Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum Intent Statement
Intent
At Mareham, our Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) curriculum ensures that knowledge and key skills are taught in a systematic, well-planned and progressive manner.
At Mareham, our whole curriculum is driven by:
We aim to develop our children – physically, socially, mentally, culturally and spiritually – to embrace lifelong learning with a sense of awe and wonder in order to make a positive contribution to the local and wider community. Through the use of Language Angels, we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that inspires and excites pupils using a wide range of topics and themes that allows them to apply new vocabulary and knowledge. Our Christian values shape how we behave, what we say, how we build relationships and how we learn.
Our MFL curriculum is designed to help each child to be able to think and speak with confidence; developing independence for learning whilst achieving academically and meeting age-related expectations by the end of their primary education. Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality language education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world as well as giving them a better understanding of their own culture and those of others. The MLF curriculum enables children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It also provides opportunities for children to communicate for practical purposes and learn new ways of thinking. Our language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping children to study and work in other countries.
We are friendly, inclusive to all and build resilience; encourage a positive mindset amongst our children as it is often through mistakes that we learn the most. Everyone thrives through feeling safe, confident and valued and the well-being of each and every individual is a priority.
'Live life to the full and create a better future for all.'
Implementation
At Mareham, children are expected to work hard and demonstrate positive learning behaviours to maximise their own individual learning potential. We are committed to working in partnership with parents as we believe that when home and school work closely together we get the best outcomes. Lessons follow clear objectives and teachers check pupils’ understanding and knowledge, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback, responding and adapting their teaching as necessary. Open discussions and questioning are used effectively throughout the curriculum.
At Mareham, we teach French using the Language Angels programme. It is carefully planned over the long term so that pupils acquire and build on the knowledge and cultural capital they need to broaden their horizons, become aspirational citizens and succeed in life. The four key language learning skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing will be taught and children will progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge. This will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning.
Key vocabulary is carefully chosen. This is shared at the start of all lessons. Children are encouraged to use the key vocabulary to talk with confidence about a different language.
Impact
As a Year 6 transitioning into secondary school, we aspire that they not only achieve the age-appropriate
standard at the end of Key Stage 2, they will also be ignited with a love of language and take this study beyond Key Stage 2. Children will know more, remember more and understand more. Children will retain prior-learning and explicitly make connections between what they have previously learned and what they are currently learning.
They are also enabled to: