Rationale for Languages at Pondhu Primary School
At Pondhu Primary School our curriculum aims to give children the knowledge, skills and understanding to achieve their full potential academically, socially and emotionally. We aim to give the children the necessary skills to prepare them for life in modern British society. Our curriculum reflects both the context of the school and the experiences of the children. This encourages the children to be aspirational, to fulfil their potential and reach the highest of expectations that we have of them.
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. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
(DfE, 2013)
CURRICULUM INTENT
At Pondhu Primary School, we primarily use the Lightbulb Languages scheme and resources to teach French in Key Stage Two. It is also supported when required by Purple Mash as their interactive resources allow whole class or paired work in class that provide both the pupil and teacher with immediate feedback on their understanding. The interactive nature of the programme also fosters enthusiasm for the subject. This programme is designed to meet the needs of teachers and learners in primary schools and it is engaging and motivating for children. We supplement this teaching with an extra-curricular languages club for all of Key Stage 2 to develop their interest and enthusiasm for languages especially as we have a number of pupils who have English as an additional language.
We chose this particular programme as it can be taught progressively through Key Stage Two, with activities building on previous learning and ensuring progression. The scheme also ties in with our cross-curricular approach to curriculum planning. The programme contains some audio scripts for some elements of the language taught, so we know that both teacher and pupil are supported to accurately pronounce French words and phrases.
CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION
French is taught weekly for forty five minutes each week in Key Stage 2. Emphasis is on the listening and speaking of the language to engage the pupil and foster enthusiasm for the language and confidence in speaking another language. As each unit progresses pupils will record some written information, with the expectation that as they reach the upper key stage they will record in more detail by the end of their units of study.
We also use the songs and rhymes to develop children’s understanding of the patterns and sounds of language. We also know that singing along to a classic French song or rhyme helps to immerse the children in the language and exposes them to French culture.
It is taught in most year groups by the subject lead, who helps other teachers teaching the subject with resources and any guidance when necessary.
Subject meetings with other subject leads allows us to communicate ideas with other primary schools??
Pondhu has links with a local secondary school that develop pupils interest in languages and promotes languages as a future area of study into Key Stage 3.??
CURRICULUM IMPACT
We measure the impact of our French teaching primarily through pupil verbal contribution and discussion and by the outcome of their work that is recorded. A short assessment is made at the end of each unit, to identify where pupils are in their learning and to recognise any areas of the topic that will need greater focus when or if they are revisited again in future units of study.
