MFL (Modern Foreign Languages)

Aim

At Wolvercote, we know that the opportunity to experience a different language and culture supports children's speaking & listening and literacy skills in their own language. We aim to provide the opportunity for children to explore a new language and its associated traditions as a way to reflect on their own, as well as developing their interest in learning other languages in the future.  We want children to experience the joy in learning a new language, and be inspired by the opportunities that speaking other languages can bring them in the future.

Teaching and Learning

Children in Years 3-6 learn French. They are taught in weekly sessions that develop vocabulary through speaking and listening, songs, games, and interactive activities.
We make the lessons fun, engaging and practical. Teaching focuses on direct teaching of vocabulary with accurate pronunciation. Lessons are centred around real life topics and cultural traditions, for example festivals and holidays, daily life, shopping and food, colours and animals. Vocabulary is regularly reviewed to support children in remembering it, and themes are revisited in more depth as children move through the school. We encourage children to notice patterns in language and sentence structure, and to see how these are similar or different from their own language.

Equality of Opportunity

At Wolvercote we are lucky to welcome children and families from a wide range of cultural backgrounds with many languages spoken. Children's home languages are celebrated and we make reference to these through MFL teaching, encouraging children to explain similarities and differences with French. Those for whom French is a home language are encouraged to be 'experts' in class lessons, with challenges to extend their written skills if their spoken language skills are well embedded.

As well as offering French lessons in curriculum time, we know that there is interest from our community in a wider range of languages. We offer some lunchtime and after school clubs; past clubs have included Latin, Spanish and Mandarin.