Modern Foreign Languages

Buenos Dias! At Barwic Parade we believe that Spanish is an amazing, fun and interesting language to learn! There are nearly half a million native Spanish speakers worldwide, thus people who speak English, as well as Spanish, should be able to communicate with at least 2 billion people around the world! In Europe, Spanish is the native language of the Spanish mainland; the Balearic Islands of Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera; and the Canary Islands of Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro! There are also around 20 countries which list Spanish as their first language on the American continent, including Mexico, Columbia, Argentina and Peru! What a lot of places for the adventurous amongst us to visit and practise this wonderful language!

Intent

At Barwic Parade the main focus of MFL is to inspire children to become increasingly confident communicators in the Spanish language. Children learn how to read and pronounce words accurately using Spanish phonics; how to order words by learning the grammatical structures of Spanish sentences; and increase their knowledge with regular introduction to new vocabulary. In order to embed learning for good progress, there is regular repetition of learning and a clear progression of skills from EYFS through to Year 6.

Additionally, Barwic Parade intends to celebrate European Languages Day each year in September, exposing our children to a diversity of European languages and cultures, including those represented in our school community. We hope to foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world and other cultures.

Implementation across the school

Spanish is taught discretely in all year groups from EYFS up to Year 6 each week by three teachers at Barwic Parade. Spanish was launched in school in 2019, therefore this was the starting point for most of the children’s learning of Spanish at Barwic Parade. Thus, the learning is being developed over the course of a four year period in Key Stage 2 using the scheme of work from www.rachelhawkes.com. Learning from the scheme of work is tailored to challenge each Key Stage 2 group, in order to match the school’s MFL progression of skills, so that by Upper Key Stage 2 the children have acquired the skills necessary to move up to Key Stage 3. The Barwic Parade MFL subject leader has also implemented the suggestions from the MFL subject leader at our main feeder school, Selby High School, to enable a smooth transition in the Spanish language knowledge of our children when reaching Key Stage 3.

EYFS learn Spanish by listening to and joining in with Spanish songs or rhymes of basic vocabulary each week, with each song changing half termly. Although MFL is not compulsory in Key Stage 1, they also learn Spanish, thus laying the foundations for learning Spanish in Key Stage 2. Key Stage 1 learn from www.lightbulblanguages.co.uk scheme of work with their learning tailored to work alongside the school’s MFL progression of skills.

Weekly opportunities to revise previous content are planned into the start of lessons, with children being given the opportunity to apply vocabulary to independent phrases or sentences. The children also have banks of vocabulary and useful words to refer to in their exercise books for independent sentence building. They also have their own phonics sheet to use when asked to try to pronounce words independently.

By the end of Key Stage 2 and through the use of songs, rhymes, stories, poems and games the children will be taught to:

• Listen attentively to the spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding. 
• Explore the patterns and sounds of language and link 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. 
• 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, express ideas clearly. 

• Describe people, places, and things orally and in writing. 
• Understand some of the basic grammar in Spanish. 

Impact

Our Spanish curriculum has been developed to meet the needs of all the children and promotes an enthusiasm for learning to communicate in different languages throughout their lives.

We encourage the children to have an understanding of the basic Spanish language and to become:

• confident in simple Spanish conversations
• aware of the vocabulary, grammar and language needed in a variety of situations. 
• aware of intercultural understanding with respect to languages and cultures represented in the Barwic Parade community. 
• aware of the similarities and differences between themselves and those of Spanish speaking children and their cultures. 

Assessment

Assessments are based on observation of children working on different oral activities and (where appropriate) written product.  Monitoring is completed by the Subject Leader and overseen by SLT.

Formative assessment strategies are used by teachers to track children's progress, attainment and to identify areas of focus. Use of effective questioning and discussion, as well as tasks set, allows for all planning to be relevant to the needs of the class and adapted to suit individual learners with different needs. Vocabulary and skills are taught in small steps, they are practised, and they are repeated and revisited to enable children to deepen their understanding and improve their fluency. 

A regular programme of monitoring, evaluation and review also takes place to ensure good progress.