“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things.”   Flora Lewis

At Buxton Junior School, we love discovering new things, helping our brains to grow and stretch in different ways.  Learning a language is a brilliant way to understand more about the world around us, and our place within it, as well as being a great opportunity to develop new skills.

We strive to

• stimulate children's curiosity about languages and cultures, preparing them to be global citizens
• instil a love of learning languages by teaching vocabulary, phonics and grammar through creative learning activities, such as actions, games, and songs.
• provide language learning strategies that will be transferable, whatever language the children go on to study at secondary school
• develop the children's oracy, resilience and confidence by encouraging a 'have a go' attitude. 

We focus on French as our Modern Foreign Language and use the Primary Languages Network curriculum alongside Physical French Phonics materials to develop the children's ability and confidence in basic language skills. We adapt the PLN curriculum where necessary to deliver an appropriate level of language teaching.   

We also use the Planet Languages web app to practise French. Each child has their own login details to access the games at home or in school.

We deliver French lessons across all four year groups on a weekly or fortnightly basis throughout your child's time with us here at BJS.  The use of French is also promoted throughout the week by class teachers, for example, by taking the register in French and maintaining a French calendar in the classroom.  We encourage the children to become ‘Language Detectives’, looking for clues from previous learning or English/home languages to help them grow in their understanding and skills.

The National Curriculum for Languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.