Spanish
At St Agatha’s School, the children start learning Spanish in Y3 through a scheme which encourages children to have a growth mind-set and to be risk takers. The children discover that learning a foreign language is interesting and fun. Lessons are interactive, with a balance of spoken and written language, encouraging all children to participate and have a go. By making links and drawing similarities between Spanish and the language(s) they speak, the children are motivated and excited in lessons.
The three ‘pillars’ of language learning (phonics, grammar and vocabulary) are built into the scheme and language is recycled, revisited and consolidated and any new language introduced gradually becomes more complex and sophisticated. Pupils are taught according to their level and ability.
Early learning units start the foreign language learning journey and these lessons work mostly on vocabulary, single nouns, building up memory skills and formulating very short simple sentences from memory. Early learning units focus more on listening and speaking but still provide some age appropriate materials for reading and writing.
As the children progress, there is an equal focus on all four of the language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) in progressively more challenging activities.
Intermediate units build on Early Learning and work at phrase level. More grammar is incorporated into the lessons and there is a more explicit approach. There are longer reading and listening exercises, along with more challenging oral responses and written work.
Progressive units are the most challenging and are introduced when there are strong language foundations in place. The content is broader as there is more language presented to the children, allowing the children to speak more fluently and accurately from memory and produce more complex and longer written work.
Spanish Curriculum Overview - Example Timetable
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |
| Year 3 ELT (Early Language Teaching) |
La Fruta (The Fruits) | Las Verduras (The Vegetables) | Los animales (The animals) | Las Minibestias (The Minibeasts) |
Los Colores y Los Numeros (The Colours and Numbers) | Las Formas (The Shapes) |
| Year 4 ELT (Early Language Teaching) & Intermediate |
Bajo El Mar (Under the Sea) | En la Salva (In the Jungle) | Los instrumentos (The instruments) | La Fecha (The Date) | La Clase (The Classroom) |
En el Colegio (At School) |
| Year 5 Intermediate |
Me Presento (Presenting Myself) | Desayuno En El Café (At the Café) | Los Planetas (The planets) | Que Tiempo Hace? (The Weather) | La Ropa (Clothes) | La familia (The Family) |
| Year 6 Progressive |
La Fecha (The date) | Habitats (Habitats) | Mi Casa (My House) | La Comida Sana (Healthy Lifestyle) | El Fin De Semana (The weekend) | Yo Un El Mundo (Me in the World) |
Throughout the language scheme, there is coverage of the 12 DfE Languages Programme of Study.
Every year, we hold a Languages Day to develop language learning and an international outlook, providing opportunity to understand, appreciate and celebrate diversity, promoting respect and tolerance of others.
MFL at St Agatha’s ensures that the children leave us with a firm foundation in Spanish, equipping them to continue their study of languages in secondary school and inspiring a lifelong love of languages.