Spanish
Interim Curriculum Leader: Jamie Andrews
Mr Andrews is our Languages Leader and is responsible for this curriculum area. This means ensuring we teach an ambitious curriculum, supporting our teachers to implement our curriculum through high-quality lessons and checking that lessons are helping our children to know more, remember more and do more.
At Chiltern Primary School, our mission is to make learning irresistible for every child. We believe in fostering positive relationships, championing each and every student, and embracing equality and diversity. As part of our commitment to providing a well-rounded education, we have developed a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning Spanish.
Language Angels: Teaching the breadth of the national curriculum
In order to deliver a high-quality Spanish curriculum, we have chosen to use the Language Angels program. Language Angels provides a structured and progressive framework that aligns with the 2014 National Curriculum in England. This program enables us to teach Spanish to all children from Reception to Year 6, ensuring continuity and progression in their language development.
The Language Angels resources consist of interactive online activities and engaging materials that cater to different learning styles. From vocabulary and grammar exercises to cultural activities, these resources capture the interest of our students and make language learning an enjoyable experience.
Prioritising Positive Relationships
At Chiltern Primary School, we prioritize building positive relationships with our students. We recognize that a nurturing and supportive environment encourages language learning and boosts students' self-confidence. Our Spanish lessons provide ample opportunities for students to interact with their peers and the teacher through various communicative activities.
Our skilled teachers create a safe and inclusive classroom environment where every student's voice is valued. We encourage open dialogue and active participation, allowing students to express themselves and develop their Spanish language skills with confidence. Through positive reinforcement and constructive feedback, we aim to instill a sense of achievement and motivate our students to become lifelong learners.
Championing Each and Every Child
At Chiltern Primary School, we firmly believe in championing the strengths and interests of every child. By providing a varied and engaging Spanish curriculum, we ensure that all students can access and excel in their language learning journey.
Our lessons are designed to cater to diverse learning needs, allowing students with different abilities and styles to thrive. We integrate multi-sensory activities, visual aids, and real-life scenarios to make Spanish learning meaningful and relatable. Additionally, we offer targeted support and extension opportunities to challenge and stretch students who may require additional assistance or require further challenge.
Embracing Equality and Diversity
Chiltern Primary School embraces and celebrates diversity. We value the languages and cultures represented within our school community and understand that fostering an inclusive environment is crucial for effective language learning.
In our Spanish lessons, we make links to the cultural aspects of the Spanish-speaking world, such as festivals, traditions, and customs. We encourage students to appreciate and respect different cultures, promoting tolerance, and understanding. By exposing our students to diverse perspectives, we aim to prepare them to become global citizens who can thrive and communicate in an increasingly interconnected world.
In conclusion, at Chiltern Primary School, we are committed to providing a high-quality Spanish curriculum that aligns with the 2014 National Curriculum in England. Our approach prioritizes positive relationships, champions each and every child, utilizes the Language Angels program, and embraces equality and diversity. By offering engaging and inclusive language learning experiences, we aim to ignite a lifelong love for Spanish and equip our students with valuable communication skills for their future endeavors.
Aims
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
- understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
- speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
- can write at varying lengths, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
- discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
Progression
Here is an overview of what we expect children to be taught, know and do by the end of each year group.
Year 3
Through Year 3 the children will be taught to listen to and enjoy short stories, nursery rhymes & songs. Recognise familiar words and short phrases covered in the units taught. Communicate with others using simple words and short phrases covered in the units. Read familiar words and short phrases accurately by applying knowledge from 'Phonics Lesson 1'. Understand the meaning in English of short words I read in a foreign language. Write familiar words & short phrases using a model or vocabulary list. EG: 'I play the piano'. 'I like apples'. The children will also start to understand the concept of noun gender and the use of articles. Use the first-person singular version of high-frequency verbs. EG: 'I like…' 'I play…' 'I am called…'
Year 4
In Year 4 the children will learn to listen to longer passages and understand more of what we hear by picking out key words and phrases covered in current and previous units. Communicate with others with improved confidence and accuracy. Learn to ask and answer questions based on the language covered in the units and incorporate a negative reply if and when required. Read aloud short pieces of text applying knowledge learnt from 'Phonics Phonics & Pronunciation Lessons 1 & 2'. Understand most of what we read in a foreign language when it is based on a familiar language. Write some short phrases based on familiar topics and begin to use connectives/conjunctions and the negative form where appropriate. EG: My name, where I live and my age. The children will better understand the concept of gender and which articles to use for meaning (EG: 'the', 'a' or 'some'). Introduce simple adjectival agreement (EG: adjectival agreement when describing nationality), the negative form and possessive adjectives. EG: 'In my pencil case I have…' or 'In my pencil case I do not have...'
Year 5
Over the course of Year 5, the children will learn to listen more attentively and for longer. Understand more of what they hear even when some of the language may be unfamiliar by using the decoding skills we have developed. They will learn to communicate on a wider range of topics and themes. Remember and recall a range of vocabulary with increased knowledge, confidence and spontaneity. Understand longer passages in the foreign language and start to decode the meaning of unknown words using cognates and context. Increase their knowledge of phonemes and letter strings using knowledge learnt from 'Phonics Lessons 1 to 3'. They will learn to write a paragraph using familiar language incorporating connectives/conjunctions, a negative response and adjectival agreement where required. Learn to manipulate the language and be able to substitute words for suitable alternatives. EG: My name, my age, where I live, a pet I have, a pet I don't have and my pet's name. The children will also revise gender and nouns and learn to use and recognise the terminology of articles (EG: definite, indefinite and partitive). Understand better the rules of adjectival agreement and possessive adjectives. Start to explore full verb conjugation (EG: 'I wear...', 'he/she wears...' and also be able to describe clothes in terms of colour EG: 'My blue coat'.
Year 6
In year 6, the children will learn to listen to longer texts and more authentic foreign language material. They will learn to pick out cognates and familiar words and learn to 'gist listen' even when hearing language that has not been taught or covered. The children will also learn to recall previously learnt language and recycle/incorporate it with new language with increased speed and spontaneity. Children will also engage in short conversations on familiar topics, responding with opinions and justifications where appropriate. Children will also be able to tackle unknown language with increased accuracy by applying knowledge learnt from 'Phonics Lessons 1 to 4' including awareness of accents, silent letters etc. Decode unknown language using bilingual dictionaries. In their writing, they will learn to write a piece of text using language from a variety of units covered and learn to adapt any models provided to show a solid understanding of any grammar covered. Also start to incorporate conjugated verbs and learn to be comfortable using connectives/conjunctions, adjectives and possessive adjectives. E.g.: A presentation or description of a typical school day including subjects, time and opinions. Pupils will also consolidate our understanding of gender and nouns, use of the negative, adjectival agreement and possessive adjectives (e.g.: which subjects I like at school and also which subjects I do not like). Become familiar with a wider range of connectives/conjunctions and more confident with full-verb conjugation - both regular and irregular. E.g.: 'to go', 'to do', 'to have' and 'to be'.