to Year 6, is carefully mapped out so that teachers know and understand what to teach and when to teach it. All sequences of learning are planned so that there is cohesion and key knowledge and skills are protected. It provides an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and lays the foundations for further foreign language teaching at KS3.

WHAT WILL THIS LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
Our teaching sequence, through the 5A model, will:

	Aim: Learning will be placed within the context of similar past learning from previous subjects and year groups.
	Activate: Through review most recent learning in French.
	Acquire: Through Reading key French vocabulary and applying phonics when relevant.
	Acquire and Apply: Using oracy (using spoken language).
	Apply: Literacy – writing in French and applying grammar.
	Assess: Through ongoing throughout – Developing Intercultural understanding, comparing with their culture to find similarities and contrasts.

Our classrooms will:
• Provide appropriate quality videos, images, sounds and other equipment for each area of the curriculum.
• Have developed learning walls which include high quality WAGOLLs, including actual pieces of work, and carefully chosen vocabulary, which are regularly updated.
• Be organised so that pupils can work in small groups or whole class as appropriate to support pupils in their development of their skills.
Our children will be:
• Engaged because they are challenged by the curriculum which they are provided with.
• Resilient learners who overcome barriers and understand their own strengths and areas for development.
• Able to critique their own work as a linguist because they know how to be successful.
• Safe and happy in French lessons which give them opportunities to explore their own linguistic development.
• Encouraged and nurtured to overcome any barriers to their learning or self-confidence because feedback is positive and focuses on French skills and knowledge.
• Develop French skills and confidence over time because of careful planning, focused delivery and time to practice and hone skills.

HOW WILL THIS BE MEASURED?
Pupil Voice will show:
• A developed understanding of the vocabulary and grammar of a modern foreign language, French.
• A secure understanding of the key techniques and methods for each key area of the MFL curriculum: speaking and listening, reading and writing.
• A progression of understanding, with appropriate vocabulary which supports and extends understanding.
• Confidence in discussing their own work and identifying their own strengths and areas for development.

Displays around school and books will show:
• Pupils have had opportunities for practice and refinement of skills.
• A varied and engaging curriculum which develops a range of language skills.
• Developed and final pieces of work which showcase the skills learned.
• Clear progression of skills in line with expectations set out in the progression grids.
• That pupils, over time, develop a range of skills and language enabling them to communicate in French with another person.

The curriculum leader will:
• Celebrate the successes of pupils through planned displays.
• Collate appropriate evidence over time which evidences that pupils know more and remember more.
• Monitor the standards in the subject to ensure the outcomes are at expected levels.
• Provide ongoing CPD support based on the outcomes of subject monitoring to ensure that the impact of the curriculum is wide reaching and positive.