French

Intent

At St Bede’s Primary School we aim to develop a love of learning about other languages and cultures, believing that language learning can open doors to new experiences in life whilst also giving a new perspective on the world and a better understanding of their own language and traditions. 

The curriculum is designed for children to make substantial progress in French and develops communication skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.  The scheme of work has been sequentially planned and includes the three pillars of progression; phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary.  Opportunities are built in for children to retrieve prior learning and revisit vocabulary in order for them to build up their knowledge of French.

Language learning adds to the cultural capital of the children and they are encouraged to enjoy learning about different beliefs and perspectives on life.  Children develop their social skills by sharing their own values and respecting cultural diversity.  Parallels and contrasts are made with languages spoken by other children and staff at school which helps the children to understand the ‘mechanics’ and develops the foundations for future language learning.

In language lessons, children find themselves on a level playing field, allowing SEND and EAL children the opportunity to progress at their own speed.  Lessons are designed to create a fun learning environment whilst meeting the attainment targets of the languages KS2 programme of study.

Implementation

KS2 children at St Bede’s School have fortnightly French lessons (1 hour) taught by a language specialist.  The Scheme of Work has been adapted to suit our pupils and covers a range of topics and themes ensuring progression of skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.  There is a reminder of prior learning at the beginning of each lesson and previous language is revised, recalled and consolidated whenever possible.

Children are encouraged to participate in language learning through the use of puppets, drama and role play, realia (coins, maps etc), games, songs and stories.  Interactive games are accessed on line at school and at home (BBC Dash and Blink, Educandy etc)  Evidence of children’s work is recorded in their French folders and also using Seesaw. 

Language work is progressive; grammar is interwoven into the topics.  Children are encouraged to become language detectives and make comparison of other languages that they know. 

Children are supported in their language learning through tailor-made visuals, word mats and glossaries.  They are taught to use dictionaries to encourage creativity in their work.  Children work individually, in pairs and also in groups to build confidence and resources and teacher/TA support are adapted to children’s varying needs.

Whole school activities like the French café in the Summer term raise the profile of language learning and gives a focus to the Year 4 class who serve at the event.  The display board in the hall is a visual celebration of the children’s achievements in languages.  The children are learning their lunchtime prayer in French to reinforce the relevance of French in the wider world.

Impact

Children at St Bede’s are encouraged to be enthusiastic about language learning and confident in their use of language, through the use of games, songs and interactive activities. Language hub meetings are attended whenever possible to share experience, resources and good practice.

The subject leader monitors progression in French.  This takes place on a day to day basis in lessons, through instant feedback and through continuous formative assessment of children’s achievements.  Work is marked regularly, using English and target language feedback. Children regularly record their spoken French on Seesaw and individual feedback is given.  Language hub meetings are attended to share experience, resources and good practice.

Self assessment is carried out by the children at the end of each unit.  Children are encouraged to reflect on what they have learnt and what their next steps might be.  Activities are regularly shared on Seesaw, where children’s progress is shared with parents.  Many of the games involve parental or sibling involvement which promotes awareness of the topics being covered in school and the children’s understanding.

Learning an additional language offers the children the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences.  It is hoped that the children will foster a love of language and a desire to further learning beyond the classroom and in the future.

Here is the fabulous work you have been doing at home.

Enter text...All KS2 children at St. Bede's learn French once a fortnight with our languages specialist, Mrs Harris.  They learn to speak, read, write and listen to French through puppets, songs, games, drama, target language videos and ICT games.

Home Activities!

I am missing you all at the moment and would like to give you ideas for practising French at home.  It is a bit strange making video recordings - please remember I am a beginner!

Activité 1:  Les Deux Oiseaux

The first activity helps to practise words of introduction.  It is a nursery rhyme for you to learn.  I cut out two little pieces of a tissue into bird shapes and drew on eyes and a beak.  If tissues are in short supply at home - you can just use your fingers!  I have attached a short video where you can practise line by line and the words written down.  You can also find versions of this song on Youtube that you can sing!

Activité 2:  Arc En Ciel

Make a French rainbow to display in your window!  Try not to cover the French words so that you keep learning every time that you see it.  Here is a  song on Youtube to help you to learn the colours:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4kNeFGBAcw  Arc En Ciel 

Activité 3:  Chanson Couleurs 

Songs are a great way of remembering vocabulary.  I bet you can all sing the days of the week song!  Here is one about colours, that I have adapted from a song I heard on the internet.  Sing along with me so that nobody can hear my voice!  

