St John Bosco R. C. Primary
SchoolModern Foreign Languages - Spanish
At St John Bosco Primary School, we believe that the learning of a language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It helps them to develop communication skills, including the core skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The children’s knowledge of how language works, phonology and elements of grammar will be developed and extended.
Lessons will enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language. The transferable language learning skills gained will assist and lay foundations for further language learning. It will provide pupils with the confidence and independence to explore and be able to attempt manipulation of the structure of language. Learning another language gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.
The skills, knowledge and understanding gained through learning a language contribute to the development of children’s oracy and literacy and to their understanding of their own culture and those of others.
We believe that the early acquisition of Spanish will facilitate the learning of other foreign languages later in life.
We will prepare children for the KS3 language curriculum to enable them to transfer confidently and successfully. Spanish is chosen as this is one of the languages that our feeder secondary school teaches Spanish.
We will prepare children to participate in the rapidly changing world in which we live. We want all children to be able to understand and respond to spoken and written language; speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity; communicate through discussion and questioning; and continually improve the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
In Lower KS2, children acquire basic skills and understanding in Spanish with an emphasis placed on developing their Speaking and Listening ability. These will be further developed in Upper KS2 alongside Reading and Writing skills, gradually progressing to more complex language concepts and greater learner autonomy.
In Practice
In the EYFS, MFL fits within People and Communities. As part of this Area of Learning, children engage with role play, songs, stories and specific activities to develop an understanding and sensitivity to the similarities and differences between themselves and others, including languages.
In KS1, the exploration of language is linked in other topics, such as learning about other countries, they also are immersed in our languages day.
At St John Bosco we follow the Primary Languages Network scheme of work (Video2Teach). for the teaching of Spanish, which is also taught as the primary language at local feeder secondary schools. It holds at its core the Intent, Implementation and Impact of MFL whilst maintaining a ‘primary’ focus. Alongside the planning provided, the scheme is supported by accompanying videos, PowerPoints, audio files (spoken by native speakers), links to authentic literature, songs, games, cultural points of reference, seasonal events and cross-curricular links. The children in KS2 build up their knowledge and skills by working through the language learning stages from Stage 1 in Year 3 to Stage 4 in Year 6. The scheme of work is progressive, with the foundations being laid in Stages 1 and 2, ready for further development and challenge in Stages 3 and 4.
Currently all year groups are studying stage 1.
In KS2, lessons are planned and taught following the National Curriculum. Teachers follow a comprehensive scheme of work (Rachel Hawks) which covers all aspects of the MFL curriculum: speaking, listening, reading, writing and cultural understanding. The scheme progresses these skills and knowledge throughout KS2. Activities consist of a range of teaching techniques including actions, rhymes, songs, drama and many more creative ways to extend and embed language skills.
To ensure a steady development in pupils’ understanding and production of Spanish, we have progression within the three pillars of grammar, phonics and vocabulary. We know that the main tasks in early language acquisition are learning the sounds, vocabulary and grammar of the language and understanding and producing these when combined. There are regular opportunities for pupils to engage with listening and reading activities (understanding language) and writing and speaking activities (producing language)
To promote an active learning of languages a range of teaching methods are implemented to ensure that the children are developing their linguistic skills through listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to be secondary ready. Activities can consist of actions, rhymes, stories, song, drama, grammar focus, video clips, air writing, sentence structure, dictionary work, book making and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills. Written work is kept in workbooks, although formal writing is not the outcome of every lesson. The skill of writing is developed through use of whiteboards and air writing leading to writing in books.
Where English is not a child's first language, children are encouraged to continue using their first language at home and are supported to listen, understand, and respond in English whilst at school.
Lessons comprise of 30 minutes of discrete teaching each week; Children have Spanish exercise books to record their learning.
Cross Curricular links are made with topics studied to enhance understanding and to celebrate differences in culture.
How Can Parents Help
Learning Spanish as a foreign language can be a difficult task, especially for young children. However, parents can help their children to learn Spanish by…
Encouraging your child to enjoy the language by playing Spanish-related games and completing fun challenges.
Watching Spanish TV programmes, listening to music and watching films with your child, then discussed what was said.
Reading Spanish books out loud with your child and discuss the story in Spanish. This improves speaking and comprehension skills.
Finding opportunities for your child to communicate in Spanish. This could be by visiting a Spanish-speaking country or talking to Spanish-speaking friends and family.
Further support and useful websites
The BBC Bitesize websites link to videos, games and information a wide range of Spanish speaking activities and games.
This website has resources to help with learning Spanish.
Primary Resources: Modern Foreign Languages
The Association for Language Learning is the leading organisation supporting language teachers in the UK. Their resources are available at:
Spanish - Association for Language Learning (all-languages.org.uk)
