Intent
At Gusford, it is our intent that every child will be confident to speak in Spanish and to have a good understanding of both written and spoken Spanish by the end of Key Stage 2. We want every child to develop a genuine interest and positive curiosity about foreign languages, which will deepen their understanding of the other cultures and the world around them. We want to harness their enthusiasm for learning with a greater concept of the wider world and the languages spoken in order for children to become lifelong language learners, which will extend onto Key Stage 3 and beyond.
Implementation
Children at Gusford are taught Spanish using primarily a Scheme of Work called Language Angels, which is a fully immersive programme with a bespoke curriculum that follows Gusford's curriculum of learning. Children throughout the whole school are taught Spanish including EYFS and Key Stage 1 children. In EYFS, children are exposed to a variety of languages each half-term to celebrate our cultural diversity, they will learn new greetings and songs in the language of the term, enriching their knowledge of the wider world. In Key Stage 1, children will learn Spanish through games, songs, Spanish stories and they will answer the register in Spanish for them to build a strong foundation of language learning. In Key Stage 2, children build upon prior vocabulary knowledge from each lesson and to enhance their language learning and confidence to structure written Spanish into sentences and then to verbally construct spoken Spanish into conversations. The lessons provide a speech button for the teacher to use so the children are exposed to spoken Spanish with correct pronunciation, providing support to the non-specialist teachers.
As children progress through the curriculum, the grammatical knowledge becomes evident as lessons contain a grammar content, which is built upon through each year group. Children are then able to use their knowledge of one verb but in later learning can then use the same verb in a different tense therefore progressing their language fluency not just in written Spanish but in spoken Spanish too. Learning in the classroom will be fun, engaging and exciting where children will demonstrate confidence in lessons to speak in Spanish and develop their conversational skills through practice and repetition of core vocabulary.
Impact
Within our Language Angels scheme, Spanish is monitored and progress is assessed every half term after each new unit of teaching has been completed. This is completed throughout Key Stage 2 to ensure continued progression within the four strands of learning. Progression through a topic should be evident in the development of key skills, pronunciation and acquisition of core vocabulary. Our pupils take ownership of their progress and language learning by completing end of unit assessments in order for them to track their own development and their growing independence in spoken and written language.
Cross Curricular links
Spanish is taught alongside all other subjects but is also embedded into everyday learning at Gusford. Children are encouraged to answer the register in Spanish and to greet teachers in the target language.
The bespoke MFL curriculum that we have in place allows Spanish to be interwoven through all other subjects. In Geography, children learn about Spanish speaking countries in the world and where chocolate is made and in this topic, in particular children learn about various habitats. In History, they learn about ancient Latin American cultures such as the Incas and Mayans. They also learn about World War 1 and 2 in Spanish lessons so that children can learn varying vocabulary and make linguistic links between different languages. References are made to other names of countries in Spanish. Children learn about famous Spanish artists through Art lessons and learn what inspired these artists in the wider world.