MFL

At Oaklands Primary Academy, we believe that it is important for the children to discover the enjoyment and confidence that can be gained from communicating with people from other countries and cultures. Our languages education aims to foster our pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. By the end of KS2, we aim for our pupils to be able express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. We believe that our language teaching will provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries in the future.

Key Stage 1:

At Oaklands Primary Academy, language education is taught from KS1 onwards, despite it not being a government requirement until KS2. Studies show that that by starting to speak additional languages at a young age is highly beneficial to a child because learning languages develops listening, observation, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Therefore, we immerse our children in a balance of basic conversational phrases and written vocabulary which is mainly taught implicitly with some explicit sessions throughout each term. Year 1 and Year 2 pupils at Oaklands Primary Academy learn to speak Spanish.

Key Stage 2:

Because our pupils have already learned how to speak a foreign language at KS1, they are more receptive to learning another new language in KS2. Year 3 and Year 4 learn French and Year 5 and Year 6 learn German. The children are taught to listen and respond to spoken language through listening to stories, singing songs and rhymes and playing games. In addition, they are supported in engaging in conversations, speaking in whole sentences by the end of Key Stage 2, asking and answering questions, expressing their opinions and responding to the opinions of others. They will develop pronunciation and intonation when reading by exploring the patterns and sounds of language through spellings, songs and rhymes. Pupils are encouraged to broaden their vocabulary, write phrases from memory adapting these to create their own sentences and by applying basic grammar rules.

By the time our pupils leave Oaklands Primary Academy, they will have a repertoire of three widely-spoken foreign languages which will stand them in good stead for not just developing their language ability further in secondary school but for life beyond the UK.