At The Blue Coat School students learn French for one hour a week from Year 3 to Year 6. During this time, they will learn the foundations of learning a language which will serve them well as they move on to senior school, regardless of the language that they go on to study. Lessons are designed to be engaging and fun to foster a love of language learning at a young age.
Years 3 and 4
At this stage of the learning the focus will be mainly on oral language; through songs, stories and rhymes, which also allows the children to engage with the cultural differences between the UK and French speaking countries. There are plenty of opportunities for the children to use IT, and iPads are often used in the classroom to facilitate role plays, games, and recording stories.
Years 5 and 6
As the children progress through Prep they will gradually be using more written language and learning about the different sound and spelling links that exist between English and French. Skills such as using foreign language and online dictionaries will be honed, as well as practising reading a variety of different texts. Year 5 participate in a French penpal exchange and are excited to receive their letters from France.
In the Lent Term of Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to go on a residential school trip to France where they will be able to practise the language that they have been learning. This is a real highlight for the children and they make some wonderful memories which stay with them as they leave Blue Coat.
