Spanish

Learning: For a better future

“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look  at the world”

CHINESE PROVERB  

Rationale

Languages are an integral part of the curriculum. Learning a language is a ‘liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures.’ It helps to equip pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. The languages curriculum provides the foundation for learning further languages and enable pupils the option to study and work in other countries. Spanish is spoken by around 580 million people, which represents around 7.6% of the entire population in the world speak Spanish

Of these, around 483 million are native Spanish speakers, making this language the world’s second mother tongue by number of speakers—after Mandarin Chinese, with 950 million native speakers (compared to English, in third place, with around 379 million native speakers). Therefore, we have chosen Spanish as our Modern Foreign Language for pupils at Roskear.

INTENT

Our goal is to broaden our pupils’ horizons, converse fluently with others, fully explore cultures and strengthen their economic prospects.

All pupils will are  expected to achieve their full potential in Spanish- the ultimate aim is that pupils feel confident engaging in spoken Spanish, develop skills in reading, listening and writing.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our Spanish curriculum is planned carefully for pupils’ progress by considering the building blocks of the subject ( the sounds,  words, rules and how these connect to create sentences and meanings) and the sequence of these blocks.

We follow the National Curriculum and have adopted the Catherine Cheeter schemes of work, which we have adapted to meet the needs of our children. Spanish is introduced in year 3, when pupils have an understanding of phonetics, decoding, encoding and word classes on which to build.

Intentional and Incidental language 

IMPACT

As the Spanish curriculum is defined and sequenced with attention to the types of knowledge – our assessment design is precise. Our assessment identifies the specific knowledge students have learnt and can apply, it pinpoints misconceptions and is incremental. We identify how far each aspect of the curriculum has been mastered. The evidence of impact is subject specific and ranges from written outcomes, pupils articulation of learning, visual presentations, drama, music or dance

Types of assessment methods include:

Assessment for learning- ( in class) 

  •          Using consistent feedback and marking strategies- against success criteria (See Marking and Feedback Policy)
  •          Targeted questioning
  •          Pupil self-assessment and peer-assessment- against success criteria
  •          Reading fluency and comprehension is assessed
  •          Low stakes testing – ‘Rapid Recall’

Formative Assessment

  •          Learning in Foundation subjects is evidenced in are learning conversations (adult/child, child/child, etc)
  •          Learning in all subjects is evidenced in targeted questioning and response
  •          Rapid Recall ( low stakes testing) shows evidence of what  substantive knowledge has been retained
  •          Moderation and assessment of exemplar work of a range of stages shows evidence of end points being met.,

Further evidence of Impact

 A systematic monitoring cycle enables Subject Leaders to prioritise and identify a key focus from their action plan; and the most appropriate monitoring means e.g : lesson visit, book look, planning, pupil conferencing. They complete a leadership trail, which  identifies Areas of Strength, Areas for Development and  informs their next steps.

MFL Long Term Plan