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OUR CURRICULUM

Modern Foreign Languages

Pilton Bluecoat Academy

Vision for Modern Foreign Languages

‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.’                                                                                                                                                                                       Nelson Mandela

Vision

At Pilton Bluecoat Academy we develop the MFL skills and confidence of our children so they consider themselves as 'World Citizens' who belong in a multicultural, mutually respectful world.

Intent

At Pilton Bluecoat Academy we believe that every child should have the opportunity to study a modern foreign language during their time with us. Learning a language like French promotes interest and curiosity about the wider world and a sense of international identity. We believe that languages raise children’s awareness of being global citizens. Our aims of Foreign Language education are to enable all children to develop an enthusiasm for learning languages and to become aware of the benefits of:

  • Understanding and speaking different languages;
  • Communicating in other languages by speaking and listening, reading and writing;
  • Respecting and understanding other cultures, heritage and multilingualism;
  • Becoming involved in global learning and the international dimension of the school through the development of links with other countries;
  • Being responsible global citizens who are well prepared for education, life and work.

Implementation

At Pilton Bluecoat Academy our children are taught in weekly sessions by Madame Wilkinson who is an MFL specialist. Teachers also find opportunities to enrich the children’s understanding through additional activities in class like singing and stories. Our school follows a scheme which has been devised by a group of language specialists from Devon and which it tailored to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum.

As we acknowledge children’s different learning styles, our children learn through active participation in actions, rhymes, stories, songs, grammar focus, video clips, sentence structure, dictionary work, bookmaking and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills. 

We offer a residential trip to our partner school in Segovia, Spain as an additional extra for any child in Year 4 to Year 6 who wishes to go. One part of the agreement for participation in this trip is the completion of a basic language course in Spanish which is also delivered by Madame Wilkinson. We believe that this residential experience acts as a great motivation for language learning and develops historical and intercultural understanding.

Impact

In order to assess the children, we use a set of criteria that have been created by a group of language specialists from other local primary schools in Devon in 2014. The criteria related directly to the new national curriculum.

The children have three milestones, bronze, silver and gold which they have to meet as they progress through the school year.

The Bronze tests take place at the end of the autumn term and passing this means that the children are where they should be with their French at this stage of the school year, ie, at an age-related level. 

The Silver tests take place at the end of the spring term and passing this one means that they are above average in French. Children who didn't pass their Bronze first time round can have another go at this time as well.

The Gold tests take place at the end of the summer term and passing this one means they are G&T in French. Again, children who didn't pass their Bronze or Silver can re-sit at this time.