Intent

At Our Lady of Lourdes, we aim to give our children a love for Modern Foreign Languages that continues into adult life, especially as it stimulates language development, social development and cultural awareness, as well as other areas of the curriculum. We are very aware of the importance for children of the acquisition of another language.

Our aim is that children learn French language, vocabulary and culture through creative teaching and learning, exploring and incorporating rhymes, songs, games, pattern and rhythm to link spelling, sound and the meaning of words.

Implementation

We teach French using the Modern Languages national curriculum framework and supported by materials developed by ‘La Jolie Ronde’. We link topics to the time of year so that language skills are relevant. For example, Christmas and Easter. ‘La Jolie Ronde’ has been developed by specialists and we aim to develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.

Our lessons take place once a week and children progress from sounds to word level and then sentence level, learning language structures that allow them to use oral and written French language in many familiar and real situations, adapting for different contexts.

Impact

Being enthusiastic, positive and confident in languages helps children to build self- esteem and confidence in life. Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides as opening to other cultures.  Our curriculum fosters pupils’ curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world. At Our Lady of Lourdes we 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.  We provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and encouraging them to look at great literature in the original language.  We provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and be curious about other countries.