Spanish

"With languages, you are at home anywhere." (Edmund De Waal)

Intent

Intent

At St Anne's C of E, we focus our language learning on Spanish, as this is one of the most commonly taught languages at KS3 locally, as well as being a worldwide language. 

We use the Language Angels scheme of work and resources to ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite our pupils using a wide variety of topics and themes. All pupils will be expected to achieve their full potential by encouraging high expectations and excellent standards in their foreign language learning - the ultimate aim being that pupils will feel willing and able to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2.

Spanish language knowledge of our pupils progresses within each academic year and is extended year upon year throughout the primary phase and, in so doing, will always be relevant and in line with meeting or exceeding national DfE requirements. 

The four key language learning skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are learnt and all necessary grammar is covered in an age-appropriate way across the primary phase. This will enable pupils to use and apply their learning in a variety of contexts, laying down solid foundations for future language learning and also helping the children improve overall attainment in other subject areas. 

The intent is that all pupils will develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, finding them enjoyable and stimulating. Learning a second language will also offer 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. The intention is that they will be working towards becoming life-long language learners.

Implementation

Spanish is taught using the Language Angels scheme of work and resources, which progressively develops pupils' skills through regularly taught and well-planned weekly lessons in KS2. 

Children will progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary, language skills and grammatical knowledge organised around age-appropriate topics and themes - building blocks of language into more complex, fluent and authentic language. Lessons provide appropriate levels of challenge to support and and stretch learners.

Children will build on previous knowledge gradually as their foreign language lessons continue to recycle, revise and consolidate previously learnt language whilst building on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Knowledge and awareness of required and appropriate grammar concepts will be taught throughout all units at all levels of challenge.

Units of learning progress from Early Language (Y3 and Y4), to Intermediate (Y4 and Y5) and then Progressive teaching (Y5 and Y6) as children move up the school and become more familiar with Spanish vocabulary and grammar:

• Early Learning: We start with nouns and articles and 1st person singular of high frequency verbs in Early Learning
• Intermediate: We move on to the use of the possessive, the concept of adjectives, use of the negative form, conjunctions/connectives and introduce the concept of whole regular verb conjugation.
• Progressive: We end with opinions and introduce the concept of whole high frequency irregular verb conjugation.

Lessons are interactive and often include speaking, listening, reading and writing as well as songs, visuals and games. 

Units are progressive within themselves as subsequent lessons within a unit build on the language and knowledge taught in previous lessons. As pupils progress though the lessons in a unit they will build their knowledge and develop the complexity of the language they use. We think of the progression within the 6 lessons in a unit as ‘language Lego’. We provide blocks of language knowledge and, over the course of a 6-week unit, encourage pupils to build more complex and sophisticated language structures with their blocks of language knowledge.

Pupil learning and progression will be assessed at regular intervals in line with school policy. 

In addition to following the lessons provided in the Language Angels scheme of work and resources, we also aim to include some 'enrichment' opportunities, such as some of the following:

• Foreign language celebration assemblies.
• Cookery sessions of traditional foods from the country of the language being studied.
• Fashion shows demonstrating typical / traditional clothing from the country of the language being studied.
• Weather forecasts based on maps from the country of the language being studied.
• School celebrations of national feast days from the country of the language being studied when appropriate to facilitate a whole school approach to foreign language learning along with improved cultural awareness.

Impact

Pupils are developing their knowledge and understanding of Spanish well, as can be seen from end of unit assessments. 

From listening to pupils' opinions, some children find learning Spanish challenging but are proud of developing strategies to overcome this challenge, such as remembering similar sounding English words or using actions.

From conversations with children, we know Spanish is a popular subject. Children enjoy speaking Spanish to teachers and their peers, regularly choosing to do this outside of lessons, such as counting in games at breaktimes or greating staff in the corridors.

Some children have been inspired to study further and have enjoyed accessing 'Duolingo' at home, with some healthy competition motivating them to beat each other's learning 'streak'.