Christ Church C of E Primary School, Clifton
Modern Foreign Language
At Christ Church School, we value the importance of learning languages because we are a multicultural school and welcome children from all over the world.
We offer weekly lessons of French from Reception to Year 6 delivered by Ms Maurier, a native French speaker and experienced qualified Languages teacher. The children have the opportunities to develop their language skills and knowledge (listening, speaking, reading, writing, phonics, grammar, memorisation of vocabulary, use of dictionary) and their cultural understanding of France and French-speaking countries, to include learning about different traditions. For example, in January we celebrate Epiphany with a French pie called Galette des rois which is shared by all the children in the school.
The teaching of Reception to Year 2 is done through songs, stories and games. The young children enjoy learning French nursery rhymes and can retell stories with actions. For example: La Petite Poule Rousse (the Little Red Hen).
At Christ Church School, we believe in creating strong cross-curricular links. For example: DT (cooking), PE, Maths, Geography, Art and Music lessons delivered in French are particularly appreciated by the children. The KS2 French choir is also very popular.
For KS2, we follow the Rachel Hawkes scheme of work. Pronunciation, memory, pattern finding, sentence building, autonomy, performance and creativity are at the heart of these resources. They also develop language skills in a different context. For example, in Year 3, the children study the work of Matisse and in Year 6, children study a film set in Senegal and learn the key French vocabulary.
Through the delivery of fun lessons with the medium of authentic poems, art works, stories and film, children become engaged language learners. They understand the significance to communicate in another language. Learning a new language enables them to express ideas and thoughts in another language and it deepens their understanding of the world.
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