Activité 4:  Adoption d'animaux

Make your own animal adoption centre for your soft toys at home to play with.  I wrote labels for each animal and added their colour - remember that most adjectives come after the word they describe in French eg. A 'dog brown' not a 'brown dog'.  The SPA (Société Protectrice des Animaux) is a charity in France which helps to re-home animals.  I made a poster using the logos online using French words and have attached templates for you to use.   I have attached a photo of my pet adoption centre in my living room and the animals to give you ideas.  I have also attached a word mat of animals - Word Reference is a very good website for finding French words that are not on the list. https://www.wordreference.com/enfr/ 

Activité 5:  Coloriage Magique

I know how much you all love colour by numbers so here are a few for you to do at home.  If you print them in black and white the task is more challenging because you will not have the colour splats to use!

Activité 6:  Chasse au tresor

This is a scavenger hunt to practise colours.  It is a good idea for the children to make their own sheet - this helps them to practise writing the words for the colours.  If you have more than one child, it is fun to do this as a competition to see who can complete their sheet first - if not you can time the children and they can let me know how quickly they complete it.  As you can see from the photos, they can do this activity inside or out.  When you start the timer, the child says the first colour - in French, then goes to find something of that colour.  Then they come back, repeat the name of the colour in French and put the object on that colour.  Then they do the same for the other colours, one by one.  Remind children that they may only pick flowers with permission!!

Activité 7:  La Marelle

La Marelle means hopscotch in French.  The layout is a bit different to the traditional one as there is 'ciel' at the top - sky and 'terre' at the bottom - earth.  Your aim is to go from the earth to the sky!  You will need chalk to draw it on the ground outside and also a little stone - une caillou to throw, or you could use a button or beanbag instead.  It is nice to play with more than one person.  You take turns to throw the stone, first onto 1 (un) and then you hop over it, saying the numbers as you go.  You can land with two feet when the numbers are side by side, otherwise you hop. You turn at 8 / 9 and hop back, balancing on the number before your stone (for the first throw you will be on 2 (deux) and then back to the beginning.  That is the end of your turn.  When it is your turn again you throw the stone onto 2, then the next turn 3 and so on.  If your stone does not land on the right number, then you do not hop and jump, you wait your turn and try again.  It is the first person to reach ciel (sky) that is the winner.  You can see children playing this on https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zrdg9j6 

Activité 8:  Pictionary

For this game you need two teams (minimum 2 in a team) and a list of animals – you could include colours if each team has a set of colouring pencils. Make a set of cards with name of animal (or animal and a colour)  I have taken photos of a set of cards I made using a cereal packet. You will also need a pencil and a few sheets of paper per team.  To start with you could give each team a list of animals and a list of colours and then when everyone is confident – take it away.

One person in each team is chosen to be the first to draw.  They turn over the first card without showing the others in the team, but show it to the drawers from the other team.  They  then run back to their team and draw the animal in silence and the other player or players in the team has to say the word in French.  The first team to guess wins the point. You then repeat this for the remainder of the cards.

You can make this game a little harder if you like.  Then the rest of the team (who are guessing what was on the card) have to write down the words and  are given a point if it is the right word and another point if the spelling is absolutely perfect!  

Activité 9:  La Danse

Have a go at some dance moves and learn French at the same time - this could be part of your new Keep Fit regime!

Activité 10: L’entraînement en circuit

This activity enables you to practise your French counting. French is combined with keeping fit and I would like you to try to make your own French circuit training workout! The idea is to count in French as you do the activities and then write the total down in French. The photos above the template show an example of a template filled in, the activities word mat and a numbers word mat.  Your family can join in too - just write their name where it says 'je m'appelle'. (Maman = Mum, Papa = Dad, Mamie = Nana, Papi = Grandad etc)

French Scheme of Work Overview

In the Summer Term, Year 4 invite everyone at school to their French Café.  With a bit of help from Asda, we enjoy trying different French pâtisseries.

In Year 5, children learn vocabulary about clothes.  They use French dictionaries to describe one of their favourite outfits.