'We are linguists'

"You can never understand one language until you understand at least two" - Geoffrey Willans

Why should we learn Spanish?

Hola! At Blackmoor Park Junior School we understand it is a necessity to be aware and accepting of other cultures and countries. We also want to promote the idea of continuously broadening our knowledge of the world. As it is currently the second most popular language with around 410 million people speaking Spanish as their native, this lesson is a perfect way to engage children with meaningful yet fun activities.

How will Spanish help children in later life?

We can all agree that language is a vital part of life, giving people a way to express themselves and transmit expressions. It is there a relevant skill to use in real life situations and can help children to interact with those who speak the language.  They will have a deeper understanding of those who speak Spanish as well as being able to identify various words and phrases. They will learn words, phrases and even sentences orally which they can develop into written pieces of work as well.

What you can expect from our Spanish lessons

As Spanish is the teaching of a language, you will expect to see lots of oral activities which are fun and engaging for all children involved. In addition to this, we are celebrating the Spanish culture and language so lessons are often lively and upbeat with many games and activities that the children will want to participate in again and again. Even the children who may not feel comfortable speaking the language at first will gain knowledge from the repetition of sounds, pictures and words as well as the hands on activities they can join into.

How we teach Spanish

Spanish lessons are taught using the National Curriculum (2014) supported by the award winning scheme La Jolie Ronde. We have a teacher who speaks fluent Spanish who leads this area and supports staff with their progression and pronunciation.

Resources and inclusion

We are constantly building upon known skills in Spanish and lessons will include repetition in order for children to become comfortable with the new words and phrases they are learning. As well as this, many lessons are heavily oral based, meaning that even children who may find writing large amounts of information tricky can still access the information. Finally, children will be carefully guided through the work with a variety of visual and interactive resources.

NC links

Pupils should be taught to:

 § Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding

 § Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words

 § Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help

 § Speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures

§ Develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases

§ Present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences

 § Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing

 § Appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language

 § Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary

§ Write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly

 § Describe people, places, things and actions orally

§ Understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.