Modern Foreign Languages - FRENCH
Bonjour mes amis!
Our Vision for Languages
At Crosscanonby St John’s CE School, we believe that learning a foreign language provides an exciting and enriching experience for all pupils. It helps to develop their communication skills, gives them a deeper understanding of other cultures, and prepares them to be a global citizen in a modern, diverse world.
Our French curriculum is designed to be engaging, progressive, and fun, building a love of language learning that will stay with them long after they leave our school. We aim to foster pupils' curiosity about the world and to provide the foundations for further language learning in secondary school.
How We Teach French
In line with the National Curriculum, French is taught to all pupils in Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6). We use a combination of fun and interactive methods to ensure a high-quality language education for all.
We use the Grammarsaurus scheme of work to ensure a structured and consistent approach. This scheme provides engaging lessons with songs, games, and stories to help children develop their vocabulary and confidence.
Our curriculum focuses on developing the four key language skills:
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- Listening: Children listen to spoken French from their teachers and native speakers, developing their understanding and pronunciation.
- Speaking: They are encouraged to speak in French from the very beginning, using single words, short phrases, and simple sentences.
- Reading: Children learn to read short texts and to understand the meaning of written words.
- Writing: They are taught how to write short sentences and phrases, helping to embed their knowledge of new vocabulary.
We believe that language and culture are intertwined. Throughout the year, we explore French and Francophone cultures through food tasting, art, and celebrating special events such as "Bastille Day".
What Our Children Learn:
Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6): Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure a clear progression of skills and knowledge. The topics we cover include:
- Years 3 & 4: Greetings, numbers, colours, family members, pets, and classroom objects.
- Years 5 & 6: More complex topics such as food and drink, places in a town, describing people, and talking about daily routines. We also introduce basic grammatical concepts, such as gender and simple verb conjugations, to give pupils the building blocks for more fluent communication.
How You Can Support Your Child
We encourage parents to join us in celebrating French language learning! You can help at home by:
- Encouraging your child to sing French songs they have learned at school.
- Using simple French greetings with them, such as "Bonjour!" and "Au revoir!"
- Exploring free online resources such as: