Spanish
"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way."
Frank Smith
Our Spanish Lead is Mrs R De Almeida.
Spanish Intent
All pupils at Dronfield Junior School have the right to learn an additional language, the study of which provides an opening to other cultures and societies beyond those of the English-speaking world. Language lessons give pupils opportunities to express their ideas and opinions in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both verbally and in writing. They also provide opportunities to read age-appropriate literature and learn songs in the target language.
Through our Spanish lessons at DJS, we aim to provide a solid foundation for
further study, equipping pupils with the skills that they need in order to become life-long language learners, both for the pleasure that this can bring, and for the practical purpose of equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
We teach a curriculum that enables our pupils to become effective users of language and show an understanding and respect of different cultures in our local, national and global communities.
Through the teaching of high-quality Spanish lessons at Dronfield Junior School, we aim to:
- Ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to study Spanish as a foreign language over four years, fostering their interest in Spanish-speaking nations across the world.
- Teach vocabulary and linguistic structures informed by the National Curriculum and the skills expressed therein: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (as well as Cultural Understanding).
- Enable pupils to ask and answer a range of questions about themselves, which would allow them to confidently address a Spanish speaker and exchange simple, personal information.
- Create opportunities for pupils to manipulate language for their own purposes, thereby expressing their own original ideas and opinions.
- Teach pupils the basics of phonics in Spanish to allow them to spell in a phonetically plausible way and read and speak with increased confidence and improved pronunciation.
- Enable pupils to draw comparisons between Spanish and English vocabulary, using their knowledge of cognates and near-cognates to decode unfamiliar texts of increasing complexity.
- Encourage pupils to draw comparisons between Spanish and English grammar, syntax and sentence structure, both as a tool for developing their understanding of the Spanish language and their understanding
of English. - Give pupils opportunities to make, and learn from, mistakes in the target language, thereby building resilience.
- Develop pupils' understanding of Spanish as a global language, and the reasons why it is spoken in countries other than Spain.
- Enable pupil to understand their place in the wider world and the concept of interdependence.
Spanish Implementation
Spanish is taught by a member of staff with a degree in Modern Languages (Spanish, German French), who has spent time living in Spain and has undertaken CPD on the teaching of languages in primary schools.
Pupils receive an hour’s Spanish lesson once a week for four out of 6 half terms of the year, with each half term block comprising a distinct topic ‘unit’. These lessons take place during the class teachers’ PPA time.
The current programme of study has been developed by the specialist teacher, in conjunction with staff at Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School, the local secondary school, to ensure progression from Year 3 to Year 7. Even the coverage of reading, writing, speaking and listening activities have been built in, and there are opportunities for pupils to revisit knowledge at varying degrees of complexity at a variety of points throughout the four years of study.
Lessons are intended to be active and highly focused, with pupils working as a whole class, in small groups, or in mixed-ability pairs to complete tasks at their individual level. Work is differentiated in a variety of ways to accommodate pupils in the same class who are all at different stages of their language-learning journeys. Activities consist of games, stories, songs, phonics, grammar and sentence-building activities, role-play and dictionary work, among others.
Resources which are drawn on most frequently are from Rachel Hawkes, Sue Cave, Lightbulb Languages, BBC Teach (Virtually There) and Quizlet.
Children who come new to the school part-way through the key stage are provided with a Powerpoint document to look at at home, which gives simple Spanish vocabulary and expressions (complete with audio clips) that are frequently used in lessons. They are encouraged to draw on their previous language-learning in our Spanish lessons (eg, pupils who have learnt French at a previous school often point out French-Spanish cognates).
Spanish Impact
Pupils complete specific tasks each lesson, in accordance with the learning objective, and regularly self-assess how they feel they have done. Activities which are paper-based go into a folder, which stays with the child throughout their four years at DJS, and shows a clear progression of skills and knowledge.
Work is regularly assessed by the specialist teacher, and common errors / misconceptions are recorded and dealt with at the start of the next session. At the end of each half term, pupils complete a more substantial task which is a chance for them to showcase what they have learnt that half term (eg. animal
stories in Y3, ‘wanted’ posters in year 6, etc.)
Spoken language is often recorded by the teacher on Chromebooks.
Pupils report high levels of enjoyment and engagement with their Spanish lessons at Dronfield Junior School, and frequently engage the specialist teacher in Spanish conversation outside of lessons. Many children report doing extra
Spanish at home on apps such as Duolingo, and parents sometimes come for advice on how else to support their child with their enthusiasm for language-learning at home. Many of our pupils go on to be successful language-learners at secondary school, performing well in formal exams.
These are some of the websites we use to support our planning and teaching of Spanish:
Rachel Hawkes: https://www.rachelhawkes.com/
BBC Teach: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach
Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/