Key Stage 2 languages · Speaking

KS2 languages: simple conversations for parents

Speaking is where a new language comes alive. In Key Stage 2 children learn to hold short, simple conversations about familiar things: saying hello, giving their name and age, saying how they are, asking the same back and saying goodbye. They start with set phrases and gradually build in more of their own.

Greetings and simple conversations, explained

The curriculum asks children to engage in conversations, speaking in sentences with familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures. In practice that means short exchanges on routine topics: greetings, names, ages, feelings, where they live, family, pets, and simple likes and dislikes such as “J’aime le foot” (I like football). Early on, children learn phrases as whole chunks. They say “Je m’appelle Zara” (French) or “Me llamo Zara” (Spanish) long before they know how the verb works, and that is fine. The chunk gets them talking, and the grammar behind it comes later.

A conversation has a shape, and teachers teach it explicitly. There is a greeting, a question, an answer, a question back, a reaction and a goodbye. The most important habit is returning the question: “Et toi ?” in French or “¿Y tú?” in Spanish (and you?). It turns two separate statements into a real exchange. Children also learn short reactions that show they are listening, such as “Ah bon ?” or “Super” in French, and “Muy bien” or “Genial” in Spanish. These small touches are what make a conversation sound natural.

Children learn that languages treat politeness differently. French has two words for “you”: “tu” for friends, family and children, and “vous” for adults you do not know well or for more than one person. Spanish has “tú” and “usted”. In lessons children mostly use the friendly form with each other, but teachers often introduce the polite one for a role-play such as meeting a shopkeeper. Please and thank you (“s’il te plaît” or the polite “s’il vous plaît”, and “merci”; “por favor” and “gracias”) are taught early.

Practice is mostly in pairs and small groups, often with props, puppets, picture cards or role-play. A child may start by reading from a script and then, over the year, move to doing it from memory and adding their own details. Accuracy matters, but teachers care most that a child can be understood and keeps going when stuck. The part of the curriculum about seeking clarification and help (“Pardon ?”, “Can you repeat?”) is marked as not applicable to ancient languages, because when a school teaches Latin or Ancient Greek the focus is on reading.

Words your child will hear

Conversation: A back-and-forth exchange where each person speaks, listens and responds.
Greeting: A word or phrase for saying hello, such as “bonjour” or “hola”.
Role-play: Acting out a situation, such as meeting someone new, using the language.
Formal and informal: Polite ways of speaking to adults (“vous”) and friendly ways for friends (“tu”).
Chunk: A phrase learned as a whole, like “Je m’appelle”, without splitting it into single words.
Prompt: A picture, word or question that helps you decide what to say.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help*
Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: building a first conversation

Two Year 3 children meet in a French role-play. How can they build a short conversation that has a beginning, a middle and an end?

Start with a greeting and a question about the name. Child A says “Salut. Comment tu t’appelles ?”. The question word “comment” at the front shows it is a question.
Answer in a full sentence and return the question. Child B says “Je m’appelle Zara. Et toi ?”. Returning the question is the habit that keeps the conversation going.
Add a second topic, such as how they are or their age. Child A replies “Moi, je m’appelle Sam. Ça va ?”, with the voice rising on “va” because that is the only thing that turns “ça va” into a question. Child B says “Oui, ça va bien, merci. Quel âge as-tu ?”. Child A answers “J’ai huit ans. Et toi ?”, which uses the verb for “have” because French says “I have eight years” for age.
Respond to what the other person said. Child B says “J’ai sept ans”, and Child A reacts with “Ah bon ?” (oh really?). Responding to the other person, not just reciting their lines, is the difference between a script and a conversation.
End politely. Child B says “Au revoir.” and Child A says “À bientôt.” (see you soon). A clear ending makes the whole exchange feel complete.

A: Salut. Comment tu t’appelles ? B: Je m’appelle Zara. Et toi ? A: Moi, je m’appelle Sam. Ça va ? B: Oui, ça va bien, merci. Quel âge as-tu ? A: J’ai huit ans. Et toi ? B: J’ai sept ans. A: Ah bon ? B: Au revoir. A: À bientôt.

Common mistakes and how to help

Translating word for word from English

Children think in English, so “I am eight” becomes “Je suis huit” in French, when the language uses “have”: “J’ai huit ans”. In Spanish it is “Tengo ocho años”.

What helps: Treat the useful sentences as chunks and learn them whole. Point out when the languages are different, and enjoy the surprise rather than treating it as an error.

Answering the question but never asking one back

In class, children often practise answering teacher questions, so they do not realise that a conversation is a two-way thing.

What helps: Give a small challenge: every time your child answers, they must finish by asking “Et toi ?” or “¿Y tú?”. Make a game of keeping the exchange going for as long as possible.

Waiting until a sentence is perfect before speaking

Children who are used to getting things right can freeze, because they are afraid of making a mistake in front of their classmates.

What helps: Praise being understood. A clear, simple sentence with one small slip is better than silence. Many mistakes sort themselves out with practice and repeated listening.

Using “tu” or “tú” with everyone

The friendly form is the one they practise most with their classmates, so they do not notice that adults would expect something more polite.

What helps: If your child is learning French or Spanish, set up a short role-play in which they greet a shopkeeper or a head teacher, and talk about why the language changes with the person.

How to help at home

Say hello in the language. Agree on a greeting for the morning or after school. A quick “Bonjour, ça va ?” or “Hola, ¿qué tal?” takes two seconds and keeps the language in daily use.
Interview a soft toy. Ask your child to interview a toy or puppet in the language, asking its name, age and how it is feeling. Then swap and let the toy interview you. It works well because there is no pressure.
Play the return-question game. Take turns asking and answering simple questions, but each answer must end with “and you?”. See how many rounds you can keep going without switching into English.
Role-play a meeting. Pretend to meet at a new club. Your child greets you, gives their name and age, asks how you are and says goodbye. Swap roles, and then try it again with a pretend teacher so they hear the polite form.
Keep it short and kind. Two or three minutes at a time is plenty. If a mistake comes up, repeat the correct version back naturally without stopping the conversation, rather than correcting every slip.