Our curriculum leader for MFL is Mrs Emma Shone
Intent
At Glusburn Community Primary School we believe that the learning of a language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. Through language learning, we aim to help our children to develop communication skills, including skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The children’s knowledge of how language works will be developed and extended. We choose to teach three different languages in key stage one (French, Spanish and German) to expose children to a variety of languages, also representing some of the languages and nationalities in our school. In key stage two, the linguistic skills gained in one language, will assist and lay foundations for further language learning at secondary school. Learning other languages gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.
Implementation
Children experience weekly MFL lessons, this allows them sufficient time to become fluent in their knowledge and skills, and recalls will ensure this is embedded in their long term memory.
Pupils 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
How is MFL enabled in the Early Years?
In Early Years MFL is taught through the Specific area of Understanding the World: People and Communities and is enabled through for example: providing activities and opportunities for children to share experiences and knowledge from different parts of their lives with each other; inviting children and families with experiences of living in other countries to bring in photographs and objects from their home cultures including those from family members living in different areas of the UK and abroad; ensuring the use of modern photographs of parts of the world that are commonly stereotyped and misrepresented; helping children to learn positive attitudes and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes, visiting different parts of the local community; providing role-play areas with a variety of resources reflecting diversity; making a display with the children, showing all the people who make up the community of the setting; inviting people from a range of cultural backgrounds to talk about aspects of their lives or the things they do in their work, such as a volunteer who helps people become familiar with the local area.