French

Learning a foreign language provides an essential opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read literature in the original language.

The natural links between languages and other areas of the curriculum can enhance the overall teaching and learning experience. Language also lies at the heart of ideas about individual identity and community, and learning another language can do a great deal to shape children’s ideas, as well as giving them a new perspective on their own language.