MFL
INTENT:
At St. Teresa’s we understand that learning a modern foreign language (MFL) is liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
IMPLEMENTATION:
At St. Teresa’s we plan and explore opportunities in MFL through the use of connections that we have established throughout the years. Previously, the school had taught French up until 2024 when our French teacher retired. Previously, the school had taught Italian for over ten years until the end of 2018 and we continue to have Italian students who visit annually to discuss life in another country/culture.
The school now employs an experienced qualified Spanish-speaking teacher, Ms. Carrasquilla, to deliver Spanish as a discrete subject to Key Stage 2 classes adapting the resources of Difusión Publishing House and Edelsa. In KS2, children are taught in weekly sessions of 45 minutes with an eclectic range of activities which compliment children’s different learning styles. Children learn through active participation in conversations, actions, rhymes, stories, song, grammar focus, video clips, sentence structure, dictionary work, and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine their Spanish langua skills.
The school has recently established a link with Foro Romano Bilingual School in Zaragoza. We plan to communicate in written Spanish and strengthen this connection in the years to come. We also participate in the Express Yourself North-East Festival of Languages every year.
IMPACT:
All children at St. Teresa’s receive a broad and balanced curriculum regardless of year group or ability. Every child accesses all subjects on offer at our school. Our MFL specialist teacher plans the subjects with clear progression of skills and knowledge that we have devised as part of our curriculum offer to ensure that all children access it at an age-appropriate level.
Our cross-curricular approach (when appropriate) to learning ensures that children are learning key skills in an exciting and engaging way. Children learn to work both independently and as part of a group, gaining skills of resilience and teamwork. Examples of our MFL curriculum in action can be seen in photographs below.
International Week is planned to ensure that children experience a wide-variety of cultures and languages –appreciating our place in an ever-changing world. This includes poetry writing, storytelling, engaging with parents from various backgrounds, weaving, singing, creating calligrams, joining in mini-Olympics, song writing.