Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

KS2 French

In KS2 our children study French using the KAPOW scheme of work. It is compulsory for schools to teach Languages at KS2 only, which is why our children begin accessing KAPOW French from Year 3 onwards. The KAPOW French curriculum provides pupils with a firm foundation of language learning and fulfils the statutory requirements for Languages outlined in the National Curriculum.

The KAPOW French curriculum is centred around the three building blocks of a language system:

• Phonics: A comprehensive French phonics programme is embedded into the KAPOW French curriculum ensuring the explicit teaching of critical phonemes focuses on both pronunciation and the sound-spelling link. The ‘Mouth mechanics’ pupil videos, which native speakers present, support this learning by including an in-depth look at the shape of the mouth when creating each phoneme.
• Vocabulary: As the Ofsted research review recommended, the KAPOW French curriculum systematically introduces the most used words, especially simple and common verbs. It then provides opportunities for students to revisit previously learned vocabulary in different contexts. This approach allows the children to commit these key words to their long-term memory. Many topic words are also introduced to provide a variety of meaningful contexts; however, less attention is given to memorizing these. KAPOW French lessons are designed to ensure that each time new vocabulary is introduced, the pupils have an opportunity to use it in language comprehension and production activities
• Grammar: Developing grammatical understanding through a carefully planned progression of key structures is the bedrock of the KAPOW French curriculum. Grammar is explicitly taught and systematically revisited to ensure that basic structures are committed to memory before more complex ones are introduced. Lessons are organized to allow opportunities to practise grammar structures across modalities (speaking, writing, reading and listening) and carefully scaffolded activities enable children to manipulate the words and grammar themselves and begin to use new language creatively.

Enabling children to become ‘language detectives’ is a crucial element of the KAPOW French curriculum. It enables children to become engaged and independent language learners who can grow and transfer these skills to learn further languages.

Children being ‘language detectives’ involves:

• Recognising learnt vocabulary when listening or reading.
• Spotting cognates (words which have the same origin or are in some way similar) and near-cognate.
• Using context and their own knowledge of the world to predict the meaning of unknown words.
• Considering word order to anticipate the meaning of words.

KAPOW French develops these skills in a progressive way so that by Year 6 pupils can use these strategies to confidently grapple with unknown spoken and written language and search for meaning. The development of these skills also helps pupils develop their understanding of the English language and its grammar conventions.

Click here for further information. 

You can explore the KAPOW French curriculum further using the following link: https://www.kapowprimary.com