St Dunstan's SchoolMFL Curriculum
"A different language is a different vision of life,” Federico Fellini
Intent
The intent of our Modern Foreign Languages programme at St Dunstan's R C Primary School is to cultivate a love and appreciation for languages and other cultures among our pupils. We aim to develop their language skills through a structured, progressive curriculum that fosters linguistic confidence, cultural awareness, and a lifelong enthusiasm for language learning.
We strive to:
• Encourage communication: Enable children to express themselves clearly and confidently in another language, enhancing their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. We aim for all children to develop the confidence and resilience to speak French with good intonation and pronunciation.
• Foster cultural understanding: Promote knowledge and appreciation of different cultures, traditions, and ways of life linked to French speaking countries which will foster a greater awareness of self, others and cultural differences.
• Prepare for future learning: Equip children with the foundational skills necessary for future language learning in secondary education and beyond, thus expanding their global citizenship and career opportunities.
• Support cognitive development: Enhance cognitive abilities, creativity, and critical thinking through engaging language activities that support overall academic achievement.
Implementation
Our MFL curriculum is designed to be broad, balanced, and tailored to the diverse needs of our pupils. French is taught weekly throughout Key stage 2. Key aspects of our implementation include:
• Structured Curriculum: We use a coherent, progressive scheme of work that builds on prior knowledge and skills, ensuring continuity and consistency across year groups. This includes an introduction to basic vocabulary and grammar in Year 3 which is built upon on as pupils progress up the school.
• Interactivity and Engagement: Lessons are engaging and interactive, incorporating diverse teaching methods such as songs, games and books. This makes learning enjoyable but also caters to various learning styles and abilities. Pupils are given the opportunity to explore the patterns and sounds of the language and link spelling, sound and meaning of words.
• Culture: To provide context and relevance to learning French we integrate cultural elements within our lessons, including comparisons with different countries where French is spoken, festivals, and geographical understanding. This fosters a love for cultures and traditions beyond our own.
• Assessment for Learning: Summative assessments are done termly as well as ongoing formative assessments in lessons. These are used to inform our teaching practices and ensure that every child is making progress towards their learning goals.
Impact
Children will develop key language learning skills as set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures.
• Pupil Proficiency: Children demonstrate a good level of proficiency in French by the end of Key Stage 2, evidenced through assessments, verbal communication, and written work.
• Cultural Understanding: Pupils show a genuine interest and curiosity about different cultures, actively engaging in discussions and demonstrating respect for diversity.
• Academic Improvement: Language learning enhances cognitive skills which has a positive effect across subjects, particularly in literacy, grammar and communication skills.
We aim to provide an outstanding MFL experience that enriches the educational journey of every pupil at St Dunstan’s RC Primary school.
