Modern Foreign Languages (Spanish)
You live a new life for every language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.
A proverb (Eastern European)
Intent
Learning a second language offers a lifetime of opportunities and therefore it is essential that if a child is to embrace languages, any language experience becomes an enjoyable part of their life. At Our Lady and St Brendan's, our languages curriculum intent is to broaden the pupils' horizons and develop a real and genuine love and appreciation of other cultures and languages. Our aim is to ensure that all our pupils, including SEND are competent to interpret meaning and communicate within and across other cultures. Through MFL, we aim for our children to build confidence in communication in Spanish. We believe that the best way for children to learn a second language is orally which then progresses through to written elements of Spanish in KS2 which lays the foundation to learn other languages in KS3 and beyond.
Why did we choose to teach Spanish?
After Chinese, Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the world with over 414million speakers
There are 20 countries across the world where Spanish is the main language spoken. As part of our geography curriculum, Year 4 study Brazil (where Portugese is spoken) and Year 5 study Spain.
More British people visit Spain on holiday than any other country.
There are many similarities between the way the English and Spanish languages are structured.
Implementation
Our language curriculum follows the latest research and guidance around best pratice in teaching, learning and assessment of languages. This curriculum focuses on all three of the elements of language learning: phonics, vocabulary and grammar. Due to curriculum prioritisation at Our Lady and St Brendan's following the disruption to education caused by the pandemic, we are going to build the pupils' confidence in Spanish by carefully and gradually planning for progression in their knowledge and understanding of the language. All pupils in KS2 (Year3, Year4, Year 5 and Year 6) will begin with the Year 3 Rojo curriculum in summer term 2023 gradually moving towards age related expectations over the next two years.
Link to Y3 (Rojo) and Y4 (Amarillo) progression and resources
Link to Y5 (Azul) Y6 (Verde) progression and resources
The overall curriculum plan for KS2 Spanish has the following design:
- Time allocation (realistic yet optimal)
- 60 minutes per week in total
- a 30-minute lesson
- five mini follow ups (4 of 5 minutes, 1 of 10 minutes)
- The three strands
- phonics and grammar repeat in Y3 & 4 and then again in Y5 & 6
- vocabulary varies (so that lessons themselves are different)
- Structure (4-year consecutive)
- the repetition of phonics and grammar content together with the variation in vocabulary
- makes it possible for the years Rojo and Amarillo to be completed in either order, and the same for Azul and Verde
Impact
Our Spanish curriculum is assessed through the spoken capabilities of pupils in lessons and where appropriate, written phrases and sentences from memory - we ensure that all pupils develop key language learning skills set out by the National Curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures. Learning an additional language offers our pupils the opportunity to explore relationships between language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them with a better awareness of self, others and cultural differences. It is hoped that children will foster a love of language and a desire to further learning beyond the classroom and in their future.