We are very proud that we have been awarded the Linguamarque Bronze award.
What does MFL look like in our school?
What does it mean to be a linguist?
Language plays a fundamental role not only in our children’s linguistic education, but also in the development of social interaction and cognitive development. Primary language learning is about and through language that is going on elsewhere in the curriculum. It supports essential literacy skills and fosters the consolidation of concepts, skills and vocabulary learned in the first language.
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Our Curriculum and High Quality Resources |
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| KS1 | In Key Stage 1 formal language lessons are not yet delivered but the basics of incidental language learning is woven daily throughout the curriculum. Children are forming the basics of learning at a word level and intercultural understanding is promoted as part of daily practice. |
| KS2 | In Key Stage 2 the provision for our languages education is based upon five areas of learning which are underpinned by National Curriculum Objectives and the Primary Languages Framework. This includes developing skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. This is also underpinned by a commitment to intercultural understanding across all curriculum subjects. At lower Key stage 2 we begin to teach French using the Rigolo 1 scheme of work and learning becomes focussed at a sentence level of understanding.
In upper Key stage 2, this begins to deepen towards text level and the use of Rigolo 2 to support learning. Enrichment opportunities include regular themed days throughout the year including European Languages Day, Bastille Day, Mardi Gras and the celebration of festivals across the world. Children also get the opportunity to develop their language skills with pupils from other schools and to visit an authentic French market. |
At St Mary’s :
We believe that the development of Language and Literacy skills are of the highest priority. We are committed to the idea that language is the main tool for learning and communication. The linguistic and cultural diversity of the school’s community is considered to be both a strength and a rich resource in the promotion of language learning among pupils and to the development of their social and emotional skills. Learning a language is core to our curriculum vision as it enables our children to be linguistically equipped and culturally aware, whilst having a global perspective.
We promote intercultural understanding across our curriculum, as well as enrichment opportunities to inspire our pupils to develop a fascination about their local community and the world beyond. This includes themed days across the whole school and authentic experiences out of the school environment to practise language skills.
Feedback and Assessment
Children receive precise and positive verbal feedback regarding their skills. We are committed to giving live feedback to pupils for encouragement and promote progression and next steps. Primary Languages Assessment Criteria is used to address the four stages of the Languages Ladder in order to show and record progression in language learning.
| Assessment and Tracking Progress | |
| KS2 | Teachers use daily formative assessment practices to identify misconceptions, key information that needs retrieving, and to review scaffolding techniques. This then informs next steps in teaching and learning to challenge or support all learners regardless of ability. As a summative assessment, children’s progress against key objectives are reviewed half termly. |
Provision for those children who need additional support
We are committed to providing an inclusive educational experience for all pupils regardless of need. This is achieved through using ‘scaffolding’ techniques and adaptive teaching. All learners effectively access the same lesson content but are supported by various scaffolding techniques.
In language lessons, these may include adult support, question stems, pre-teaching of vocabulary. To enable access to the whole curriculum for every pupil, to cater for the variety of learning styles within each class and to ensure progression and reinforcement of skills and concepts throughout the year groups, we employ a variety of teaching styles to personalise and meet the needs of our learners. We want our pupils to find learning exciting, compelling and meaningful and use a variety of interactive teaching and learning techniques so that they can be motivated and respond successfully to their learning. The techniques of MFL teaching benefit all learners, especially EAL and SEN pupils.
