'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart'  - Nelson Mandela 

Intent

It is intended that when children leave Aston Clinton School, they will have a natural curiosity and confidence to explore other countries, cultures and languages, accepting that, in a multi-lingual society it is a valuable skill to be able to communicate effectively with others in another language.  They will be engaged and prepared to continue language learning at secondary school. 

Implementation

We teach French across Key Stage 2. The school uses the "iLanguages" scheme of work to support the teaching and learning of French. This provides clear progression for the development of speaking and listening, and vocabulary acquisition. There are resources to support the teaching and learning opportunities for pupils.

They use a variety of the following techniques to encourage children to have an active engagement with French:

• Games – in order to develop vocabulary through repetition, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
• Role-play – these should relate to situations the children may find themselves in in the future.
• Action songs and rhymes – to develop phonetic skills, memory skills and to further vocabulary.
• Reading and writing quality materials.
• We build children’s confidence through praise for any contribution they make in the foreign language, however tentative.

We base the teaching on the 2014 National Curriculum through the iLanguage scheme. We have adapted this to the context of our school. This provides teachers with clear progression grids and content for teaching and learning.

Impact

The success of French teaching at Aston Clinton can be measured in the delight children take in expressing themselves in another language. By fostering a love for a place and culture beyond their immediate community serves to drive our belief in expanding the horizons of the children at Aston Clinton.

A mixture of formative and summative assessment is employed to ensure progress throughout the Key Stage and the children are given regular opportunities throughout the year to showcase their learning in written form. The subject leader monitors all year groups using a variety of strategies such as book scrutiny, lesson observation, staff discussion and pupil interviews. Feedback is given to teachers, and leaders use the information to check if the children know more and remember more. 

Overviews and Sample Knowledge Organisers

For more details about your child's learning, please use the following link to the year group learning pages.