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St Michael's Middle School

St Michael's Middle School

French

 

French at St. Michael's

Children start learning French in Year 5 and study a variety of topics. Different teaching methods are used and opportunities are created for pupils to find out about France as well as learn the language. Lessons are based on promoting a calm, safe, yet fun learning environment where good effort and achievement is recognised and rewarded. Lessons are always carefully planned to cater for all abilities.  
Teaching in French is based upon the four key skills in languages: they are listening, speaking, reading and writing. During lessons children will also develop many skills such as strong collaborative skills when working with the others in pair work, group work or whole class activities and the ability to communicate effectively with others. They will develop excellent problem solving skills when faced with new language and will be challenged and pushed to become confident French linguists.
 Children in Year 8 are encouraged to take part in the French Residential, to increase confidence and progress in their language learning.

Vision for Learners at St Michael’s CE Middle School

‘Each child, uniquely made in God’s image, merits the best that we can give’.   

  

Our sense of purpose begins with the statement above, rooted in the highest possible understanding of young people and all their God-given potential. All that we do flows from this including our core values of Aspiration, Belief and Creativity: St Michael’s ABC.   

Our pupil’s join St Michael’s at a crucial stage of transition from childhood to early adulthood. We support them through this journey in three key ways. Firstly, by inspiring them to aim high in all areas of schooling and personal development. Secondly we coach pupils to sustain belief in all situations and challenges. Finally, we actively seek ways to for all pupils to explore and nurture their creativity.  

Subject Statement  

At St Michael`s we aim to develop a genuine love of language, sparking a curiosity in the wider world and instilling a tolerance and broader cultural understanding.  We seek to nurture enthusiastic and confident independent language learners who are able to apply their language learning strategies to other languages at their Upper school and beyond, in preparation for their future roles as global citizens.  At the same time, we deepen our pupils` understanding and awareness of their own language, reinforcing literacy skills at word and sentence level.  As a department, we are committed to creating a fun, stimulating and challenging learning environment where all children are engaged and where thorough planning and assessment lie at the heart of attainment; and where regular and consistent marking, which clearly signposts next steps, is key to progression.  

Core Values  

French builds ASPIRATION by:  

French builds BELIEF by:

French builds CREATIVITY by:  
  • exposing children to challenging and thought provoking content.  
  • celebrating success, however

small. (Pupils will have the opportunity to take part in French assemblies, modelling and displaying new ideas to inspire and engage their peers.) 

  • offering a year 8 French trip, which provides pupils with an authentic context for their learning and reinforces positive reasons to further develop their second language.  
  • listening to their teachers, speaking in French to each other and to French native speakers, modelling correct language usage and thus encouraging them further with their studies.  

   

  

  

  
  • celebrating success and individuality and consistently rewarding oral contribution. 
  • encouraging risk taking - making mistakes regarded as an integral part of the language-learning process.  
  • providing regular opportunities for children of all abilities to release their creative energy through performance in the language.
  • building self-belief through praise and positive reinforcement.  
  • developing collaborative skills and celebrating team success, 

(working in groups, pupils support

each other when presenting their work in French.)  

  • developing a commitment to the future of the subject through discussion about possible careers, where the ability to communicate in a second language presents a competitive and practical advantage. 
  • using challenging and open-ended activities where all learning styles are engaged and where creative and original responses are celebrated and encouraged. 
  • by acknowledging that the use of creative resources embedded in creative planning stimulates a creative response.  
  • by exposing pupils to a broad range of rich authentic resources (from KS2 stories, songs and rhymes to KS3 news content and film releases.) 

Wider British Values

St Michael’s is a Rights Respecting school which believes that supporting children’s development of character and values, including the core British values of democracy, mutual respect, liberty and the rule of law, is an essential part of equipping young people to thrive as citizens in the world of the future. French actively supports this by:

  • incorporating these rights into lessons and schemes of work- the right to participation (Article 12), the right to participate fully in cultural life (Article 31) and the right to form an opinion (Article 14)

  • Throughout their study of French, our pupils are encouraged to develop a respect and tolerance of other cultures and celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity.  

Where it all fits in   

If you are working well in this subject, you will be fully developing the following skills:  

  • An awareness and appreciation of cultural and linguistic diversity.

  • The confidence to speak in French and apply that linguistic competence to the study of other languages.

  • The ability to empathise and communicate clearly, engaging your listener.

  • Through the study of French grammar, you will explore common links to further develop your understanding of the English language.

  • The ability to confidently apply your knowledge and language learning strategies when faced with the unknown.

  • The ability to listen attentively to the spoken French word and extract key information.

  • The confidence to construct complex spoken and written sentences with a good degree of accuracy, fluency and originality.

  • The ability to decipher the meaning of a wide range of authentic reading material.

    By making the most out of your French studies at St Michaels you can enrich your future development and career:  

  • French as a second language can form part of the English BACS enhancing opportunities to study at University at home or abroad and adding value and a competitive edge to your curriculum vitae.

  • It also provides you with the base skills to learn additional languages such as German and Spanish.

  • Pupils can work in a variety of fields including teaching (at home or abroad), translating, interpreting and the foreign civil service.Languages are particularly valued in international banking and finance, journalism, advertising, hospitality and the aviation industry.