“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you speak to him in his own language, it goes to his heart”
Nelson Mandela

At Holy Trinity School, we believe that learning another language at a young age is the key to becoming a confident and enthusiastic communicator. In addition, it helps children to better understand other cultures, expressions and styles of communication. This can encourage an appreciation of how big the world is and will open their minds greatly.
It is widely believed that “children who learn a language before their teenage years are more likely than older learners to achieve native-like pronunciation. Furthermore, research has found that children between the ages of 2 and 7 have an innate ability to acquire the rules of any language”.

Children who learn a second language are “more creative and better at solving complex problems”. Once children know a second language it is also easier for them to understand further language structures, which is why experts believe that every new language learned is easier than the one before.

At Holy Trinity School, we have a bespoke, enriched French curriculum, taught by language specialists which includes a variety of teaching methods and styles.

In Key Stage 1, we focus on developing the children’s Speaking and Listening skills, through stories, songs, drama and role play. The content includes basic vocabulary learning of Numbers, Colours, Family, Food and the Alphabet.

In Key Stage 2, the KS1 topics are reviewed and the vocabulary built upon, to create phrases and sentences. At this point we also introduce Writing and Reading into their skills development and more in depth topics are taught, such as Planets, Body parts, Countries and School Life. In past years, we have organised residential visits for Upper KS2 to France in order to develop their linguistic skills and experience the culture first hand. It has always proved to be invaluable for the children, inspiring and enthusing them as they continue their language learning into secondary school.