French

We believe that learning to communicate confidently in other languages prepares us to be better worldwide neighbours.

Key Purpose & Intention

Key Purpose of French

Foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.
Enable pupils to express ideas and thoughts through spoken and written French.
Learn to communicate on a practical level and experience French literature and culture.
Equip pupils with foundations of language learning for future education and life beyond school.
Develop relationships with ourselves, others, the world, and God & beyond.

Our Curriculum Intent

We teach Key Stage 2 pupils French to provide the best foundational skills for continuing language education at local secondary schools. Using the Language Angels scheme, we aim to:

Inspire curiosity and explore connections between language and identity.
Develop the four key skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing alongside age-appropriate grammar.
Teach independent research skills using bilingual dictionaries and reference materials.

Core Concept & Foundational Skills

Threshold Concepts: Speak Confidently, Read Fluently, Write Imaginatively, Understand the Culture.

Pillars / Skills	Progression & Golden Threads Specific to French
Phonics	1. ch, ou, on, oi 2. i, in, ique, ille 3. eau, eux, é, è, e 4. qu, gne, ç, en, an
Grammar	• Lower Primary: Noun gender, basic articles, and first-person singular high-frequency verbs (e.g., ‘I like…’, ‘I play…’). • Middle Primary: Indefinite/partitive articles, simple adjectival agreement (nationalities), negative forms, and possessive adjectives. • Upper Primary: Full verb conjugation (regular and irregular: to go, to do, to have, to be), complex adjectival agreement, connectives, and expressing preferences with justifications.
Listening	Listen to short stories/songs → Pick out key words in longer passages → Use decoding skills on unfamiliar language → Gist listen to authentic foreign language text.
Speaking	Use simple words/phrases → Ask/answer questions with negatives → Recall wider vocabulary spontaneously → Recycle language spontaneously in short conversations with opinions.
Reading	Read familiar short words → Read short passages aloud with accurate phonics → Decode longer text using context/cognates → Tackle unknown text using dictionaries and phonics knowledge.
Writing	Write words/phrases using models → Write short phrases using connectives → Write structured paragraphs with adjectival agreement → Produce adapted texts using full verb conjugations.

Practicing & Embedding Foundational Skills

Area	Opportunities to Practise & Embed Secure Skills
Communication & Language (CLL)	Active listening, repeated oral rehearsal, and vocabulary extensions looking closely at word morphology.
Executive Function	Shifting self-organisation skills flexibly between listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks.
Reading	French phonics reinforces sound-spelling relationships, silent letters, and accents to sharpen overall decoding skills transferable to English.
Writing	Applying handwriting, translating phonics to text, constructing grammatically accurate sentences, and applying word-class understanding.

Progression: Early Years (Reception Prerequisite Skills)

Foundational Outcomes for Language Learning (Taught formally from Year 3)

Listening & Speaking: Listen attentively, hold back-and-forth conversations, express ideas using recently introduced vocabulary and full sentences.
Literacy & Writing: Retell narratives, write recognizable letters, identify sounds in words, and construct simple phrases.
Culture & World: Explain similarities and differences between life in this country and other countries through stories, non-fiction, and maps.

Key Stage 2 Overview for French

Developed from the National Curriculum & Language Angels

Stage / Cycle	Autumn	Spring	Summer
LKS2 A (2026/27)	Phonics 1 & 2 • J’apprends le français (I Am Learning French)	Les animaux (Animals)	Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood)
LKS2 B (2025/26)	Phonics 1 & 2 Recap • Les fruits (Fruit)	Les glaces (Ice-Creams)	Je peux… (I Am Able…)
UKS2 A (2026/27)	Phonics 3 & 4 • The Date	Clothes	At School
UKS2 B (2025/26)	Phonics 3 & 4 • Family	What is the weather?	At the Tea Room

Ensuring Inclusive Practice

In addition to standard Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision, these specific adaptations ensure success for all in French lessons.

Broad Area of Need	Specific Barriers	Planned Adaptations
Communication & Interaction	• Expressive language • Receptive language • Social communication	• Provide word banks, sentence starters, and alternative recording methods (pointing, recording speech). • Dual Coding: Pair spoken words with visual aids, dual-coding cards, physical gestures, or written key points. • Structured group roles, explicit social routines, and clear explanation of non-literal phrasing.
Cognition & Learning	• Working memory • Executive functioning • Dyslexia / Literacy • Aphantasia	• Mini flashcards, desk reference sheets, and multisensory retrieval practice. • Visual timers and advance activity transition warnings. • Dyslexia-friendly fonts, fill-in-the-blank sheets, audio supports, and explicit phonics instruction. • Direct visual aids (realia, physical objects) rather than relying on mental imagination.
Sensory & Physical	• Visual Impairment (VI) • Hearing Impairment (HI) • Sensory Overload (Autism/SPD) • Fine Motor Coordination (Dyspraxia/DCD)	• Screen magnification, close seating, and verbal description of all board visuals. • Subtitled media, visual prompts alongside listening, and facing the class directly. • Noise-cancelling headphones, reduced visual clutter, and structured routines. • Pre-printed worksheets, fill-in-the-blank options, and widened line spacing.
SEMH	• Anxiety & Perfectionism • Impulse Control	• Normalise errors as learning opportunities; offer tiered choice-based tasks. • Manageable chunks of work with predictable support to prevent frustration.