Ferham Foreign Languages Policy 

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At Ferham, we believe that learning a foreign language is essential to enhancing the understanding of global culture and our curriculum aims to foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. Our teaching enables pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It also provides opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and make comparisons between the many different cultures of our proudly diverse school. 

Intent  

 

At Ferham we use the iLanguages Spanish scheme as the basis of our teaching and learning. The iLanguages curriculum follows the 2014 Primary MFL National Curriculum and follows Progression of the ‘three pillars of language learning’, phonics, grammar and vocabulary (this meets Ofsted’s MFL Research Review 2021 recommended practice). 

The aims of this curriculum are that children will be able to: 

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources. 

• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation 

• write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt 

• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied. 

The curriculum provides an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and lays the foundations for further foreign language teaching at Key Stage 3. It enables pupils to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focused on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary. 

 

Implementation  

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Languages are taught weekly in KS2 only as per National Curriculum guidelines.  

Pupils are taught to: 

• listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding 

• explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words 

• engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help 

• speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures 

• develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases 

• present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences 

• read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing  

• appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language 

• write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly 

• understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied 

 

We support SEND and EAL pupils through the repetitive nature of the lessons, the provision of vocabulary mats and the option of non-verbal responses, allowing all learners to be successful. Language knowledge is further developed through cross-curricular links. For example, particular lessons are based on religious and cultural festivals around the world, the inclusion of reading and stories plays an integral part in the iLanguages curriculum, and geographical features of Hispanic countries are taught and discussed.  

  

Impact  

We ascertain impact using assessment in three forms: assessment for learning, assessment as learning and assessment of learning. 

 

In Languages, assessment for learning is continuous as teachers adapt their teaching according to learners’ needs. This may include teaching the language in a variety of ways: additional scaffolding such as word mats or non-verbal actions or extra challenge such as the use of a Spanish dictionary.  

 

In Languages, assessment as learning is built into every lesson. Retrieval opportunities are built into the curriculum through revision of vocabulary and application of learnt grammar and pronunciation of new vocabulary. Retrieval also occurs through the repetition of learnt songs and rhymes. 

  

In Languages, assessment of learning is formed by termly assessments created by the iLanguages Spanish scheme which check for vocabulary knowledge.  

  

The quality of the impact of the teaching of Languages is assured through regular and varied monitoring: learning walks, pupil interviews, planning support and scrutiny are conducted across the year with feedback shared to share best practice. 

Parents will receive an overall annual assessment of their KS2 child’s learning in languages as part of a written report.