Modern Foreign Languages
Vision Statement
At St Edmund’s we want our children and their families to develop positive attitudes to, and respect for, languages and cultures other than their own. We believe that learning a Modern Foreign Language will provide children with a life-long practical skill, and that their language learning at Primary School will provide them with the building blocks for learning many languages at High School.
Through our teaching and learning in French, we aim to foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of how the English language works as they compare it to French. The focus on speaking, listening and practical games and activities which lead into writing encourages a deeper level of engagement and enjoyment for all pupils.
Games, interactive activities, songs and stories all engage pupils in language learning at St Edmund's.
What our pupils say about learning languages at St Edmund's.
Freya: 'Learning Languages will be useful in case we travel to another country.' Samuel: Learning a language will help us to communicate with other people' Sophie: 'It's interesting because we get to learn different words in a different language.' Kian: 'It's amazing because we get to play games and learn songs in another language.' Alessia: 'It's fun and enjoyable.' Lauren: 'It's satisfying learning French because we get to learn new things and we're able to express them to our friends.'
Languages around school
School LKS2
In the spring term, our first focus is 'School'. Pupils have been learning how to say the names of different subjects they learn at school and are beginning to express their likes and dislikes about subjects.
Click here to visit a fantastic website to practice the vocabulary we have been learning.
Watch the story video 'Va-t'en Grand Monstre Vert' by clicking here. Ask your child to tell you some colour words they know in French.
Ourselves LKS2
During the first half term, year 3 and 4 completed their first unit 'Ourselves'. This focused on simple nouns for family members. Children completed the unit by writing a short paragraph to describe their family.
Parent Celebrations
Our Spring Term Parent Celebrations across Key Stage Two focused on what we had been learning in languages.
In UKS2, parents were invited to join their children in a game of school subjects 'Lotto'.
In LKS2 parents and children collaborated to create visual timetables for a week in school. Thank you to all the parents and carers who came along to these very well-attended events.
Christmas Celebrations
Across KS2, we learnt about Christmas in France. Pupils began to describe and compare traditions in their family to traditions in France. They then learnt to describe Christmas decorations using adjectives for size and colour, building up to a creative project where they used their language skills for a practical purpose.
Each week, children listened to a French Christmas song. Click the links below to hear the some of the songs.
L'as tu vu? Have you seen him?
Petit Papa Noel Little Father Christmas
Vive le vent Jingle Bells
Weather UKS2
Year 5 and 6 have been recapping the weather vocabulary they learnt last year. They have been showing off the actions which match each weather sentence. Why not ask them to show you?
School UKS2
Years 5 and 6 are also focusing on the 'L'école' in the spring term. They have mastered the names of the subjects, and are able to express likes and dislikes. Ask your child to tell you about what they have been learning. Challenge them to use the conjunction 'et' to join two ideas.
Pupils also completed a listening exercise, where they had to try and understand what native French speakers were saying about their likes and dislikes when it came to school subjects.
Ourselves UKS2
Year 5 and 6 completed the 'Ourselves' Unit, building on what they had learnt previously to add more details including names of family members.
