Modern Foreign Language Subject Leader: Miss E Jacquet
At Whitehill, we teach modern foreign languages to support the understanding of a multi-cultural world.
Intent
At Whitehill Primary School, our intent is to provide engaging, enjoyable, and stimulating French lessons that foster a lifelong curiosity and love for learning languages. We aim to broaden children’s horizons, promote cultural diversity, and develop their appreciation of other cultures. Through our MFL curriculum, children acquire, practise, and apply the core skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, laying a strong foundation for future language learning.
Our curriculum is carefully designed to ensure progressive development of language skills, with children building a growing vocabulary organised around meaningful topics. We follow the Language Angels scheme of work, which provides clear coverage, continuity, and progression across the school, ensuring all pupils are challenged and supported to reach their full potential. All children in Key Stage 2 benefit from regular, high-quality language lessons that are interactive, enjoyable, and immersive.
A variety of teaching strategies are used to promote active engagement and reinforce learning. These include interactive lesson materials, songs, games and karaoke videos to support memory and recall, native speaker recordings to develop accurate pronunciation, differentiated desk-based activities, reading and writing exercises, and classroom displays of key vocabulary. Wherever possible, instructions and classroom language are delivered in French to provide authentic exposure and embed linguistic understanding.
Through quality teaching, assessment for learning, and progressive skill development, pupils develop positive attitudes towards languages and other cultures. They gain a strong understanding of the structure and function of a language and enhance their communication skills across the four key areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Our MFL curriculum equips children to continue their language learning with confidence and enthusiasm as they progress to Key Stage 3 and beyond.
Implementation
At Whitehill, French is taught through a carefully sequenced and progressive curriculum, following the Language Angels scheme of work. Lessons develop the four key skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, while embedding intercultural understanding. Teaching is interactive and immersive, with opportunities for children to hear, repeat, and use French in context. Pupils are exposed to authentic language through songs, stories, dialogues, and native speaker recordings, while classroom instructions are delivered in French wherever possible. Teachers incorporate grammar and vocabulary progressively, revisiting key language structures across units to consolidate learning. Lessons are designed to be engaging, accessible, and challenging, enabling all pupils to develop confidence and fluency in using French.
Impact
The impact of the MFL curriculum is monitored through ongoing teacher assessments and pupil self-assessment, enabling children to understand and track their progress in acquiring French. Assessment occurs informally during lessons and through observation, book and work sampling, and pupil voice activities. Pupils are evaluated on listening, speaking, reading, writing, and intercultural understanding. Teachers assess children against the National Curriculum Programmes of Study to inform future planning and ensure progression from Year 3 to Year 6. Progress data is reported to parents annually, and end-of-KS2 assessments are shared with secondary schools to support continuity in language learning. This approach ensures that children develop positive attitudes towards languages and other cultures, build confidence in using French, and are prepared for future language learning.
Modern Foreign Language in Each Stage
Children develop awareness of different countries and cultures, including basic French vocabulary. They engage with songs, nursery rhymes, stories, and simple phrases, learning to listen attentively, repeat words accurately, and begin basic communication. They explore similarities and differences between France and the UK and develop early reading and writing skills through copying and recognition of familiar words.
Pupils build on their vocabulary and grammar, learning to form simple sentences and questions. They listen to longer passages, understand key words and phrases, and begin to communicate more confidently in French. Reading skills develop through decoding familiar words, and writing incorporates short phrases and simple grammar. Pupils also learn about French culture, daily life, and celebrations.
Children consolidate and expand their language skills, including full verb conjugations, adjectives, possessive forms, and connectives. They engage in more complex conversations, describe topics in greater detail, and write extended texts using a variety of structures. Listening comprehension is developed through exposure to authentic language, and pupils apply their knowledge creatively. Cultural learning is deepened through comparisons of French and British life, geography, and traditions.
Modern Foreign Language Progression
Inclusion & Equal Opportunities
At Whitehill Primary School, we teach a modern foreign language to all children, whatever their ability. A modern foreign language forms part of the school’s commitment to providing a broad and balanced education to all children. Through our modern foreign language teaching, we provide learning opportunities that enable all children to make progress. We do this by setting suitable learning challenges and responding to each child’s different needs.
We strive to ensure that pupils’ attainment is in line with or exceeds their potential when we consider the varied starting points of all our children. The learning challenges and progression grids used to plan and teach MFL ensure that children are accessing work at age related expectations, with regular opportunities to be challenged through higher-level objectives.
Enrichment & Beyond the Classroom
At Whitehill, we encourage parents to inform the school about the languages their children speak. Parents are always welcome to come and read stories in French and other languages. If they have a particular expertise in languages, we will involve a parent in delivery of lessons/clubs or events.