Spanish
“A different language is a different vision of life”
Federico Fellini
Our Spanish Teacher is: Senor Pena
What we teach
The intention of the Spanish curriculum at Mersey Park Primary School is that children are taught to develop an interest in learning another language in a way that is enjoyable and stimulating. We enhance children’s confidence and we strive to stimulate and encourage children’s curiosity about language. We develop children’s cultural awareness of Spain and other Spanish speaking countries, comparing it with Britain, through curriculum enrichment opportunities. We strive to embed the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing necessary to enable children to use and apply their Spanish learning in a variety of contexts and lay the foundations for future language learning. Most of our pupils have very little knowledge of other languages when starting to learn Spanish in Key Stage Two. Through MFL, the children learn about individuals significant to the Spanish nation and draw comparisons to individuals in the UK, for example the monarchy, government and performers.
Our Spanish curriculum is designed, following National Curriculum objectives, to develop children’s skills in languages, through regularly taught lessons. Children progressively acquire, use and apply a growing bank of vocabulary organised around topics. We follow a carefully planned scheme of work to ensure coverage and progression across school.
By the end of Key Stage 2 we aim to have produced pupils who can engage in simple conversations in Spanish and understand key terms and phrases. We hope, through our teaching of Spanish, our pupils will develop an appreciation and respect for other nationalities and cultures and foster an interest in learning other languages.
How we teach it
Each class in Key Stage 2 has a weekly Spanish lesson. The content of these lessons is carefully sequenced, following the National Curriculum Programme of Study, so that prior learning is considered and opportunities for revision are built in. Children are encouraged and supported to develop their acquisition of language skills through conversational work, songs, games, role-play, use of a range of media and stories. As confidence and skills grow, children record their work through pictures, captions, sentences and longer written texts.
Displays are used to remind children of key vocabulary. Practical activities are used to help improve memory and recall including mini-quizzes at the start of each lesson which allow pupils to revise key knowledge and teachers to address misunderstandings. In lessons, wherever possible, instructions are given in Spanish to expose children to the language in use. Visual prompts are used to support children in translating new vocabulary and word banks and knowledge organisers are available for children to support their learning and recap previous learning.
All pupils also participate in activities that share the traditional culture of Spain and Spanish speaking countries, and the lives and impact on the world of Spanish speaking individuals throughout history.
Impact
We strive to ensure that our pupil’s attainment is in line or exceeds their potential when we consider the varied starting points of all our children. The learning challenges ensure that children are accessing work at age related expectations, with regular opportunities to be challenged through higher-level objectives. Teachers are supported in developing their own subject knowledge by our native Spanish speaking teacher, Senor Pena.
Spanish is monitored by the subject leader throughout all Key Stage 2 year groups using a variety of strategies such as work scrutiny, lesson observations, staff discussions and pupil interviews. Pupils are assessed regularly against National Curriculum objectives using online assessments.
Mersey Park School- Spanish Curriculum
Our curriculum allows pupils to develop their communication and literacy skills that lay the foundation for future language learning. They develop linguistic competence, extend their knowledge of how language works and explore differences and similarities between foreign languages and English.
Learning new languages raises awareness of our multi-lingual and multi-cultural world, and introduces an international dimension to pupil’s learning. The learning of a foreign language provides a medium for cross-curricular links and for reinforcement of knowledge, skills and understanding developed in other subjects.
Spanish Knowledge Organisers
Click on the links below to see the knowledge organisers for each year group. These could be useful to support your child at home.
Spanish at Mersey Park
Autumn Term
Year 3
In Year 3 the children begin to learn everyday Spanish vocabulary. They start by learning the individual words for numbers, body parts and colours then begin to use these in basic sentences.
Year 4
In Year 4 the children revise numbers and continue to have conversations with one another. They also learn how to say many foods which would allow them to order from a restaurant.
Year 5
In Year 5 the children consolidate their knowledge of greetings and continue to work on this throughout the year. They then move to numbers and counting in increasingly large numbers. They also look at the different parts of the body and face.
Year 6
In Year 6 the children extend their knowledge of greetings and use this in conversations. In order to do this they develop further knowledge of verbs and how they change for each pronoun.
Spring Term
Year 3
In Year 3 the children learn the days of the week ad months of the year. They revise parts of the body and colours. The begin to learn the names of animals and describe them.
Year 4
In Year 4 the children make links between the months and seasons. They recap animals with a focus on farm animals and describe them.
Year 5
In Year 5 the children learn how to say who is in their family and who lives in their house. They learn how to say their likes and dislikes.
Year 6
In Year 6 the children learn different foods and how they could order them in a restaurant using euros. They also learn how to go shopping and buy different clothes by describing them with adjectives.
Summer Term
Year 3
In Year 3 the children name the different animals they would find in the zoo and count the animals in Spanish.
Year 4
In Year 4 the children give their opinions about what we like and dislike using fruits and subjects. They also learn about different school equipment and express how many things they have in their back packs.
Year 5
In Year 5 the children learn the verb to have and use it to describe school equipment they have. They also give their opinions on likes and dislikes.
Year 6
In Year 6 the children describe a famous character from their favourite film. They continue to study adjectives to describe facial features and items of clothing.
Spanish Day
What a fabulous day we had! We carried out a range of Spanish activities throughout the day. The children created artwork based on the Spanish artist Juan Gris and also carried out some Flamenco dancing. The children especially enjoyed cooking and tasting Spanish food. The croquetas and Tortillas were scrumptious!
Here’s some videos of our children demonstrating the correct pronunciation during their Spanish lessons:
SPANISH REPORT TO GOVERNORS