The importance of Foreign Languages at Well Green

Foreign language education in primary schools is crucial for several reasons, benefiting children both academically and socially. Learning a foreign language at a young age helps improve cognitive skills, boosts problem-solving abilities, and enhances creativity. It also promotes cultural awareness, empathy, and global citizenship, essential qualities in today’s interconnected world.

One of the key benefits of foreign language education in early childhood is the ability to develop better communication skills. Children who learn a second language can more easily adapt to different cultural contexts, enhancing their ability to connect with others from diverse backgrounds. Moreover, foreign language study strengthens their native language, as they become more aware of linguistic structures and vocabulary.

As the renowned linguist Noam Chomsky once said:
"The monolingual person is an artificial creation of society, rather than a natural phenomenon."
This quote underscores the idea that being multilingual is a natural and essential skill in a globalized society. Chomsky’s view highlights the value of multilingualism as a key to expanding one’s understanding of the world and navigating a variety of social and cultural contexts.

In summary, we believe that foreign language education at Well Green Primary school opens up doors to cognitive, social, and emotional development, preparing children to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world.

Intent: 

The 2014 National Curriculum for Foreign Languages aims to ensure that all children:
• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
• Are able to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and that they are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Can write at varying lengths, 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.
 

At Well Green Primary School, these skills are embedded within French lessons and developed consistently throughout Key Stage 2. We aim for French lessons to be enjoyable in order that confidence is built in the four areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing. We aim to provide practical language skills that children can use throughout their lives. We also aim to foster a curiosity about other countries and cultures, linked to the language work itself.

Implementation:

Children are introduced to French from Year 1, which enables children to develop early language acquisition skills that facilitate their understanding of the patterns of language and how these differ from, or are similar to, English. Children have a weekly French lesson throughout Key Stage two. In Key Stage 1, children begin to understand French through listening and speaking activities, this forms the basis of their early knowledge of the language.

Lessons across the Key Stage 2 support the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing:
• Children are taught to listen attentively to spoken language and respond, joining in with songs, rhymes and games.
• Links have been made with a local secondary school and children have the opportunity to visit for language-related events.
• Curriculum content is delivered by teachers, as well as by our native French speaking Foreign Language Assistant.
• Children often learn French songs for our various school performances.
• We follow the Kapow scheme of work for French.

Impact:

Our foreign languages curriculum ensures that children develop their knowledge and confidence as they progress through school. Our emphasis on encouraging a Growth Mindset in all children enables them to ‘have a go’ when speaking French, without fear of embarrassment. Children have a positive opinion of French, due to the fun and active nature of the lessons that we provide. Children leave Well Green fully prepared for their language studies at secondary school.