Ravenor Primary School
Responsible
Respectful
Reflective
Resilient
Resourceful
French Rationale
French Statement of Intent Ravenor Primary School
At Ravenor Primary School, our intention is that all children develop positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures. This interest is encouraged by giving weekly stimulating and enjoyable lessons which build confidence and promote the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Our aim is to ensure that by the end of our children’s primary education, they have acquired an understanding of both spoken and written French, confidence to speak in French with others and know how important and benefitial other languages can be in their future.
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
- understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
- speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and 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.
Curriculum and School Organisation
French is taught in Years 3 to 6. Children are taught specific skills, concepts and vocabulary in a dedicated French lesson. The school delivers the requirements of the KS2 foreign languages framework by linking planning to the framework objectives. By its nature, all French lessons involve interaction with visual, auditory and kinaesthetic prompts.
The teaching in KS2 is based on the guidance material in the CGP ‘Salut’ scheme of work of foreign languages and supplementary material. A variety of techniques are used to encourage the students to have an active engagement with language, including games, role-play and action songs.
The scheme of work is separated into coverage for years 3 and 4 and years 5 and 6. Both include individual lesson plans and interactive whiteboard resources, which include an introduction to key vocabulary for each lesson, flashcards to support learning and games and songs or stories to reinforce the learning objectives. The ‘Salut’ scheme is organised into units of work; three core units, followed by multiple units which cover the day-to-day routines of the child, as well as their interests and home life.
We complete six units of work each year in Key Stage 2 classes:
| Aut 1 | Aut 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
Year 3
| Core Unit 1
| Animals
| Core Unit 2
| Food
| Core Unit 3
| At school
|
Year 4
| Playtime
| My Home
| My Town . | Describing People
| The Body
| Sport
|
Year 5
| On Holiday
| Eating Out
| Hobbies
| School trip
| Seasons . | Environment . |
Year 6
| Actions
| In France
| Family
| A Weekend
| The Future
| Jobs
|
In line with the National Curriculum for MFL, pupils at Ravenor Primary school are taught to:
- listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
- explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
- engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
- speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
- develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
- present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
- read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
- appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
- broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
- write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
- describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
- understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.
Ravenor Primary School: French overview
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
Year 3 | Core Unit 1 Greeting each other Introducing themselves Counting up to 10 Introducing their immediate family
| Unit A: Animals Saying animal vocabulary Asking about pets Describing animals using adjectives Using prepositions Naming animal homes | Core Unit 2 Saying the days of the week Naming colours Counting between 11 and 20 Naming countries Expressing likes and dislikes | Unit B: Food Naming common foods Expressing likes and dislikes Saying what they are eating Naming cutlery Saying what they would like to have Understanding cooking instructions
| Core Unit 3 Identifying body parts Counting up to 31 Identifying items of clothing Naming the months of the year Talking about birthdays | Unit C: At School Saying how they travel to school Naming places in school Listing the contents of their pencil case Telling the time Naming school subjects |
Year 4 | Unit D: Playtime Basic commands (imperatives) Saying what’s in the playground How to say a variety of playground games Using “j’aime” with another verb Saying what and where they like to play
| Unit E: My Home Saying where they live Identifying a variety of rooms and types of furniture Saying what there is in the kitchen Describing their daily routine | Unit F: My Town Asking how much something costs and saying prices Talking about what is in their town Giving directions Saying names of shops Saying the names of items you might buy in a shop | Unit G: Describing People Saying colours that are useful for describing hair and eyes Describing physical features Describing a person’s personality Saying what they are wearing | Unit H: The Body Naming parts of the face Saying basic verbs in the first person Saying that something hurts Naming fairy tale characters Saying traditional fairy tale locations | Unit I: Sport Talking about the sports they play Expressing likes Detailed vocabulary for football and tennis matches The use of the verb “savoir” |
Year 5 | Unit J On Holiday More countries Holiday accommodation Vocabulary associated with the zoo, beach and theme park Using the perfect past tense | Unit K Eating Out Asking for items in a shop or restaurant Asking how much things cost Some basic weights How to order for others in a restaurant | Unit L Hobbies Naming hobbies Talking about types of music and giving a variety of opinions Saying what musical instruments they play Talking about different types of film
| Unit M A School Trip The perfect past tense The future tense Some common verbs Vocabulary associated with a trip to a museum and the countryside. | Unit N Seasons The names of seasons Talking about seasonal activities Saying the date and when their birthday is Naming craft materials Following craft instructions | Unit O The Environment Saying what the weather is like Naming garden creatures Talking about garden activities Talking about recycling |
Year 6 | Unit P Actions Using action verbs in the first person Using action verbs in the third person singular Using some adverbs Naming craft materials Using the perfect past tense in the third person singular form | Unit Q In France Learning where some French cities are located in France Talking about tourist attractions in Paris Learning about Frenchspeaking countries Naming popular French foods | Unit R Family Naming extended family members Saying how many siblings they have Talking about the household tasks they do and have done Forming sentences using “on” Vocabulary associated with birthday parties | Unit S A Weekend With Friends Talking about activities that they might do at the weekend Expressing what they would and wouldn’t like to do Asking others if they would like to do something Naming midnight feast foods Giving a reason for accepting or declining an invitation
| Unit T The Future The future tense in the first, second and third person singular and first person plural Using adjectives to compare people More ways to describe how they are feeling | Unit U Jobs Naming a number of jobs in French Saying what they want to be when they’re older Naming some workplaces Saying vocabulary linked to space stations and fire stations |