Witheridge CofE Academy Vision for MFL

‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.’                                                                                                                                                                                       Nelson Mandela

Vision

At Witheridge CofE Academy we develop the MFL skills and confidence of our children so they consider themselves as 'World Citizens' who belong in a multicultural, mutually respectful world.

Intent

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to study a modern foreign language during their time with us. Learning a language like French promotes interest and curiosity about the wider world and a sense of international identity. We believe that languages raise children’s awareness of being global citizens. Our aims of Foreign Language education are to enable all children to develop an enthusiasm for learning languages and to become aware of the benefits of:

• Understanding and speaking different languages;
• Communicating in other languages by speaking and listening, reading and writing;
• Respecting and understanding other cultures, heritage and multilingualism;
• Becoming involved in global learning and the international dimension of the school through the development of links with other countries;
• Being responsible global citizens who are well prepared for education, life and work.

Implementation

Our children are taught in weekly sessions. Teachers also find opportunities to enrich the children’s understanding through additional activities in class like singing and stories. Our school follows a scheme which has been devised by a group of language specialists from Devon and which it tailored to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum.

As we acknowledge children’s different learning styles, our children learn through active participation in actions, rhymes, stories, songs, grammar focus, video clips, sentence structure, dictionary work, bookmaking and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills. 

Impact

The intended impact of the MFL Curriculum is that the majority of children in each year group are working at or above the expected level for their age. (At the end of each unit, the teacher will carry out assessment linked to the progression in skills document)

In addition, it is the intended impact that the children:

• are inspired by the MFL Curriculum and want to learn more.
• show the progression in their skills, knowledge and understanding in the work in their books.
• can discuss their learning and remember what they have learnt.
• learn about the country France and what it is like to live in this country.