Foreign Languages Policy
‘ Every child should have the opportunity throughout Key Stage 2 to study a foreign language and develop their interest in the culture of other nations.’
DfES Languages for All: Languages for life, 2005
“Learning a language enriches the curriculum. It provides excitement, enjoyment and challenge for children and teachers, helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life. The natural links between languages and other areas of the curriculum can enhance the overall teaching and learning experience. The skills, knowledge and understanding gained can make a major contribution to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture/s and those of others.”
DfES The Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages, 2005
Overview
Year 3
Level 1 aims for pupils to reflect upon a variety of languages and the people who speak them. They learn to identify languages in written and spoken form and look at differences and similarities across languages. They start to pronounce individual words and copy words accurately.
Year 4
Level 2 aims for pupils to build on the skills learned in Level 1. There is more emphasis on sentence work. The focus is on progression and on developing the skills of language recognition and investigative skills. Pupils learn to recognise four languages in their spoken and written forms. They start to pronounce copy phrases accurately.
Year 5
Level 3 will focus on a discrete language: Spanish. The focus is on a constant drip-feed of language used in everyday classroom routines alongside the delivery of discrete language lessons. Pupils learn to recognise patterns in the discrete language and learn to build words, phrases and sentences. Pupils enhance their skills in oracy, literacy and intercultural understanding using the language learning strategies learned in Level 1 and 2.
Year 6
Level 4 will focus on a discrete language delivered to ease pupils’ transition between primary and secondary. This will enhance pupils’ word, phrase and sentence knowledge from Level 3. Pupils will also be exposed to different tenses and language structures.
Spanish Club
Optional Friday afternoon Spanish club will provide pupils with a range of language learning strategies and help them to develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in a range of practical contexts. This wide ranging provision reflects the wide ranging needs of children from different year groups. This approach will enable pupils from Year 2 all the way up to Year 6 to prepare for their language learning journey and consolidate their skills.
Teaching and learning Primary Languages at Broad Heath
Principles
Languages are given real-life contexts and children develop an understanding of the countries where languages come from. This is achieved through School trips, and cross-curricular links with topics and project weeks. In class, Languages will be provided by class teachers in a discrete Foreign Languages session. Spanish is the discrete language taught in the school, particularly in Years 5 and 6. ICT is closely integrated into languages and there are a number of programs and CD-roms in the school being used.
Delivery
FS/KS1 Drip feeding languages linked to the curriculum, for example during Around the World project week. Year 2 will also use the World Wide Wanderers material from the LA.
Key stage 2
Year 3 The curriculum will introduce pupils to language learning working with the Coventry model Level 1.
Year 4 The curriculum will continue to introduce pupils to language learning, working with the Coventry model Level 2.
Year 5 The curriculum will introduce children to learning the discrete language Spanish, using the Early Start Level 1 material.
Year 6 The curriculum will continue to support the learning of Spanish, using the Early Start Level 2 materials
Planning and progression
Currently the LA model of Investigating Languages is being delivered by staff in Years 3 and 4 and the teachers use this for their planning. Years 5 and 6 use the ‘Early Start – Spanish’ to plan. Year 2 will be following the World Wide Wanderers material during the Summer term. This year, half termly outcomes are being introduced from Year 3 up to Year 6 to ensure teachers have the correct tools to help them assess pupils’ progress and make clear judgements.
Staff Development
The Foreign Languages co-ordinator is attending a Leadership and Management course in order to prepare for the challenges of the new curriculum in 2014. The co-ordinator is also part of a cluster of schools and has regular meetings with other Foreign Language leaders to share best practice.
Staff insets will be conducted so staff members are able to use the termly outcomes effectively. They will also be used to prepare staff for new initiatives relating to the new curriculum.