Key Stage 2 · ages 7 to 11
Key Stage 2 languages: what your child learns
In Years 3 to 6 your child learns a language chosen by the school, which may be a modern language such as French or Spanish or an ancient one. They join in with songs, ask and answer simple questions, use a bilingual dictionary, write phrases from memory and describe people and places. They also notice how the language differs from English, for example in masculine and feminine nouns.
Guides for parents
Key Stage 2 languages
Building new sentences
How primary children adapt learned phrases into new sentences in French, Spanish or another language, and meet masculine and feminine words and common verbs.
Key Stage 2 languages
Asking and answering questions
How Key Stage 2 children learn question words and how to answer in full sentences in French, Spanish or another language, with common mistakes and ideas for home.
Key Stage 2 languages
Building vocabulary
How primary children grow their vocabulary in French, Spanish or another language, work out new words from context and cognates, and remember words for good.
Key Stage 2 languages
Comparing a language with English
How Key Stage 2 children compare French, Spanish or another language with English: shared words, false friends, word order and spelling, with a worked example.
Key Stage 2 languages
Describing people
How primary children describe people in French, Spanish or another language: age, hair, eyes, height and character, using the right verbs and matching endings.
Key Stage 2 languages
Describing places, things and actions
How Key Stage 2 children learn to describe places, things and actions in French, Spanish or another school language, with a worked example and common slips.
Key Stage 2 languages
Masculine, feminine and neuter nouns
Why French and Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine, how Key Stage 2 children learn to match le, la, el and una to nouns, the mistakes to expect and ways to practise.
Key Stage 2 languages
Greetings and simple conversations
How Key Stage 2 children learn to greet people and hold short conversations in French, Spanish or another language, and how you can help them practise at home.
Key Stage 2 languages
High-frequency verbs
What conjugating high-frequency verbs means in Key Stage 2 languages, with French and Spanish examples of avoir, être, tener and ser, common slips and easy home practice.
Key Stage 2 languages
Listening and responding
How primary children learn to listen attentively in French, Spanish or another language and show they understand by joining in, plus easy ways to help at home.
Key Stage 2 languages
Opinions and asking for help
How Key Stage 2 children learn to say what they like and dislike, respond to others and ask for help when they are stuck in French, Spanish or another language.
Key Stage 2 languages
Patterns and building sentences
How Key Stage 2 children learn word order, negatives and sentence patterns in French, Spanish or another language, and adapt phrases they know to build new sentences.
Key Stage 2 languages
Presenting ideas orally
How primary children learn to give short spoken presentations in a new language, speak in full sentences, and how you can help at home even if you don’t speak it.
Key Stage 2 languages
Pronunciation and intonation
What Key Stage 2 children learn about saying words clearly in French, Spanish or another language, from tricky sounds and stress to the rise and fall of questions.
Key Stage 2 languages
Reading for understanding
How primary children learn to read words, phrases and short texts in French, Spanish or another language, spot clues and understand them without translating every word.
Key Stage 2 languages
Songs, rhymes and stories
Why primary schools use songs, rhymes, poems and stories to teach French, Spanish or another language, what children learn from them and how to join in at home.
Key Stage 2 languages
Speaking in sentences
How Key Stage 2 children move from single words to full sentences in French, Spanish or another language, including gender, common verbs and word order.
Key Stage 2 languages
Spelling, sound and meaning
How Key Stage 2 children link the spelling, sound and meaning of words in French, Spanish or another language, including accents, silent letters and look-alike words.
Key Stage 2 languages
Stories, songs, poems and rhymes
Why primary schools use songs, rhymes, poems and stories in French, Spanish or another language, what children are expected to do with them and how to join in at home.
Key Stage 2 languages
Using a bilingual dictionary
How primary children learn to use a bilingual dictionary for French, Spanish or another language: finding words, choosing the right meaning and avoiding common slips.
Key Stage 2 languages
Writing phrases from memory
What primary children are asked to write in French, Spanish or another language, how to learn phrases so they can be written without copying, and how to help.
Everything in the Key Stage 2 languages curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Key Stage 2, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.
Sounds and phonics
Speaking
- Engaging in simple conversations
- Asking and answering questions
- Expressing opinions, responding to others and seeking clarification and help
- Speaking in sentences using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic structures
- Developing accurate pronunciation and intonation
- Presenting ideas and information orally to a range of audiences