French

Our Aim

We want all pupils at Fell Dyke to be able to:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and accuracy, and take part in conversations to express their ideas and opinions.
• Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others can understand them.
• Write for different purposes, using key vocabulary, grammatical structures and language patterns.
• Discover and develop an appreciation of the culture of French-speaking countries and communities.

Through engaging lessons, songs, games and interactive activities, we aim to equip pupils with the confidence and skills needed to communicate in another language. Our curriculum encourages children to enjoy learning French, explore new cultures and build strong foundations for future language study.

Curriculum Organisation

At Fell Dyke, French is taught across Key Stage 2 using the Language Angels programme. Our curriculum is designed to build knowledge and skills progressively, ensuring that children revisit, consolidate and extend key language concepts year on year. Units are sequenced to enable pupils to develop strong core knowledge of vocabulary, phonics and grammar, as well as the practical communication skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Lessons are highly interactive and aim to develop both accuracy and confidence in using French for real purposes.

We aim to provide a curriculum that ensures children develop the key skills and knowledge to:

• Build a broad and secure vocabulary base that grows progressively across KS2.
• Develop strong phonics knowledge, enabling accurate pronunciation and greater confidence when speaking.
• Understand and apply basic grammar, including gender, articles, verb patterns and sentence structure.
• Listen to spoken French from a range of sources and respond appropriately.
• Speak with increasing fluency, accuracy and spontaneity in rehearsed and familiar contexts.
• Read simple French texts, recognising key vocabulary, grammatical patterns and language structures.
• Write short phrases and sentences from memory, and adapt known language to create their own sentences.
• Develop an appreciation of French culture, traditions and daily life, making comparisons with their own experiences.

Knowledge, Progress and Assessment

Assessment in French at Fell Dyke takes account of all aspects of pupils’ language learning and achievement. This includes not only what pupils can say, read and write in French, but also how accurately they pronounce words, how confidently they use key vocabulary, and how well they understand the grammar and phonics that underpin the language. We use a combination of ongoing formative assessment and half-termly summative assessment to monitor progress and ensure pupils are developing secure, transferable language skills (of which vocabulary and 'new' words is only one part).