Languages

Click here to read about how we approach our curriculum, and to download our subject pathways. 

St Paul's MFL Rationale

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an 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 great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries (National Curriculum)

At St Paul’s, we are proud to speak over 27 different languages. We believe speaking and understanding different languages is the key to successful communication, progression and tolerance. At St Paul’s, we focus on the French language, we believe that the learning of French provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with an aim of making substantial progress in French. In addition, children’s knowledge of how language works is developed to lay the foundations for further language learning in future. We believe that learning another language gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others, broadening horizons and consolidating the value of respect and understanding.