Modern Foreign Languages

"With languages you are at home anywhere." ~ Edmund De Waal

Intent:

At Linton-on-Ouse Primary School and Nursery we believe that all children have the right to experience the educational, social, and cultural benefits which come from learning a modern foreign language. Our aim for our children is to:

• Ignite and develop a love of language learning during their time at our school.

• Expose pupils to different languages from an early age.

• Understand the importance of language learning.

• Develop their awareness of how languages are similar and different to one another.

• Become confident to try learning a new language, and progress to the next stage of their education with this confidence.

We strive to ensure that our Modern Languages curriculum is accessible to all, so that social disadvantages, ethnicity or disability do not impact any child’s ability to thrive in their Modern Languages education. We aim to promote the development of a positive attitude to different cultures, a respect for oneself and tolerance of others.

Implementation:

The National Curriculum for MFL is introduced in KS2 across Primary Education. At Linton on Ouse we start the process of learning some words and phrases of different languages within KS1. A lot of children in our school come from a transient family life which may involve moves to different countries during their primary education. As such, we believe exposure to a range of languages is important from an early age to help with these transitions which may occur.

At Linton on Ouse Primary School we focus our MFL teaching on French, but also include ‘tastes’ of Spanish and at least one German lesson each half term which links to the French learning that has also taken place. This allows the children to see and use cognates, and be more aware of languages around the world. We also celebrate any languages that the children may speak in addition to English. These are discussed during MFL lessons and children are encouraged to share their knowledge.

Throughout our curriculum, we encourage learning about different languages and cultures. We celebrate language and discuss which languages are spoken and where. 

Impact:

Impact is measured by assessing against the National Curriculum statements through ‘Insight pupil tracking’ as:

·       Above

·       Below

·       Just Below

·       On Track

·       Greater Depth

Our curriculum, along with various trips, workshops and visitors, will impact our children by enabling them to make outstanding progress throughout their time at Linton-On-Ouse Primary School and Nursery and they will leave us with at least age-related expectations for MFL. We will have developed enthusiastic language learners and our children will understand how learning a language can positively impact their lives. This will all be evidenced through pupil voice, work in their books and through the children’s enjoyment of MFL learning.

All subjects are monitored and kept up to date by a specified subject leader. Each term, reports are created to share with school staff and governors, showing the children's progression and key development points.

Parents are informed of their child's progress through parent-teacher meetings and written reports. Teachers will request to meet with parents should any concerns arise, aiming for the best possible outcome for the child.