At Aspull Church School our intent is to create open minded children who have a broad perspective of the world, respecting other cultures as well as understanding our own. In our school we do not have many children with a second language so it is imperative to give this experience, awareness and exposure to another language.

We currently teach French and follow the National Curriculum and use the i-languages scheme of work throughout Key Stage Two. None of our current Key Stage Two teachers are language specialists so it is important that we use a scheme which supports them. 

Learning how other languages are used will also help our pupils develop foundations to learn other languages by increasing their awareness of universal grammar and preparing them for Key Stage 3. By learning French and listening to stories and songs from those cultures that speak French, pupils are able to investigate countries that use French as a main language and further develop the communication skills that are essential to becoming a valuable global citizen. This upholds our Christian Values as a school ensuring we respect one another across the globe.

At Aspull Church, we give pupils the chance to develop a love for learning another language as well as their skills across the academic year. 

Using the i-languages scheme, we are provided with step by step lesson plans with objectives, success criteria and assessments mapped to the National Curriculum and Key Stage Two framework. There is a strong phonics focus and support for non-specialists with sound files and video clips to aid pronunciation. The scheme uses Talk4Writing and Kagan co-operative learning methodology to enhance interaction and progress.

French is taught in Key Stage Two on a weekly basis, songs numbers and colours are introduced in the Summer term of Year Two and some there is some exposure to different languages e.g. greetings, in Year One and EYFS. 

There is a strong emphasis on building confidence in our pupil’s oral skills. We believe they should be as immersed as possible in the language in each lesson and refrain from speaking English as much as possible. Children should have has many opportunities as possible to practise their skills as a class, in groups and in pairs before being expected to speak on an individual basis. Lessons should be interactive, fun and stimulating. Their knowledge should be built upon using stories, songs, actions, rhymes, games and videos. Once they have become confident with speaking they can be exposed to how the words are written-bilingual dictionary skills will be taught. Once pupils are confident with speaking and reading, they will move onto being able to write in French. As well as grammar focus lessons, the children will use their skills to draw pictures, make books and posters and begin to write sentences. Progression will be clear in their sentence structure as the grammar becomes more difficult as the children move through year groups. Lessons must ensure there is time to recap previous skills to ensure that knowledge is kept and built upon.

Children in Key Stage Two also have the opportunity to learn another language in an extracurricular club led by a subject specialist. Children have the opportunity to give feedback when the subject lead interviews them when monitoring the subject.

There are various ways of measuring the impact our implementation has. 

Target Tracker is updated half termly and the data is analysed to inform and address any trends or gaps in attainment. Planning is constantly adapted to meet the needs of all learners during the lesson. We also assess the impact of the teaching of MFL in subject leadership time were we look at the learning environment and planning, scrutinise books and have pupil discussions about their learning. Feedback is given to staff to discuss and is acted upon by the relevant people. Reports are shared with governors and discussions with subject governors also take place. Images and videos of the children’s practical learning are shared within school and on social media. Verbal feedback is given during lesson time. Annual reports are shared with parents and two parents’ evenings occur during the year. Parents are given the time to discuss their child’s learning. 

We ensure all pupils develop key language learning skills, as set out by the National Curriculum, as well as developing a love of learning languages and learning about other cultures.