Believe, Achieve, Succeed. In our hands we hold the future.
Foreign Languages Policy
Purpose of study
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an
opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should
foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The
teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in
another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in
speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to
communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read
great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide
the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study
and work in other countries.
Aims
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
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understand and respond to spoken and written language from a
variety of authentic sources
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speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding
ways of communicating what they want to say, including through
discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the
accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
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can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences,
using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
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discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the
language studied.
National Curriculum, Languages programmes of study, September 2013
Guidelines:
 The teaching of French follows the National Curriculum (2014).
 Topics are given to each year group in Key Stage 2 for each long
term. Teachers choose a logical order to learn the appropriate
language for each topic and link French, where possible, to other
areas of the curriculum.
Foreign Language Policy – May 2015
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Believe, Achieve, Succeed. In our hands we hold the future.
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French teaching focuses upon enabling children to develop skills in
one foreign language. We place emphasis upon understanding and
speaking, with an increasing focus on reading and writing as
children progress through Key Stage 2. Children are encouraged to
make practical use of French during the day by following classroom
commands, asking for help or permission and greeting others.
Pupils are taught to engage in conversations, ask and answer
questions, express opinions and to respond to others, seek
clarification and help.
Games, songs, rhymes, poems and stories are used to aid teaching
and learning of French in all year groups.
Children are encouraged to compare knowledge of English (and
other language they may know) in order to work out the meaning of
new vocabulary, and to expand their knowledge of French by the
use of dictionaries (printed or online versions).
French is not statutory in Key Stage 1 or the Foundation Stage;
however, we prepare the children for the introduction of French as
a statutory subject in Key Stage 2 by using simple classroom
commands, some numbers, greetings and common phrases and
questions. We use games and songs to teach Key Stage 1 children.
These children may encounter the written word and copy simple
words in French. The emphasis in Key Stage 1 is on understanding
and using spoken language.
French is led by the Humanities, RE, Foreign Language and PSHME
curriculum team who provide:
o Strategic leadership for French
o Resource management for the teaching of French
o Monitoring and evaluation of the quality of learning and
progress in French
o Up to date knowledge of developments and opportunities in
French provision.
o Support for colleagues to enable them to develop greater
confidence and enthusiasm for the teaching of French
o Liaison with governors and parents keeping them informed of
new initiatives and successes.
Foreign Language Policy – May 2015
2
Believe, Achieve, Succeed. In our hands we hold the future.
Monitoring and evaluation:
The Foreign Language Team will monitor the standards of teaching and
learning within French.
This will occur through a range of activities on a rolling programme of
monitoring planning, work sampling, pupil interviews, observation of
lessons and activities and learning walks.
Pupils will be assessed as to whether they are performing below, at or
exceeding the expected level for their year group.
Information gathered will be shared with the leadership team and the
governor’s curriculum committee and governor with a special interest in
French. The policy will be reviewed annually by the Foreign Language
Team and the C&S Committee.
Policy reviewed: May 2015
Ratified by Curriculum and Standards Committee on behalf of the
Governors
Mary Potter
(signed: Chair of C&SC)
Foreign Language Policy – May 2015
9/6/15
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