Languages Curriculum
Intent
At May Park we aim to produce global citizens, therefore our languages curriculum has been designed to provide our children with foundation fit to support the learning of various European Romance languages alongside that of a globally influential languages outside of Europe. Our curriculum has been designed to support pupils in developing their own language knowledge, support transition to secondary school, and develop a love of learning languages well beyond primary school.
61% of our pupils are already advanced language learners with over 34 different languages spoken at home. Our pupils are predominantly multilingual. So, our key language has been selected to enable us to focus on the impact of this ancient language (Latin) on English and teach the intricacies of this languages on the culture and heritage of modern-day Britain.
When studying languages May Park Pupils:
- are CREATIVE in our approach to learning languages.
- demonstrate RESILIENCE when practising, recalling, and speaking our taught languages.
- celebrate the ACHIEVEMENT of making good progress in our languages.
- are CURIOUS about our own language and the languages of others.
- learn languages to show that we RESPECT and care about other cultures.
- embrace the study of other languages despite the dominance of English as a second language to demonstrate EQUALITY and the importance of valuing all languages
Latin – The Ancient Language at the Heart our National Language
The main language taught in Key Stage 2 (Year 3 to Year 6) is Latin; this enables our pupils to “make substantial progress in one language” (OFSTED, 2021). Ancient languages are a part of the key stage 2 national curriculum and we have selected Latin due to it being the root of the five main romance languages in Europe (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romania) and because:
- Latin reinforces the teaching of English vocabulary and grammar. According to Rasinki et al, “90% of English words with more than one syllable are Latin based” (Rasinski, Padak, Newton and Newton, 2009). Understanding the roots of our words supports children in their understanding of new words that they may encounter.
- Latin is a logical step after phonics, reinforcing the notion of structure and pattern in language. It also lends itself to a systematic and effective style of teaching.
- Latin provides a firm basis for language learning in KS3 and beyond. All feeder secondary schools for May Park teach at least one Romance language as their main Modern Foreign Language at KS3. Latin gives our children the best start at Secondary despite their differences in curriculum.
- Latin allows insights into myth and other cultural aspects that form the basis of modern Western culture. Roman myths and culture are an integral part of
French and Arabic - Our Global languages for Communication
We believe in a strong transition between secondary and primary school, and we use every opportunity to facilitate this within our curriculum. We work with our Bristol Excalibur Academies Trust secondary school, Fairfield High School, to deliver French weekly in Year 6 and Arabic for two terms in Years 3, 4 and 5.
Working with Fairfield High School enables us to provide high quality language instruction with a focus on communicating in a modern foreign language. Our partnership strengthens the communication between the primary and secondary phases. It also enables us to deliver the oral communication requirements of the national curriculum.
