Modern Foreign Language Subject Leader: Mrs Green
At Cliffe Woods, we teach modern foreign languages to support the understanding of a multicultural world.
Intent
In our MFL curriculum, we strive to enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in the German language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. In line with the 2014 National Curriculum for MFL, our aim is to provide a high-quality language education which equips children to use aspects of the German language confidently and be inspired to engage with languages enthusiastically when leaving for secondary education.
We aim to:
- Provide an opening to other cultures
- Foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world
- Provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes
- Learn new ways of thinking
- Equip pupils to study and work in other countries.
In this way they will:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written language
- Speak in the target language with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity
- Find ways of communicating what they want to say
- Continually improve the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
- Write at varying lengths
- Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
Implementation
German is taught weekly in all KS2 classes. Over the year, children will progress in the four areas (reading, writing, speaking and listening) as well as be taught German grammar and German culture.
The areas of learnings covered through topics of work will include:
- Listening attentively to spoken language and showing understanding by joining in and responding
- Explore the patterns and sounds and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
- Speaking in sentences and engaging in conversations.
- Developing accurate pronunciation and intonation.
- Reading carefully and showing understanding.
- Writing phrases from memory.
- Broadening vocabulary and developing an ability to understand new words that are introduced.
- Understanding basic grammar
These will underpin the lessons we deliver. Opportunities will be taken to positively promote equality and diversity. In addition, a German afternoon to immerse children culturally will take place over the year which will help inspire them and help them to flourish on their learning journey of languages.
Impact
Our approach to the curriculum results in a fun, engaging, and high-quality language education which also equips the children to cope better with the expectations of this subject after primary school and indeed overall language in further education and future workplaces. The skills we teach should enable them to have knowledge of German and provide a platform to build from enabling them to pursue a wide range of interests and vocations in the next stage of their lives.
The quality of children’s learning is evident in their books and evidence activities across the school. Evidence such as this is used to feed into teachers’ future planning, and misconceptions and knowledge gaps in languages can be retaught either when teaching other curriculum areas through cross-curricular links or the following year when previous topics are revisited at a higher level. This supports varied paces of learning and ensures all pupils make good progress.
Modern Foreign Language in Each Stage
Although modern foreign languages are not taught in formal lessons before Key Stage 2, we believe early exposure to a range of languages provides children with an opening to other cultures and the opportunity to widen their vocabulary.
Our pupils explore foreign languages in an informal sense as they learn simple greetings and common phrases, along with some of the culture and customs of the country the language originates from. They have the opportunity to attend language clubs such as Spanish, German or Mandarin, exploring things such as the traditional food of the country and typical celebrations. This helps our pupils to appreciate and learn about cultures and communities other than their own, preparing them for life in our diverse country.
In Key Stage 2, the children study the German language. They learn a range of spoken phrases and passages, including numbers, colours, animals, clothing, body parts and food. They have opportunities to develop their growing vocabulary through the practice of asking and answering questions along with discussing their interests.
In German lessons, children work on reading and understanding short passages or texts written in German and writing short sentences from memory.
Pupils find out more about life in Germany by studying typical German culture and customs. They explore events such as Epiphany, Karneval and celebrations such as birthdays, along with learning about everyday life and making comparisons between this country and where they live.
Modern Foreign Language Progression
SEND Information
We aspire to ensure that SEND and disadvantaged children are given the necessary support in class to fully access the learning of German and embrace the culture in German-speaking countries.
Modern Foreign Language Extra Resources
For remote learning, please visit our remote learning page or contact our Head of MFL for more information.