Welcome to the OPA MFL Page. Here you will find information about Modern Foreign Languages at OPA including our subject pathway; detailing the content taught in each year group and the progression of MFL  throughout a child’s time at OPA.  French is taught as part of our Modern Foreign Languages curriculum.  We follow the National Curriculum programme of study and build upon the foundations of language learning including speaking, listening, reading and writing. These skills help children develop a basic understanding of the French language. As well as studying the language, we also study French culture and geography as part of the language curriculum.  We at OPA are privileged to host children and staff who speak many different languages. As a school, we celebrate our diverse languages, cultures and customs as part of the wider curriculum. 

Modern Foreign Languages is the study of a different language and the places where it is spoken.

Why French?

French is an extremely useful language to learn with over 275 million speakers worldwide! It is the second most spoken language in the world after English and is spoken on every continent. French is also considered to be a ‘gateway language’ meaning that it shares many similarities to other languages including Spanish and Portuguese, these several languages share a close MFL, structure, grammar, lexicon, and phonic structure. French is also one of the languages taught by the two closest secondary schools, enabling Oxley Parkers to continue their MFL journey with more consistency.

In school we have 4 key concepts in French. As linguists we learn to:

Read fluently- by recognising key vocabulary and phrases

Write Imaginatively-by using key vocabulary and phrases to write ideas

Speak confidently- by using key vocabulary and phrases to verbally communicate ideas

Understand the culture of the countries in which the language is spoken- by having knowledge of the countries and understanding customs.

Oxley Park Academy follows  Primary Languages Network, a program selected to empower both teachers and learners with pronunciation and clear progression in French. Children will be exposed to speaking, reading and writing in French in preparation for Key Stage 3. As younger children are exposed to the sounds of their home language or second language, they begin to process those sounds and are  “hard-wired” for that particular language through this early exposure.  It is our intention in MFL that children leave us in Year 6 with a range of French vocabulary, that they can use confidently when speaking and writing and have a curiosity for learning more about languages and understanding the culture of the places where other languages are spoken.