Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

‘The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.’ Ludwig Wittgenstein

Why is language learning important for children?

When children learn a new language, they are introduced to customs and values belonging to a different society. This encourages them to think from a new point of view.

Learning a new language reinforces understanding of English, develops confidence and encourages children to solve problems and ask questions.

Intent

The Intent of the teaching of Spanish at All Saints is to inspire curiosity and a love of languages that children will strengthen as they develop and progress through Key Stage 2.

As well as encouraging children to enjoy the experience of learning to communicate in another language, our MFL curriculum also inspires them to develop curiosity and respect for other cultures and lifestyles.

Implementation

They will be taught appropriate balance of spoken and written language. This will lay the foundations for further foreign language teaching at Key Stage 3. Children will be taught to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focused on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary.

Pupils are taught to:

listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including: feminine, masculine forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.

Impact

By the end of Key Stage 2 all pupils should be able to

understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

You will find the MFL Progression of Knowledge Document here. It is a working document and based on advice from the Ensemble Languages Project.

Listening Progression of Knowledge Reading Progression of Knowledge Speaking Progression of Knowledge Writing and Grammar Progression of Knowledge