Modern Foreign Language
October 2025
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his own language, that goes to his heart” Nelson Mandela
The National Curriculum for Languages aims to ensure that all children:
- 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
- can 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.
Intent – What are we aiming to achieve?
At St Lawrence our MFL curriculum is designed to foster an interest in other languages in a way that is enjoyable and fun. In KS2 we learn French with the aim that children will acquire the basics of this language including building phonics knowledge and accurate pronunciation while introducing grammar and sentence structure progressively.
We aim to enable children to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond through speaking, listening, reading and writing confidently. Through our teaching we give opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes and to foster cultural awareness, promoting respect and curiosity for other communities.
Our language teaching should provide the foundation for continued learning of French or further languages at Key Stage 3, equipping children to study and work in other countries.
MFL is taught in weekly lessons in KS2. We deliver a high-quality French curriculum aligned with the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2.
Implementation – How are we delivering this?
The curriculum we use has sequenced units for progression from basic vocabulary and phonics to sentence building and conversational skills.
Our teaching approach consists of: interactive lessons with songs, games and role-play; regular retrieval practice to embed vocabulary/grammar and authentic resources including stories and cultural materials.
KS2 children have the opportunity to experience French culture through an annual themed day incorporating food tasting and links with fluent French-speakers from within our school community.
Assessment is ongoing and formative during lessons and summative at the end of a unit.
Impact – How do we measure this?
It is our aim that children in KS2 will demonstrate confidence in speaking and listening in French. They build upon their ability to read and understand short texts and on their use of basic grammar and vocabulary to write simple sentences. We are able to evidence this using assessment data and feedback from the children.
At St Lawrence we aspire to have children leave KS2 ready for KS3 language learning and with an appreciation of global cultures.
The MFL Curriculum, staff development if needed and resources used will be reviewed annually.
Inclusion – How do we ensure every learner can access
and benefit from the curriculum?
With inclusion at the heart of all that we do at St Lawrence, we will ensure that those children including SEND and disadvantaged pupils will have, where needed, access to visual aids, adapted resources and additional adult support.
EAL Learners will be supported where possible through their home language as a scaffold and with a focus on transferable language-learning strategies.
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE PROGRESSION DOCUMENT