Read more about the MFL curriculum here:

Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum Intent: To offer a broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite our pupils. The intention is that pupils will become life- long language learners and will develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them. 

The Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum: Our Vision

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

At St Matthew’s, we believe that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social, and cultural experience for children. Children develop communication and literacy skills that lay the foundation for future language learning. They develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works, and explore differences and similarities between the foreign language (French, in our case) and English. Learning another language raises awareness of our multi-lingual and multi-cultural world and introduces an international dimension to pupils’ learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and that of others. The learning of a foreign language provides a medium for cross-curricular links and for reinforcement of knowledge, skills, and understanding developed in other subjects.

Children are taught the National Curriculum through a range of topics. This approach enables learners to focus on subject-specific vocabulary whilst developing their phonic and grammar skills through a range of speaking, listening, reading, and writing activities. Children are aware of the learning intentions for each year and play an active part in assessing their own learning. French learning is implemented by playing games, songs, actions, drama, stories, and lots more. The impact of our teaching means children’s understanding of French deepens in each year of language learning and they develop an appetite for discussion, detail, and greater understanding.