Intent

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, our French curriculum aims to develop confident, curious and enthusiastic language learners who recognise the value of communicating with people beyond their own language and culture.

French is formally taught throughout Key Stage 2 using the Language Angels programme, providing a progressive and carefully sequenced curriculum that develops pupils’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills alongside their understanding of French language, culture and traditions.

Our intention is to give every child a secure foundation for future language learning. We want pupils to develop the confidence to listen carefully, have a go, make mistakes, practise unfamiliar sounds and communicate increasingly independently in French.

Through learning another language, children develop their understanding of how languages work. They make connections between French and English, identify patterns in vocabulary and grammar and develop an awareness of pronunciation, sentence construction and linguistic structures.

Language learning also provides an important opportunity to broaden children's understanding of the wider world. Pupils learn about France and other French-speaking countries and communities, developing curiosity about different cultures, traditions and ways of life.

As a Catholic school, we recognise the importance of understanding, respecting and celebrating others. Through French, we encourage children to recognise themselves as part of a diverse and interconnected global community, reflecting our mission of Fidelis in Servitio – Faithful in Service.

 

Implementation

French is taught progressively throughout Key Stage 2 using Language Angels, providing a structured sequence through which vocabulary, phonics, grammar and language structures are introduced, practised, revisited and extended over time.

Teaching develops the four key areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, with frequent opportunities for children to hear and use spoken French.

Lessons are interactive and engaging, incorporating songs, games, repetition, conversation, reading activities and written tasks. This provides pupils with repeated exposure to vocabulary and language structures while encouraging active participation and enjoyment.

Listening and Speaking

Children regularly listen to accurate models of spoken French and are encouraged to identify familiar vocabulary, phrases and increasingly detailed information.

Pronunciation is explicitly modelled and practised so that children become increasingly confident in reproducing unfamiliar French sounds. Pupils learn that French pronunciation does not always correspond directly with English spelling and begin to recognise common sound patterns.

Speaking activities develop from repeating individual words and short phrases towards asking and answering questions, expressing opinions and constructing increasingly independent sentences.

Partner work, games, songs, role play and short conversations provide regular opportunities to rehearse spoken language in a supportive environment.

Reading and Writing

Children encounter written French alongside spoken language, progressively developing their ability to recognise vocabulary, understand sentences and extract meaning from short texts.

Pupils are encouraged to use their knowledge of vocabulary, cognates, context and grammatical structures to support understanding.

Writing develops progressively from copying and adapting words and phrases towards constructing increasingly independent sentences and short passages. Children learn to adapt known language structures to communicate their own ideas rather than relying solely upon memorised responses.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Core vocabulary is explicitly taught and regularly revisited so that children build an increasingly secure bank of language.

As pupils progress through Key Stage 2, they develop an understanding of key grammatical concepts including gender, articles, adjective agreement, pronouns, verbs and sentence structure.

Children are encouraged to notice similarities and differences between French and English and to identify patterns within language. This helps pupils develop strategies that can be transferred to future language learning.

Retrieval and repetition are important features of teaching. Previously taught vocabulary and structures are deliberately revisited so that knowledge moves into children's long-term memory and can be applied with increasing independence.

Culture and the Wider World

French teaching extends beyond vocabulary and grammar. Pupils encounter aspects of French and Francophone culture, including traditions, celebrations, geography, food, music and everyday life.

These experiences help children understand that French is a living global language spoken by communities across different parts of the world.

Teaching is inclusive and appropriately adapted so that all pupils can participate. Visual prompts, repetition, gestures, modelling, paired rehearsal and carefully structured tasks provide additional support where required, while opportunities to manipulate language independently provide challenge.

 

Impact

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will have developed a secure foundation in French which prepares them successfully for further language learning at secondary school.

Children will be able to listen to spoken French and recognise familiar words, phrases and increasingly complex sentences. They will be able to respond appropriately and participate in simple conversations using increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation.

Pupils will read and understand familiar French vocabulary and short texts, using their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and context to determine meaning.

In writing, children will be able to construct and adapt sentences to communicate information, ideas and opinions, drawing upon vocabulary and grammatical structures accumulated throughout Key Stage 2.

Pupils will demonstrate an understanding of some of the important structures of the French language and recognise similarities and differences between French and English. Importantly, they will have developed strategies for approaching unfamiliar language rather than being discouraged by it.

Children will demonstrate confidence, curiosity and resilience as language learners. They will understand that making mistakes, listening carefully, repeating unfamiliar sounds and practising regularly are all important parts of learning another language.

They will also leave St Joseph’s with a greater awareness of France and the wider French-speaking world and an appreciation that language provides a valuable way of understanding and connecting with other people and cultures.

Most importantly, our pupils will leave Key Stage 2 believing that learning another language is something they can do. They will have developed the enthusiasm, confidence and foundations necessary to continue their language-learning journey successfully into secondary education and beyond.