Linguists - MFL

What do we know? 

Learning a foreign language opens doors that would not otherwise be opened.  We know that learning a modern foreign language provides children with a valuable educational, social, and cultural experience.  Bilingual (or trilingual) people have access to resources, people, places, and things that the rest of us do not.  

What do we want?  

We aim to introduce our children to other languages and cultures early on. The children will develop an appreciation of the diversity of languages and an awareness of cultural differences in other countries.  Knowing a foreign language creates a deeper understanding of and appreciation for humanity and culture, enriching one’s life and personal experiences in the world, not mention giving pupils a competitive edge in the future workplace. 

How will we achieve this? 

Children at The Dolphin School receive French lessons every week in years 2-6.   

We teach French at The Dolphin School through stories, songs, activities and games that will engage and interest your child.  The children learn listening, reading, writing and speaking skills, including French phonics and pronunciation with a strong emphasis on exploring and enjoying the language.  

Children attend a weekly French assembly from Y1 where they listen and join in with French stories and songs and find out about French culture and celebrations.  KS1 children listen to French songs and rhymes, and they are exposed throughout the year to other cultures and stories from around the world.   

Throughout the year at The Dolphin School there are many celebrations of language learning and culture.   

We celebrate France and the wider francophone world on French Day, as well having as a visiting teacher from Bordeaux for 2 weeks.  We mark French Day with a pop-up French café in every  classroom, where children can ‘order’ croissants and hot chocolate using the French vocabulary they have learnt.     

We run weekly after language clubs during the year.  

At TDS we value all the languages spoken within our school community and we celebrate our bilingual learners.  We are proud that our school has been awarded the International Schools foundation level award and making real and online links with classrooms and schools around the world.  We celebrate home languages on Language Day, have taster lessons in other languages, and children take part in a variety of activities to celebrate and learn about each other's home languages.    

If your family speaks another language at home, then we welcome to come in and share them with us.  We have a range of dual language books in our school library, you are welcome to come in and share them with your child.