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MODERN, FOREIGN LANGUAGES

INTENT

At The Three Saints Academy Trust, our high-quality MFL curriculum fosters pupils' curiosity, creativity and deepens children's understanding of the world. By learning Modern Foreign Languages, children develop tolerance and understanding of the world around them, a key link to the Fundamental British Value of Tolerance of Others. Our MFL curriculum provides children with opportunities for them to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focused on familiar and routine matters. We aim for children's language learning to contribute to their knowledge as global citizens and the diverse world that they will grow up in as 21st Century citizens. Children begin their MFL in Key Stage 1. We want our children to be inspired by language learning and to give them confidence and good foundations so that they can build on learning in secondary school and use their skills in real life. We focus on Spanish or French (school dependent), as they are widely spoken languages and highly accessible for our pupils, enabling them to make substantial progress in one language. The curriculum is planned and sequenced so that prior knowledge and learning is built on sequentially as they move through school.

IMPLEMENTATION

Children participate in a weekly 60 minute MFL lesson in Key Stage 2 and at Key Stage 1 pupils are exposed to 30 minute sessions focusing on a wide range of songs, games and cultural activities related to the school's chosen country and culture. Lessons are always delivered by a specialist languages teachers. Children acquire skills and knowledge, with learning taking place in small, sequential chunks with opportunities for practice and revisiting learning. Where possible, cross-curricular links are made and additional experiences and themed days promoted, for example, European day of Languages. Opportunities to monitor and assess the pupils' progress in Modern Foreign Languages are used to support teaching and learning and inform future planning. Formative assessments are used to demonstrate progression in ability and confidence and include assessment of speaking skills and recalling vocabulary. Practitioners embrace and advocate concepts and practice of experts such as Gianfranco Conti and his work on 'Breaking the Sound Barrier' to make pupils better listeners and develop their aural comprehension. Vocabulary selection is based on word frequency, sets of words and common verbs. Grammar focuses on nouns, verbs and adjectives with phonics interwoven throughout.

IMPACT

The impact of our MFL curriculum is that, through careful planning and delivery, children develop a love of languages and a willingness to experiment. With time and experience, children develop confidence to speak, ask questions and communicate with others in the school's chosen language, giving them liberation from insularity and an opening to other cultures. They understand and respond to spoken and written languages and develop authenticity through correct pronunciation and intonation. They acquire knowledge about different countries to develop global citizenship and encourage them to become active, responsible and caring members of the wider community. Our MFL curriculum ensures all pupils develop key language learning skills set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures. These are as follows: 

KEY CONCEPTS

Our curriculum is focused around the core concepts of Modern, Foreign Languages.