St Mary Magdalen'sSpanish
At St Mary Magdalen’s Junior School, we strive to create an appropriate balance of spoken and written language when teaching Spanish. Lessons at primary level lay the foundations for further foreign language learning at key stage 3. At the end of primary education, children will be able to understand and communicate simple ideas (in speech and writing), using familiar language and their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary.
We follow the National Framework for Languages and ensure that all language skills are covered:
Oracy
Oracy (listening, speaking and spoken interaction) has a more prominent place in language learning than in most, if not all other, areas of the curriculum. In the early stages children will spend a large majority of their time listening, speaking and interacting orally, this will largely be through the use of songs, rhymes and games.
Literacy
The Literacy skills of reading and writing are supported by, and in turn reinforce, the development of oracy. The children will begin by being able to copy individual words and phrases, progressing to being able to write familiar words, phrases and sentences from memory. Providing them with initial support such as sentence models or word banks will help them develop their writing.
Intercultural understanding
Intercultural understanding is an essential part of being a citizen. Children develop a greater understanding of their own lives in the context of exploring the lives of others. Children become more aware of the similarities and differences between people, their daily lives, beliefs and values. Objectives in this strand can be integrated into language lessons as well as taught separately in non-language teaching time, through other subjects.
The curriculum that we follow is based on the guidance given in the revised National Curriculum. We teach the children to know and understand how to:
- ask and answer questions;
- use correct pronunciation and intonation;
- memorise words;
- interpret meaning;
- understand basic grammar;
- use dictionaries;
- write sentences with support and from memory;
- work in pairs and groups, and communicate in the other language;
- look at life in another culture.
Contribution of the Subject to other Areas of the Curriculum:
Teaching a modern foreign Language is a subject in its own right and has specific skills and knowledge, which need to be taught and learnt. However some of these skills and knowledge can be applied across the curriculum to support work in other subjects, particularly in Literacy.
In addition, the MFL lessons are planned to be as cross-curricular as possible, this means that whenever it is possible, children will apply their use of Spanish language to topics from different areas of the Curriculum.
Additional Resources:
Below are some useful links to support your child in Spanish: