Modern Foreign Languages at Gladstone.

At Gladstone, we believe that learning a foreign language is a vital part of a broad and balanced education. Our Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) curriculum focuses on French, and we aim to foster a love of language learning while helping children develop an understanding of other cultures and ways of life.

Why Learn French?

French is spoken by over 300 million people across five continents. As one of the official languages of the United Nations, the EU, and the Olympics, French opens the door to global communication, travel, and cultural appreciation. We want our pupils to be curious, confident, and enthusiastic language learners.

Our Aims

• To develop pupils’ confidence and enjoyment in learning a new language
• To lay the foundations for future language study
• To raise cultural awareness and appreciation of global diversity
• To provide a rich, inclusive, and engaging learning experience

Our Curriculum

We use the iLanguages scheme to support high-quality teaching and learning in French. This engaging and structured programme introduces children to new vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through songs, stories, role-play, and interactive activities.

• Key Stage 2 (Years 3–6)
  In KS2, children have weekly French lessons. They learn to understand and communicate in spoken and written French on familiar topics, such as greetings, numbers, food, animals, and hobbies. Lessons are interactive and fun, with lots of opportunities for speaking and listening.
   
• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 (Years 1–2)
  While formal language teaching is not required at this stage, we introduce children to basic French words and phrases through songs, classroom routines, and simple storytelling. This helps build confidence and a positive attitude toward language learning from a young age. Pupils also have the opportunity to take part in an extra-curricular French club during the year.

Celebrating French Culture

To deepen cultural understanding and make learning memorable, we host French Theme Days where the whole school celebrates French traditions, food, music, art, and language. Children enjoy activities such as:

• French café role play
• Baking crêpes and tasting French snacks
• French music and dance
• Learning about famous French landmarks
• Studying and writing stories in French,
  eg. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Enjoying a French themed lunch from our kitchen

In 2024, we marked a special occasion with a celebration of the Olympic Games in Paris. Pupils took part in Olympic-themed language activities, sports challenges, and learned about the history and values of the Olympic movement — all while practicing their French!
 

This year, as part of the city’s Centenary Celebrations, children took part in a “Welcome to Stoke on Trent” poster competition run by Keele University’s Language department and Port Vale FC.  The posters were produced in a different language to encourage our young people in the local area to engage positively with language learning, to appreciate the value of learning a language and hopefully continue with their studies to high school and beyond.  We submitted some fantastic entries.