Intent
At St Mary Magdalen’s we aim to promote inquisitive individuals who are confident to engage in the world, asking questions to improve their understanding and have an aspiration for gaining knowledge and widening their experiences of the locality and the wider world. The intention of the Modern Foreign Languages curriculum at St Mary Magdalen’s is that children are taught to develop an interest in learning other languages in a way that is enjoyable and stimulating. We believe that the learning of a language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. Children will be exposed to regular opportunities for cultural capital to increase enjoyment and to establish a meaningful context for language learning. A high-quality languages education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. It helps them to develop communication skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with an aim of making progress in one language. In addition, children’s knowledge of how language works will be developed to lay the foundations for further language learning in the future. We believe that learning another language gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others. Our children will benefit from specific KS1 and KS2 end points which have been developed in line with KS3 end points to ensure clarity for teaching and to guarantee a ‘smooth’ transition to Secondary Education for all learners.
Implementation
High quality MFL teaching and learning in primary school is our ultimate goal. This forms part of a larger progressive curriculum into KS3 and KS4. In their study of languages, pupils will develop their understanding and awareness of vocabulary and opinions, manipulating language and accuracy in grammar and spelling, by:
- learning languages on a ‘loop’. Our series of lessons and units enable pupils to constantly revisit and build on prior knowledge, with each year group’s knowledge building upon the previous learning. Recall is continuous so that knowledge is steadily built.
- building knowledge effectively with a consistent approach to our lessons. We aim to develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills simultaneously; each lesson will cover these four skills equally.
- ensuring substantive and disciplinary knowledge are explicitly taught and blended together in teaching and planning as both are necessary for progress in learning. By substantive knowledge we mean the key content of each unit, for example key vocabulary to describe yourself physically. By disciplinary knowledge we mean the linguistic skills necessary to use their substantive knowledge effectively, for example adjective agreement related to physical description. Students will develop understanding of grammar and phonics as part of the disciplinary knowledge they need to become independent language learners.
- regular exposure to songs, poems, games and stories to create enthusiasm for language learning. All lesson resources and planning materials are detailed and include voice overs to cater for the non-specialist and Primary.
- using knowledge mats and rich texts to enhance children’s learning.
BCCET MFL Primary Curriculum Map
Impact
Pupil dialogue and work in books shows a high standard of MFL teaching and learning. Pupils are able to talk with linguistic knowledge and vocabulary about the topics they have studied. They can make links and connections to what they have been taught previously and understand how their knowledge is building and progressing. Clear enthusiasm and enjoyment is visible in the lessons.
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