At Adderley Primary School we believe that every child should have the opportunity to study a foreign language during their time with us. In an increasing multicultural society, we have a duty to provide our children with an understanding of other cultures and languages. Foreign Languages promote an interest and curiosity about the wider world and a sense of international identity. Languages raise children’s awareness of being global citizens.
Intent
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, who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society.
We aim to provide a creative and balanced curriculum which is consistent and sustainable, and also challenging for more able pupils, raising standards and allowing all children to make the progress they are capable of, including SEND, disadvantaged and Pupil Premium children supporting them appropriately so they can access the full curriculum. We have developed a structured scheme of work in order to provide all children across the school with learning opportunities to develop their linguistic skills and access well planned, differentiated lessons focussed on speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. We provide children with a stimulating environment where they feel confident to be challenged and talk about their learning.
Implementation
The teaching is based on the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages and the New Languages Curriculum. The guidance material has been personalised to suit the needs and abilities of our children and context of the school. New knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before. We use a multi- sensory and kinaesthetic approach to teaching, for example we try to introduce a physical element into games, as we believe this reinforces memorisation. A variety of techniques are used such as body language, games, role- plays and songs or listening to recordings. Flashcards, power points, native speakers and using interactive ICT programmes play a very important role as well. The lessons are entertaining and enjoyable, as we realise that this approach serves to develop a positive attitude towards Foreign Languages learning. Children’s confidence is built through constant praise for any contribution that they make, however tentative. We allow for differentiation by using peer support, setting common tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses, providing resources of different complexities, matched to the ability of the children. Subject leaders work collaboratively to deliver a cross curricular approach to teaching and learning (cross-curricular links with English, Maths, Science, RMSE, Geography, History, PE, Computing, ART).
Language Ambassadors
Representing the school’s diversity ethos, the Language Ambassadors at Adderley Primary School speak different languages and represent various cultures. These pupils undergo a process of selection at the end of which they are allocated various roles across the school. The languages they typically speak are: Urdu, Arabic, Mirpuri, Punjabi, French, Italian, Bengali, Somali, Romani and Romanian.
Learning Foreign Languages at Home
At Adderley Primary School we work in close partnership with parents to support the learning of Foreign Languages outside the classroom and help children improve their Spanish linguistic skills.
Here are some suggestions of resources that parents can use to encourage children to enhance their language learning at home.
Spanish Games https://www.spanish-games.net/
BBC Spanish http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/