In Year 4, 5 and 6, Children at Barrow Hedges Primary School learn French. The time allocated is 1 hour every fortnight.

The language is taught by our specialist teacher Mrs Coxon with the emphasis being very much on listening and speaking skills and reading. Lessons are hands-on and fast-paced activities include role-plays, visual prompts, videos, flash cards, games and songs. Learning French is part of developing our children with Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural (SMSC) skills which conforms to statutory requirements.

The aims of learning French at Barrow Hedges are to:

• Foster an interest on learning other languages
• Introduce young children to another language that is fun and enjoyable
• Stimulate and encourage children’s curiosity about French
• Encourage children to be aware that language has a structure and that the latter differs from one language to another
• Help the children develop their awareness of cultural differences in other countries. We celebrate French festivals and customs appropriate to the time of year.
• Develop their speaking and listening skills.

This is a progressive curriculum which, based on a number of topics, provides the children with the opportunity to explore the language through various activities and complete written tasks which become more focused as the children move into the next year. Their Learning Journey is the tool they use to know what they have learnt and what they will learn each term.

In Year 4, children will learn simple vocabulary to include colours, numbers, greetings, animals and food. Phonics and pronunciation are a big focus.

In Year 5, the children move on to learning more complex vocabulary as well as simple sentences structures and grammatical concepts. The French profile is also very much raised in Year 5 with the exciting French trip each May.

In Year 6, equipped with a wide range of vocabulary and knowing how to use a dictionary, the children improve their writing by using extended grammar tense construction, order of adjectives and verbs.

Work is adapted to allow full access and ensure that there is a challenge for all, as per our teaching and learning policy.

It is with a good knowledge base and a familiarity with French culture that the children enter their secondary school.

Mrs L Coxon is the Subject Leader of French.

We are currently reviewing our long term planner for French and this will be uploaded shortly.