MFL

Curriculum Intent

It is our intent at St Joseph’s to provide all of our children with a high quality education in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), which develops their love of learning about other languages and cultures and helps provide them with an understanding of the world.

We aim to build the children’s ‘cultural capital’ so that they have a knowledge and understanding of the richness and diversity between cultures.

All pupils at St Joseph’s will be expected to achieve their full potential in their foreign language learning (Spanish) – the ultimate aim is that pupils will feel confident engaging in spoken Spanish, develop skills in reading, listening and writing, and know how important languages will be in their future.

We hope that all pupils will develop a genuine interest and curiosity about languages, finding them enjoyable and exciting and show a desire to continue their language learning past KS2.

We believe that learning another language gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.

Curriculum Implementation

Children develop their love of language learning and develop skills throughout their time in KS2 at St Joseph’s.

In our scheme of work – “Language Angels” – the Spanish curriculum has a focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, as well as making children aware of grammatical features of the Spanish language.

Teachers follow the sequence of lessons from this scheme of work adapted to suit our pupils covering a wide variety of topics and themes. Weekly lessons are taught (20 minutes) ensuring progression by building on previous lessons. At the start of each lesson, teachers recap on prior learning – last week and last month. Previous language will be revised, recalled and consolidated whenever possible and appropriate.

Performance is a key part of pupils’ Spanish learning. The opportunities that we plan for this includes singing songs, drama/role play activities and performing rhymes. Our SEND and disadvantaged pupils are supported in the language learning through the use of visuals and support in the classroom. Teachers will adapt planning and resources as necessary to reflect the children’s understanding and their varying needs. Lessons are differentiated providing the appropriate level of support and challenge. Vocabulary is displayed in classroom to serve as a reminder to children.

Curriculum Impact

Our MFL curriculum ensures that all pupils develop key language learning skills set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures.

An action plan has been created by the subject lead to monitor targets we wish to implement across the school. The subject leader will also liaise with all staff across year groups by attending termly year group meetings to discuss strengths and any emerging needs. These meetings also feed in to the triangulation of evidence for the monitoring of Spanish.

The Subject Leader monitors the effectiveness of the language teaching provided throughout the year with termly learning walks, planning checks and pupil interviews. The class teacher will monitor the learning and progression made by pupils across the key stage. Spanish is assessed using the St Joseph’s progression document, which is differentiated by year group. The Spanish lead regularly monitors assessment sheets to ensure all classes are using them. Learning an additional language will offer pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences. It is hoped that children will foster a love of language and a desire to further learning beyond the classroom and in their future.