At Bounds Green School we believe that learning a language provides an opening to other cultures and deepens pupils’ understanding of the world, as well as contributing to the development of their general linguistic competence through the learning of another language. Every pupil in Key Stage 2 has an entitlement to language learning. We recognise its importance as a life-long skill. 

Intent

We aim to:

• Develop language strategies, knowledge and skills which prepare every child for future language learning.
• Increase cultural understanding by learning about different countries and their people and customs to develop appreciation and understanding of speakers of other languages and cultures.

• Develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills to enable them to understand and respond to spoken language with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say and progressively improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources to enable all children to discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
• Raise awareness of their own language and enable them to make comparisions with the foreign language, thereby enriching their understanding of both.
• Increase children’s confidence in writing at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures they have learnt.

Implementation

The KS2 QCA Framework for Languages scheme of work has been adapted to deliver an exciting curriculum to suit our school and children. Our midterm plans are designed to be progressive and build on prior learning, moving from word to sentence level to paragraphs meeting all the targets of the KS2 programme of study and beyond.

In Year 2, where Spanish is non-statutory, all pupils have a weekly timetabled lesson of 30 minutes, 40 minutes for years 3 and 4 and 45 minutes for years 5 and 6.

We recognise some families already speak another language at home and this is celebrated both in language lessons and within the school. It is recognised that children who speak additional languages can apply their skills and knowledge to learning Spanish. We also celebrate all things Hispanic through authentic experiential learning, with events throughout the school year including flamenco workshops, traditional food making and Spanish Picnic and Fiesta for our year 6 leavers.

Our lessons ensure children:

• Develop resilience in language learning as well as enjoyment of it through a challenging scheme of work.
• Gain a sound grasp of the key sounds of the Spanish language and their corresponding graphemes. Spanish phonics are systematically embedded within the scheme of work through a resource using a kinaesthetic method of linking image, sound, action and spelling.
• Learn to apply phonetical knowledge to speaking, listening, reading aloud and writing.
• Acquire language learning strategies for memorisation and retrieval as well as for listening, reading and understanding, also consolidated through rhymes, songs, stories, voice clips and videos.
• Learn to manipulate language to speak, build sentences and write paragraphs creatively by
  • using prior knowledge of grammar and key features
  • developing the skill of how to use a bi-lingual dictionary to decode unfamiliar language
  • using chosen vocabulary to ensure exposure to all the key phonic sounds
  • recognising and linking some of the language structures and patterns of Spanish and how these differ or are similar to English and other languages in particular their own heritage languages
• Experience lessons that are challenging, varied and interactive and develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.
• Provide opportunities to link their learning to other subjects such as: English, Maths, Geography, History, PSHE, Music and Art.
• Appreciate and learn about cultural differences and similarities.

Children’s’ Spanish books record their learning progress from Year 2 to Year 6: written work, listening and reading activities and a series of creative written projects. Progress is also evidenced through termly summative listening, reading comprehension and writing assessments tasks.

Impact

• Books, PDGs and pupil outcomes evidence substantial progress in learning Spanish meeting the targets of the KS2 Programme of Study for Languages.
• Children at Bounds Green are motivated, enthusiastic and inspired by Spanish language and its culture.
• They have a positive attitude to other languages and language learning.
• Children are prepared for the end of key stage requirements and are confident in their own Spanish language ability.
• They leave at the end of KS2 with sound foundations for further language learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond.

Spanish Curriculum Detailed Overview_2021-22