French

At Westbourne, we teach French as a foreign language to all children from Year 1 onwards. We do this for several reasons. Firstly, we believe that many children really enjoy learning to speak another language. Secondly, we also believe that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language is acquired.

The aims and objectives of learning a modern foreign language in our school are:

• to foster an interest in learning other languages
• to introduce young children to another language in a way that is enjoyable and fun
• to make young children aware that language has structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another
• to help children develop their awareness of cultural differences in other countries
• to develop their speaking and listening skills

We use a variety of techniques to encourage the children to engage actively. These include role play, songs and fun interactive games. We make the lessons as entertaining as possible, as we believe this approach serves to develop a positive attitude in the children to the learning of modern foreign languages. We try to encourage the learning of new vocabulary to be as animated as possible as we feel this serves to reinforce memory.