Our vision at St. Josephs is to promote the important role that foreign languages play in understanding how the world works in an increasingly globalised society and economy. Languages are a springboard not just towards further study but also to aid our pupils in their journey to becoming well-rounded young people who can contribute positively in their local and global community.
Through our partnership with Camoes IP and the expertise of our own staff, we focus on Portuguese and French at St Joseph’s.
Knowledge, application and skills are at the core of our curriculum. We will support pupils to develop essential communication skills in French and Portuguese, enabling them to be confident. We are committed to delivering a broad and balanced curriculum. Learning a foreign language is an opening to other cultures. It fosters pupils’ curiosity and deepens their understanding of the world.
As part of our curriculum, we celebrate events such as World Portuguese Language Day:
Click here for pictures from school event
Younger children learn basic vocabulary, focusing on pronunciation and building up to fluency. Pupils are encouraged to express their ideas and thoughts and understand basic grammar. As they progress, they work towards improving their conversational French and Portuguese, responding to speakers, both in speech and in writing. They engage in discussions, asking and answering questions for practical purposes.
Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries in the future.
At St Joseph’s French and Portuguese are taught to provide an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and lays the foundations for further foreign language teaching at secondary school.
Through a range of topics, pupils learn to listen to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding, including songs, poems and conversation. They are encouraged to speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures. Developing accurate pronunciation and intonation is achieved through opportunities such as role-play, e.g. going shopping or presenting a weather forecast.
We believe that our school aims and values are fulfilled within our curriculum in both the implicit and explicit elements, so our children develop their full potential in all aspects of their learning and personal development.
Miss S De Melo
Modern Foreign Languages Lead