Springbank Primary School

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1 Springbank Primary School Our whole school vision is: Springbank Primary is a place where all of our children and staff will have the opportunity to excel. Everyone will be safe, happy and cared for. Our curriculum and values will inspire everyone in the school family to be motivated and curious learners and offer core skills, knowledge and enrichment to enable all to gain the foundations for a quality future and a love for life-long learning. In all we do we remember our school motto: Caring-Happy-Healthy-Sporty School Values Sportsmanship-Tolerance- Appreciation- Respect-Friendship-Integrity-Sensitivity-Helpfulness Foreign Languages Policy Springbank Primary School is committed to equal opportunities for all. It is our aim that every policy is written to have a positive impact on every child/all children irrespective of race; religion; gender; sexual orientation or age. Springbank = success for all There is a key that unlocks every child s learning, our job is to find that key. Policy Lead: Emma Walters Link Governor: Claire Carroll Strategic Business Committee Every staff member and governor must take the responsibility and accountability to ensure the procedures within this policy are delivered and implemented as per Springbank School Policy.

2 Foreign Languages Policy (MFL) September 2016 Vision At Springbank Primary School we believe that learning a Foreign Language is an entitlement for all. The enjoyment of speaking another language will be offered to all children whatever their ability, disability or special need, so that they can become a global citizen and build their respect for other cultures. We feel that speaking, reading and writing in a foreign language gives a secure foundation for all children to become secondary ready and for the use of foreign languages in later life. Our main objective in the teaching of a foreign language is to promote the early development of linguistic competence and for equipping children with the knowledge to continue their studies to a higher level. To accomplish this we aim to enable all children to: Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources. Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity; find 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. Teaching and Learning Style We recognise that learning a language through listening, speaking and interaction enables children to: learn about language (using literacy, i.e. reading and writing in the foreign language) learn about and compare different cultures (inter-cultural understanding). Develop a confidence that will allow them to further their understanding. We base the teaching on the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages from the National Curriculum for England. We plan and deliver the teaching and learning through our adopted Inspire Curriculum. We use the Inspire Curriculum for both Spanish and French which enables cross-curricular learning and more in-depth coverage of written and spoken language.

3 We emphasise the listening and speaking skills early on, as we believe that these are fundamental to the development of the reading and writing skills. We also use a multi-sensory and kinaesthetic approach to teaching, i.e. we try to introduce a physical element into some of the games, as we believe that this serves to reinforce memory. When possible, we incorporate Makaton signs when introducing new vocabulary. A variety of techniques are used: Games, role-play, songs and rhyme (particularly action songs) reinforce new vocabulary, alongside mime and drama. Puppets and soft toys support engagement and help teachers demonstrate the foreign language. Listening to recordings and using interactive computing programmes support the development of fluency and intonation. We make the lessons as entertaining and enjoyable as possible, as we realise that this approach serves to develop a positive attitude in the children to the learning of foreign languages. We build children's confidence through constant praise for any contribution that they make in the foreign language, however tentative. We allow for differentiation by: Peer support/partner teaching. Setting common tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses or no right answer. Providing resources of different complexities matched to the ability and needs of the child. We assess the children s progress informally during the lessons, evaluating progress against the learning objectives of the Inspire Curriculum. The Curriculum French and Spanish are the foreign languages that we teach. The curriculum that we follow is in line with the New National Curriculum for England Guidance for MFL at Key Stage 2. The adopted Inspire Curriculum provides practitioners and teachers with detailed planning and resources so that children are able to receive the best possible provision. Inspire planning ensures the children know and understand how to: Ask and answer questions. Use correct pronunciation and intonation. Memorise words (sometimes Makaton signs are used as an aid). Interpret meaning. Understand basic grammar.

4 Work in pairs and groups to communicate. Look at life in another culture. Organisation We teach French to children from Foundation 1 up to Year 2 and then year 5 and 6. We encourage children in Years 3 and 4 to develop their knowledge in Spanish. These subjects are taught at the feeder Secondary Schools. It is intensively taught for 30 minutes to introduce the new vocabulary for that week and then this is practised each day for 10 minutes. The Contribution of Foreign Languages to Teaching in Other Curriculum Areas English The learning of a foreign language naturally contributes to the development of our children's listening and speaking skills. It also develops the children's grasp of linguistic features such as rhyme, rhythm, stress and intonation, helps them understand the concept of register (as required for the French tu/vous distinction), and emphasises the importance of knowing the role of different word types in sentence structure. Mathematics Children reinforce their time-telling skills by playing time-related games in the foreign language. We play number games, too, that reinforce their counting and calculation skills. Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship One of the main benefits to the children of learning a foreign language at primary school level is a social one. Those children who have difficulty in reading and writing, but who have good aural skills, will often find that they excel at speaking in a foreign language. This success breeds confidence, which in turn increases self-esteem and gives them a more positive attitude to school in general. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education By teaching a foreign language, we contribute to the children's cultural education. They learn that many societies are multi-lingual. We teach them about festivals and customs related to the countries in which the language is spoken.

5 Geography Children make use of maps or a globe identify countries where the language is used. Foreign Language pupils likewise learn about the weather of the countries in which the language is spoken. Music We teach children songs in the foreign language both traditional and modern which of course helps them develop a sense of rhythm and an ear for melody. We also play them classical music by composers from the countries in question (e.g. Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals ). Science Children reinforce their knowledge of parts of the body through related games, such as a French version of 'Simon Says', or 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes', or through related songs, such as the French-Canadian song 'Alouette'. The Inspire Curriculum also focuses heavily on creating a cross-curricular link between Foreign Languages and Science. PE Many of the games we use to teach children foreign languages are very physically active games that require fast reactions, e.g. French versions of 'Simon Says'. Computing We encourage the children to use a variety of interactive programmes, such as BBC French to consolidate and over learn the vocabulary. Foreign Languages and Inclusion We teach a foreign language to all children, whatever their ability or disability, ethnicity or culture. A foreign language forms part of the school curriculum policy in which we twin to provide a broad balanced and enriched curriculum for all children. Assessment for Learning Through foreign language teaching, we provide learning opportunities and assessment tasks that enable all pupils to make progress. We do this by setting suitable learning challenges and responding to each child's different needs. We track progress using the Inspire Stepping Stones so that we can challenge children and consolidate and return to learning for practice where there are skill gaps.

6 Resources We are currently working together as a team to add to and develop the Springbank resources for Foreign Languages. Role of the Foreign Languages Co-ordinator Responsible for the day to day operation of the Foreign Languages Policy. Co-ordinate and plan the Foreign Languages curriculum. Support colleagues in their knowledge and understanding of Foreign Languages teaching. Monitor the outcomes and impact of teaching through observations and work scrutiny. The Foreign Languages co-ordinator will also: seek to enthuse the staff and children and promote high achievements liaise with the local Secondary School, so that we are aware of the foreign language experience of our children when they move to the next phase of their education. Monitoring and Review This Policy is reviewed on an annual basis as part of our ongoing Curriculum Monitoring programme, unless national initiatives deem it necessary to review it earlier. Governor s work alongside Appendix 1 ASPIRE overview French, Appendix 2 ASPIRE overview Spanish. The subject leader and Senior Leaders ensure the policy is being followed to successfully deliver the planned outcomes.