French
Teaching French in Key Stage 2 at St. Mark’s
At St. Mark’s, learning a language encourages children to develop curiosity about the wider world and an appreciation of other languages and cultures. Pupils study French throughout Key Stage 2 and build the knowledge, skills and confidence to communicate in another language.
Through listening, speaking, reading and writing, children discover how languages work and make connections with their understanding of English. Our curriculum supports our C.A.R.E. values by encouraging respectful communication and an appreciation of different communities.
Our aims
We aim for pupils to:
- Enjoy learning French and develop confidence in using another language.
- Listen attentively and understand familiar words, phrases and increasingly longer passages.
- Develop clear pronunciation through knowledge of French sounds and spelling patterns.
- Ask and answer questions, express opinions and take part in short conversations.
- Read and write with increasing understanding, accuracy and independence.
- Build a growing vocabulary and understanding of basic French grammar.
- Develop curiosity about French-speaking communities and respect for other cultures.
- Establish a strong foundation for further language learning at secondary school.
How we teach French at St. Mark’s:
French is taught in weekly lessons from Year 3 to Year 6, following the Language Angels scheme. Learning is carefully sequenced so that pupils revisit and build on previous vocabulary, phonics and grammar, moving from simple words and phrases towards longer sentences, short conversations and connected writing.
Lessons include:
- Songs, rhymes, games and listening activities to introduce and practise language.
- Teacher modelling and regular opportunities to rehearse pronunciation.
- Paired speaking activities, questions and answers to build confidence in communication.
- Reading tasks that help pupils recognise familiar language and use context to understand new words.
- Supported writing that progresses from words and phrases to sentences and short paragraphs.
- Explicit teaching of phonics and grammar, including noun gender, articles, adjective agreement and verb forms.
- Regular recall and opportunities to combine previously learned language with new learning.
- Visual prompts, vocabulary banks, repetition and model sentences support pupils’ participation and growing independence. Teachers check understanding through pupils’ spoken and written responses and use this to guide further practice.
Curriculum Map for French Year 3-6
| Year group | Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 3 | Listening and Speaking Listen to and enjoy short stories, nursery rhymes & songs. Recognise familiar words and short phrases covered in the units taught. Communicate with others using simple words and short phrases covered in the units. | Reading Read familiar words and short phrases accurately by applying knowledge. Understand the meaning in English of short words I read in the foreign language. | Writing and Grammar Write familiar words & short phrases using a model or vocabulary list. EG: ‘I play the piano’. ‘I like apples’. Start to understand the concept of noun gender and the use of articles. Use the first person singular version of high frequency verbs. EG: ‘I like…’ ‘I play…’ ‘I am called…’ |
| Year 4 | Listening and Speaking Learn to listen to longer passages and understand more of what we hear by picking out key words and phrases covered in current and previous units Communicate with others with improved confidence and accuracy. Learn to ask and answer questions based on the language covered in the units and incorporate a negative reply if and when required. | Writing and Reading Read aloud short pieces of text applying knowledge learnt and understand most of what we read in the foreign language when it is based on a familiar language. Write some short phrases based on familiar topics and begin to use connectives/conjunctions and the negative form where appropriate. EG: My name, where I live and my age. | Writing and Grammar Better understand the concept of gender and which articles to use for meaning (EG: ‘the’, ‘a’ or ‘some’). Introduce simple adjectival agreement (EG: adjectival agreement when describing nationality), the negative form and possessive adjectives. EG: ‘In my pencil case I have…’ or ‘In my pencil case I do not have…’ |
| Year 5 | Listening and Speaking Listen more attentively and for longer. Understand more of what we hear even when some of the language may be unfamiliar by using the decoding skills we have developed. Communicate on a wider range of topics and themes. Remember and recall a range of vocabulary with increased knowledge, confidence and spontaneity. | Reading and Writing Understand longer passages in the foreign language and start to decode the meaning of unknown words using cognates and context. Increase our knowledge of phonemes and letter strings using knowledge learnt from ‘Phonics Lessons 1 to 3’. Write a paragraph using familiar language incorporating connectives/conjunctions, a negative response and adjectival agreement where required. Learn to manipulate the language and be able to substitute words for suitable alternatives. EG: My name, my age, where I live, a pet I have, a pet I don’t have and my pet’s name. | Writing and Grammar Revision of gender and nouns and learn to use and recognise the terminology of articles (EG: definite, indefinite and partitive). Understand better the rules of adjectival agreement and possessive adjectives. Start to explore full verb conjugation (EG: ‘I wear…’, ‘he/she wears…’ and also be able to describe clothes in terms of colour EG: ‘My blue coat’. |
| Year 6 | Listening and Speaking Listen to longer text and more authentic foreign language material. Learn to pick out cognates and familiar words and learn to ‘gist listen’ even when hearing language that has not been taught or covered | Reading and Writing Learn to recall previously learnt language and recycle / incorporate it with new language with increased speed and spontaneity. Engage in short conversations on familiar topics, responding with opinions and justifications where appropriate. Be able to tackle unknown language with increased accuracy by applying knowledge learnt from previous lessons including awareness of accents, silent letters etc. Decode unknown language using bilingual dictionaries. | Writing and Grammar Write a piece of text using language from a variety of units covered. Start to incorporate conjugated verbs and start using connectives/ conjunctions, adjectives and possessive adjectives. EG: A presentation or description of a typical school day including subjects, time and opinions. Consolidate understanding of gender and nouns, use of the negative, adjectival agreement and possessive adjectives (EG: which subjects I like at school and also which subjects I do not like). Become familiar with a wider range of connectives/conjunctions and more confident with full verb conjugation – both regular and irregular. |
End points:
By the end of Year 6, pupils will have developed a connected foundation of French vocabulary, phonics and grammar. They will be able to communicate about familiar topics with increasing confidence and use strategies to understand unfamiliar language.
Pupils will be prepared to:
- Identify key information and the overall meaning of spoken French on familiar topics.
- Take part in short conversations, asking and answering questions and expressing simple opinions with reasons.
- Read familiar texts and use sound–spelling knowledge, context, cognates and bilingual dictionaries to support understanding.
- Write a short, connected text using familiar vocabulary, conjunctions and increasingly accurate grammatical structures.
- Apply their understanding of noun gender, articles, adjective agreement, possessive adjectives, negatives and familiar verb forms.
- Approach new language with curiosity, resilience and a willingness to practise.
These foundations will prepare pupils to continue learning French, or begin another language, at Key Stage 3.
Curriculum Books
Quick links to our Curriculum books for all year groups from Nursery to Year 6.
Year Groups
From Nursery to Year 6 – find out all the information relevant to your child’s year group.
Whole School News
School news and events, letters to parents, dates for your diary, information and announcements.