Languages - Templars` Primary School

Templars’ Primary School
Primary Languages Policy
"Every child should have the opportunity throughout Key Stage 2 to study a foreign
Language and develop their interest in the culture of other nations."
DfES Languages far All: Languages for life, 2005
"Learning a language enriches the curriculum. It provides excitement, enjoyment and
challenge for children and teachers, helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop
positive attitudes to Language learning throughout life. The natural links between Languages
and other areas of the curriculum can enhance the overall teaching and learning experience.
The skills, knowledge and understanding gained can make a major contribution to the
development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own
culture/s and those of others."
DfES The Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages., 2005 The Local
Context
The Coventry model has been developed through the Pathfinder project and aims from
the outset to provide pupils with a foundation for future language learning through
encounters with languages from the local and international communities as well as an
opportunity for discrete language learning. The principles behind this are threefold:
1. Primary languages by the primary classroom teacher
2. Cross-curricular links and skills
3. Transition
Overview
Year 3 — Level 1 Investigating Languages
Level 1 aims for pupils to reflect upon a variety of languages and the people who speak
them. They learn to identify languages in written and spoken form and look at
differences and similarities across languages. They start to pronounce individual words
and copy words accurately.
Year 4 — Level 2 Investigating Languages
Level 2 aims for pupils to build on the skills learned in Level 1. There is more emphasis on.
sentence work. The focus is on progression and on. developing the skills of language
recognition and investigative skills. Pupils learn to recognise four languages in their spoken
and written forms. They start to pronounce copy phrases accurately.
Year 5. Level 3 Discrete Language, Dripfeed
Level 3 will focus on a discrete language, French. The focus is on a constant drip feed
of language used in everyday classroom routines alongside the delivery of discrete
language lessons. Pupils learn to recognise patterns in the
1
discrete language and learn to build words, phrases and sentences. Pupils enhance
their skills in oracy, literacy and intercultural understanding using the language
learning strategies learned in Level 1 and 2.
Year 6 — Level. 4 Discrete Language, Transition
Level 4 will focus on a discrete language delivered to ease pupils' transition between
primary and secondary. This will enhance pupils' word, phrase and sentence
knowledge from Level 3. Pupils will also be exposed to different tenses and language
structures.
Teaching and Learning Primary Languages at Templars' Primary School
Aims
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To
To
To
To
To
prepare children to be global citizens.
increase cohesion in the community.
develop pupils' individual capacity to learn languages.
develop literacy and speaking and listening skills.
encourage independent thinking and problem solving skills.
Objectives
The objectives are organised into an approach as outlined in. the local delivery
model and aim to meet the requirements of the Key Stage Two Framework for
Languages.
1. To investigate words in many languages.
2.
To investigate sentences in many languages.
3. To focus on learning a discrete language.
4. To focus on learning a discrete language and on pupils' transition to
secondary schools.
Organisation.
It is proposed that each classroom teacher will teach modern foreign languages. Staff
will be provided with any necessary training and resources in order to do this.
The school has a partnership with a local secondary school, Tile Hill Wood
Language College. Tile Hill Wood school helps us with training, resources and the
delivery of lessons. The school currently has close links with a school in Ghana and
our aim is to link with other international schools in the future. We use games and
activities to make language teaching and learning interesting, fun and easy.
2
Delivery
Year A
and B
Autumn
Autumn
Spring
Spring
Summer
Summer
Year 3/4
The curriculum will introduce pupils to language learning with the
Coventry model. We will use rolling programme of "Investigating
Languages Levels 1 and 2."
A 30 minute delivery to begin with a 30 minute lesson per week and 5
minutes of "drip-feed" per day, where pupils reflect on a variety of
languages and the people who speak them.
The "Investigating Languages" scheme of work includes a set of lesson
plans and resources to cover a whole year and with using the
proposed rolling programme there is everything included in the Level
1 and 2 to cover the two years.
Year 5/6
This will continue as a two year rolling programme.
Early start programmes include a DVD, which shows children speaking in their native
language at home, school and in their community.
25-30 minute slot per week plus 5 minutes a day "drip feed". The drip feed can
include quick games, songs, poems etc.
Assessment and Monitoring Progress
The classroom teacher, who will make informal judgements as they observe the
children during the languages lesson, will track progress. On completion of a piece of
3
work, the teacher marks the work, comments on it and giv es advice for
improvements. At the end of a unit of work, the teacher makes a judgement about
the work against the criteria in the National Curriculum levels and this is recorded
as a basis for assessing the progress of the child. Pupils will use peer assessment and
self-assessment to chart their progress. The progress will be shared with parents
through parents' evenings and reports with senior management and governors
through curriculum review meetings.
Planning and Time Allocation
It is the role of the Head teacher along with the senior management team and
governors to plan languages into the curriculum. It is the role of the school coordinator to discuss and advise on the implementation of languages into the KS2
curriculum. It is within the role of the co-ordinator to lead curriculum planning in
languages throughout the Key Stage provision. It is the role of the classroom teacher
to plan individual lessons.
Resources
There is a wide variety of resources available including
 Local Authority material
 Earl y St art French
 Key Stage Two Framework
 Schemes of work
 Posters
 Song books


100 Primary French activities for the interactive whiteboard.
French Picture dictionaries.



French board games
French flashcards
French dominoes
Staff Development
The school is fully supporting the development of its staff in the delivery of the
Languages curriculum.
Training will be ongoing and will be specific to the needs of the teaching staff. This
will be arranged by the school co-ordinator.
Development Plans
The school will also be linking with other international schools as well as continuing
to have strong links with our Ghanaian link school.
It is our aim to look into the possibility of video conferencing in order to link up our
classrooms and children with our link schools both locally and internationally.
We aim to prepare our children to be global citizens and develop their individual
capability to learn languages.
4