Languages
Introduction to Spanish
¡Nos encanta el español!
At East Dene Primary School, Spanish is taught throughout KS2 in order to foster cultural awareness and a global perspective. This curriculum choice promotes tolerance and curiosity, enabling pupils to appreciate diverse traditions and deepen their understanding of the world. By learning Spanish, children are given opportunities to develop practical communication skills and a foundation for future language acquisition. The learning of a second language not only enhances their literacy in the target language but also strengthens their grasp of English. Children become confident speakers, attentive listeners, and purposeful writers while developing an intercultural understanding. The teaching of Spanish challenges pupils to think beyond their immediate community, opening doors to opportunities and preparing them to thrive in an increasingly global world. It’s an exciting opportunity for children to explore a new language and culture, developing communication skills that will broaden their horizons.
Cultural Capital
At East Dene Primary, children are given lots of opportunities to learn a new language from a country (Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries) they may not have visited before. Children are provided with opportunities within their curricular diet to explore the culture, food and festivals celebrated in these countries. Children celebrate a Spanish themed day where they taste typically Spanish foods, take part in Spanish songs, games and listen to native music.
How We Teach Spanish
Intent
Learning a foreign language is a necessary part of being a member of a multi-cultural society and provides an opening to other cultures. Our aim is to offer a broad and vibrant foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and motivate our children. In addition, to develop an interest and curiosity about foreign languages, offering the opportunity to explore relationships with language and identity, develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and the world around them.
Implementation
Our Spanish curriculum implementation is founded on a well-sequenced, progressive approach that builds year on year. We provide detailed medium and long-term planning to support staff in delivering coherent lessons. Regular CPD enhances staff subject knowledge and confidence. Each lesson incorporates recall of previously taught material, enabling children to expand their schemata. Our inclusive classrooms ensure all children have opportunities to succeed through adaptive and responsive teaching. We emphasise cross-curricular links, developing literacy skills in English as well as the target language and exploring historical, geographical, artistic, musical, and cultural concepts through a Spanish lens. This comprehensive approach fosters a deep appreciation for language learning and cultural diversity, preparing our pupils for an interconnected world.
Key Aims
Our KS2 Spanish curriculum aims to develop pupils’ language proficiency through core linguistic skills: receptive (listening and reading) and productive (speaking and writing). We focus on teaching how phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary interplay to build understanding and production of increasingly complex language. Key objectives include helping pupils to:
- develop strong retrieval skills for vocabulary retention.
- understand and apply grammatical structures.
- listen and read for gist in a variety of authentic sources, enabling students to grasp main ideas in Spanish texts and conversations.
- recognise and accurately use phonetics to improve pronunciation.
- speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions.
Ultimately, our goal is to foster successful communication skills, empowering pupils to express themselves confidently in various meaningful contexts. This comprehensive approach ensures a solid foundation for future language learning and cultural appreciation.
Linguistic Strands
These building blocks of language, the disciplinary knowledge, contribute to give children the tools to be able to communicate confidently in Spanish.
Assessment
Assessment includes regular book looks, pupil voice interviews, and drop-ins to oversee KS2 progression and support staff. Teachers continuously assess pupils’ ability to recall and apply phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary through core linguistic skills. They ensure students can communicate effectively in Spanish aligning with the planned curriculum objectives. Additionally, teachers evaluate pupils’ attitudes towards learning Spanish, assessing enjoyment and perceived value. This comprehensive approach ensures a well-rounded assessment of both academic progress and engagement in Spanish language acquisition.
Spanish in our timetable
In KS2, children receive a 30-minute weekly Spanish lesson from the class teacher. In KS1, we are currently developing ways we can introduce Spanish in small chunks to our youngest learners in preparation for starting more formal lessons in KS2.
Progress Model
Knowledge Organisers
At the beginning of each unit, pupils are provided with a knowledge organiser designed to support their learning. These organisers serve as a valuable reference tool throughout lessons, enabling children to consolidate key vocabulary and concepts. They are used to promote independence, assist with self- and peer-assessment, and provide an effective resource for revisiting and reinforcing prior learning.
Medium-Term and Long-Term Plan
Please find an example Long-Term and Medium-Term Plan taken from our Lower KS2 scheme of work. Each unit builds on existing substantive and disciplinary knowledge.
Useful Websites
BBC Bitesize – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zxsvr82
Rockalingua (some free content with some great songs and videos) – https://rockalingua.com/
Duo Lingo – https://www.duolingo.com/
Language Guide (for pronunciation and vocabulary help) – Learn a Language – Share a Language – LanguageGuide.org
Spanish Games – https://www.spanish-games.net/
Help with pronunciation in Spanish – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zk78382
How Parents and Carers Can Help
How parents can help
You don’t have to be able to speak Spanish to support your child with their learning at home. Simply talking to your child about what they have been learning in their language lessons and asking them to teach you some key words or phrases is a fantastic way of helping children recall previous learning. Perhaps they have a younger sibling or other family members that they might want to teach some key words to as well?
Hunt for bilingual books at the library
Many libraries have a bilingual book section where children might find simple stories in Spanish. They can have a go at reading the Spanish parts whilst you provide the translation in English.
Keep your eyes open when out and about
Challenge your children to find Spanish products on supermarket shelves and see if they can read the packaging or work out exactly where the item is from. Do they recognise any ingredient names in Spanish? Perhaps they could make their own list of things to buy in Spanish.
On holiday
If you are lucky enough to spend any time in a Spanish-speaking country during the holidays, encourage your children to be the ‘translator’! Can they practise some of what they have been learning? Perhaps they could order a drink in Spanish.
Encourage creativity
Older children could create a resource for younger pupils in the school to use. This could take the form of a ‘Knowledge Organiser’ (which presents all the vocabulary for a particular unit of work), a game or a poster with key words on it.
Free Online Resources
There are lots of free and fun websites where children can practise Spanish at home. These are safe, accessible and suitable for families without subscription costs:
Duolingo – www.duolingo.com (free language app and website where children can learn through games and short activities)
Rockalingua – www.rockalingua.com (songs, games and simple activities – some are free to access)
Spanish Games – www.spanish-games.net (interactive vocabulary games and practice activities for beginners)
BBC Bitesize Spanish – BBC Bitesize Spanish KS2 (videos, quizzes and activities designed for primary pupils)
Digital Dialects – www.digitaldialects.com/Spanish.htm (free vocabulary games, numbers, colours, phrases and more)
These resources can be enjoyed on most devices, including smartphones, tablets and laptops, making them easy to use at home.