Languages at Worle Village Primary School

We aim for high-quality language teaching which inspires an interest in linguistics and a wider appreciation and understanding of other cultures in the world for all pupils. Weekly lessons provide opportunities to celebrate similarities and differences between cultures but throughout the school year there are many opportunities to increase cultural capital, such as participation in the European Day of Language, cross-curricular links such as in Art and Topic and even themed lunch menus e.g., a Mexican-themed menu for cinco de mayo. Through a bespoke Scheme of Work supported by teaching staff’s knowledge and experience French can be taught through songs, games and drama in order to fulfil our ambition to equip pupils with the confidence to communicate about practical matters with an increasing knowledge of phonology, grammar and vocabulary. While we also want children to develop written skills, specifically in UKS2, we are aware of how the pressures of extended writing may demotivate some children. Opportunities are given for writing in every lesson through the use of our own developed booklets with differing writing opportunities depending on the lesson’s learning objective. We want children to enjoy and love learning about languages without having any fear of failure or worries about pronunciation. This worry can be shared by staff so sound files are included in lessons to model good pronunciation, and staff are regularly encouraged to use free apps such as Duolingo or podcasts like Coffeebreak French to reduce anxiety towards language learning.