MFL Statement of Intent for CMS

At Chantry Middle School we believe that all pupils can, and should, be given the opportunity to learn a foreign language.  Our aim is to foster in our pupils the same passion and enthusiasm for learning languages that our staff convey in their teaching.  We believe learning languages should be fun and we provide interactive learning experiences which are supported by high quality bespoke materials.  Our promotion of a “have a go” attitude helps build resilience and resourcefulness in our pupils as they develop their understanding of how the French and Spanish languages work.

The French curriculum in Key Stage 2 focuses primarily on the core skills of speaking and listening so that pupils can wholy immerse themselves in being active participants of lessons.  Reading and writing skills are introduced from Year 5. These then become fully embedded in greater depth in Key Stage 3 as pupils learn to manipulate language in order to become more confident, creative, curious and independent linguists. Through our cyclical approach with the curriculum, pupils are able to revisit topics to help build a growing bank of vocabulary and structures.   Exercise books develop into a resource that can be used for revision and consolidation. 

By the time pupils leave Chantry, we hope that they all see the importance and meaningfulness of learning a language, and take advantage of the opportunities that it opens up to them.  Overall, we want them to value, enjoy and be proud of their French and Spanish experiences and accomplishments at Chantry and continue with their language journeys in High School and beyond.

Curriculum across the year

Pupils receive 1 hr of French per week in years 5 and 6, which then increases to 2 hrs in KS3.  In years 7 and 8 pupils learn Spanish for 1 hour a week  in addition to their French.

Their eagerness for the second language works in tandem with the solid foundations built from their French learning as they discover how the two languages complement one another.

Key Components
Key Components

 

MFL Key Components – French

Year 5	Autumn	To be able to have a conversation in French giving key personal information Grammar common phonemes and accents which affect pronunciation
	Spring	To be able to use everyday classroom language and continue to communicate personal information.  Grammar to understand how nouns become plural to become familiar with articles to use negative structures to understand where adjectives go in the sentence
	Summer	To be able carry out a conversation in a cafe

 

Year 6	Autumn	To be able to give information about your pets Grammar The verbs avoir and etre in the present tense Adjectival agreements and positioning of adjectives to become aware of 3rd person plural Opinions to express likes and dislikes and justifying opinions Present tense of regular er verbs
	Spring	To be able to give information to describe your family  Grammar to become familiar with possessive adjectives to use simple negative structures to use adjectival agreements to use simple être and avoir conjugations to use comparative adjectives
	Summer	To be able to give information about where you live Grammar to use prepositions to use 1st and 3rd person verbs in the present tense

 

Year 7	Autumn	To learn about the culture and popularity of BD/manga amongst les ados francophones to use regular and irregular adjectival agreements to use the verbs avoir/ être to develop and refine active listening skills
	Spring	To be able to describe your school day Grammar Present tense of regular verbs Adjectival agreements
	Summer	To be able to describe your free time activities Grammar  the verb jouer in the present tense Negatives structures the verb faire in the present tense  time phrases

 

Year 8	Autumn	To describe your house and home Grammar possessive adjectives Adjectival agreement and positioning present tense of regular er verbs partitive articles The verbs manger and boire
	Spring	To describe the town where you live Grammar Il y a and il n’y a pas de the verb aller with all pronouns the verb vouloir + infinitive tu and vous forms of present tense verbs the near future tense
	Summer	To describe your holidays in the past tense Grammar avoir and être in the present tense perfect tense of er verbs irregular verbs in the perfect tense using être in the perfect tense with aller

MFL Curriculum Overview  – Spanish

Year 7	Autumn	To be able to use Spanish to have a conversation giving personal details and for high frequency classroom language Grammar to develop understanding of common Spanish phonemes articles, plurals, quantity adjectives, negative structures to use the verbs llamarse, tener and vivir  possessive adjectives and pronouns
	Spring	To be able to discuss your personal likes and dislikes Grammar to give positive and negative opinions using connectives to use the verb tener
	Summer	To describe your family Grammar to use adjectival agreement to use the verb ser to use negative structures with intensifiers to use comparative phrases

 

Year 8	Autumn	To describe your family and pets Grammar adjectival agreement to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense
	Spring	To be able to describe a photo Grammar to use the verbs tener and ser to use the verb estar for temporary states estar with locations to use prepositions
	Summer	To give details about a typical week Grammar to use the verb ir to use the simple future

Websites 

• Active Learn login – username and password given by your class teacher
  
• Languages online – for grammar practice
• BBC Bitesize
• Quizlet – pupils can create an online account to practise vocab
• Kahoot – pupils can create an online account to practise vocab
• MFL games
• Online French games

Homework
Homework tasks in MFL will range from vocabulary learning, online skills tasks using Active Learn, research into the target language country, pronunciation practice and creative writing tasks.

Helpful resources for learning 

• KS3 vocab booklet 
• These will also be available in your child’s google classroom 

 

Parent Info – Top tips for helping your child learn vocabulary:

Read and repeat the words with your child

Repeat the words with a rhythm, a chant or a song.

Create memory cards together

Do a mind map or a spider diagram.

Use “look, copy, cover, check”.

Test them, French to English and English to French.

Make up a silly connection to remember words.

Use a connection to English or another language you may know.

 

Assessments 

Pupils will receive ongoing teacher feedback to support their learning and will be assessed in the 4 skills of listening, s[ekaing reading and writing. In addition to this they will have regular vocabulary tests of new and prior language and translation tasks from and into the target language,