Intent
Our main intent in teaching French is to encourage a love of learning languages and to empower our pupils with the confidence and knowledge to inspire them to visit France and other countries. We want our pupils to be curious about the origins of words, to identify similarities and differences between English and French and to use this knowledge to improve their own levels of literacy. We want to instil in our pupils the confidence to communicate in another language without the fear of making mistakes and to reflect on the differences in traditions, language and culture between France and the UK.
Our curriculum in KS2 and KS3 is topic-based and linked to the themes in the syllabus at Key Stage 4. We do this so that the vocabulary is not only being regularly re-visited, but that it is being built on each time. For example, in KS2, pupils learn the vocabulary for colours in French. They also learn the term cognates, can recognise cognate colours and are introduced to the noun + adjective placement (e.g. un chien blanc). At KS3, pupils use their knowledge of adjectival placement to create longer sentences. They also learn that certain adjectives do not follow this rule and are placed before nouns and that adjectival endings must agree with the gender of the noun.