Spanish Overview and Progression Framework 2021-2022

Intent

“Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures.”

 (National Curriculum 2014)

The 2014 National Curriculum for Modern Foreign Languages aims to ensure that all children:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
• Are able to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and that they are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Can write at varying length, 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.

At Mossbourne Riverside Academy we aim to give the children in our care as wide a range of opportunities and experiences as possible. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. At Mossbourne Riverside Academy we are commited to ensure that teaching enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. We also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes and learn new ways of thinking.

We are committed to ensure our MFL teaching provides the foundation for learning further languages, as well as the means to access international opportunities for study and work later in life. We aim to provide an appropriate balance of spoken and written language that will lay the foundation for further foreign language teaching at KS3.

Learning a language enriches the curriculum, providing excitement, enjoyment and challenge for children and teachers, helping to create enthusiastic learners and to develop positive attitudes to language learning throughout life. The natural links between languages and other areas of the curriculum can enhance the overall teaching and learning experience.

We believe that our children enjoy learning to speak an additional language. Secondly, we also believe that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language, the faster the language in question is acquired. We also believe that it is a good idea to introduce a new language to children when they are at primary school, as they tend to be less self-conscious about speaking aloud at this stage of their development. It is widely believed that the early acquisition of a foreign language facilitates the learning of other foreign languages later in life.

Implementation

Children are gently introduced to some spoken Spanish vocabulary in EYFS and KS1. This enables the children to develop early language acquisition skills that facilitate their understanding of the patterns of language and how these differ from, or are similar to, English. In KS2, each class has a timetabled Spanish lesson of 45-60 minutes. Lessons across the Key Stages support the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Knowledge and skills in Spanish are progressive from one year to the next and are mapped across the school, in line with our scheme of work.

At Mossbourne Riverside Academy we use a variety of the following techniques to encourage children to have an active engagement with languages:

• Well structured lessons – consistency is key to achieve good results
• Games – in order to develop vocabulary through repetition, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
• Role-play – these should relate to the situations the children may find themselves in the future
• Talk Task – where pupils have the opportunity to speak and practice the learning in context
• Independent Task – through differentiation we ensure we provide the best opportunity for each individual to develop language skills and up level their knowledge
• Grammar Focus – deepen their understanding of language structures and patterns
• Big questions – these provides pupils with a deeper understanding of the Hispanic culture
• Knowledge Recall – this retrieval practice allows pupils and teachers to assess the previous learning
• Challenges – ensure all pupils have an opportunity to develop their learning
• Cross curricular – making links to the school context enhances and enrich the learning
• Action songs and rhymes – to develop phonetic skills, memory skills and to further vocabulary
• Puppets and toys – to be used to develop communication skills
• Reading – to provide vocabulary in its context and develop their listening skill
• ICT programs and websites
• We also benefit from our native Spanish teachers in KS1 and KS2 classrooms, in order to expose the children to more than one voice in the foreign language
• We make the lessons as entertaining and enjoyable as possible, as we realise that this approach serves to develop a positive attitude in the children to the learning of modern foreign languages
• We build children’s confidence through constant praise for any contribution they make in the foreign language
• Spanish Mascots – designated pupils in each class will promote and expand Spanish in their school life.

We base the teaching on the 2014 National Curriculum through the Hackney Learning Trust Scheme of Work for modern foreign languages, a recognised provider within Hackney. We have adapted this to the context of our school and the abilities of our children.

Impact

At Mossbourne Riverside Academy we believe that learning a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils.

It helps them to develop communication skills including key skills of speaking and listening and extends their knowledge of how language works, which help them to up level their grammar skills.

Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, they will develop intercultural understanding and show values of respect, tolerance and equality.

     Our Spanish curriculum will ensure all pupils develop key language learning skills, as set out by the national curriculum, as well as a love of languages and learning about other cultures. These are as follows:

• Children will be provided with opportunities to communicate with each other in the target language.
• Children will be given the opportunity to look at other languages – particularly if children are bi-lingual.
• Children will learn how language skills can be applied to a range of languages.
• To make young children aware that language has structure, and that the structure differs from one language to another
• Children will develop their language through development of the four key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
• Children will enrich their language learning by developing an understanding of Hispanic culture.