Modern Foreign Languages – French

At Woodthorpe, we nurture a love of language learning so that the ability to understand, speak, read and write in a language other than English becomes a skill for life. Our ambitious French curriculum challenges children not only to acquire and recall new vocabulary but also to understand new grammatical structures and concepts. 

We strongly believe that learning a foreign language encourages children to appreciate different cultures and ways of life as well as make connections between French speaking countries around the world. This knowledge enhances their future prospects and social mobility as well as promoting kindness and respect throughout their childhood and beyond. 

Children in Key Stage 2 receive a weekly French lesson which focuses on the key skills of language comprehension (listening and reading) and language production (speaking and writing) while celebrating cultural awareness throughout.

Our French curriculum is based on the published scheme on Kapow and builds upon the National Curriculum through three main knowledge strands: 

1. Phonics
2. Grammar
3. Vocabulary 

These strands are revisited year on year, as pupils progressively build upon their skills and knowledge in greater depth.

We strive to enhance our French curriculum at Woodthorpe to give children a platform from which to share and celebrate their foreign language skills. In Year 5, all pupils attend a French Café Day at York High School to create and decorate their very own French food stall. Children learn conversational phrases in French which they use to serve parents and other pupils at their French ‘market’. This experience helps the children to grow in confidence and gives them an invaluable insight into French language learning at secondary school.

Progression of knowledge and skills