Intent

"Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language."– Frank Smith

Learning another language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It helps them to develop communication skills, including the core skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The children’s knowledge of how language works, phonology and elements of grammar will be developed and extended. Lessons will enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language. The transferable language learning skills gained will assist and lay foundations for further language learning. It will provide pupils with the confidence and independence to explore and be able to attempt manipulation of the structure of language. Learning another language gives children a new and broader perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and those of others.

Over the four years of Key Stage 2, the children of Grove CE Primary will build up their knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and grammar, practising their listening, speaking and writing skills as well as deepening their understanding of different Spanish-speaking cultures from around the world.

The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

1. understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources
2. speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
3. can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
4. discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in Spanish

Pupils will be taught to:

1. 1. listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
   2. explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
   3. engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
   4. speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
   5. develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
   6. present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
   7. read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
   8. appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
   9. broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
   10. write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
   11. describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
   12. understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including masculine and feminine forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.

Implementation

Grove CE Primary follows the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. The twelve aims as set out above from the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum for Languages are revisited throughout the four-year scheme across units of work that are based on familiar themes. All lessons are supported by high-quality audio clips of native speakers, following the Primary Languages Network scheme of work. Their specialist-led approach, including native speaker video teaching and whole-school CPD, ensures our pupils experience engaging, progressive language learning from Year 3 to Year 6. Each year will build upon the grammar and vocabulary taught in the year before, and opportunities are provided to revisit key vocabulary outside of Spanish lessons; for example, with the Spanish day of the week, date and month of the year written and read each day, or by answering the register with Spanish phrases.

To promote an active learning of languages a range of teaching methods are implemented to ensure that the children are developing their linguistic skills through listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to be secondary ready. Activities can consist of actions, rhymes, stories, song, drama, grammar focus, video clips, air writing, sentence structure, dictionary work, book making and many more creative ways to extend, embed and combine language skills. Written work is kept in workbooks, although formal writing is not the outcome of every lesson. The skill of writing is developed through use of whiteboards and air writing leading to writing in books.

Inclusion

All children, regardless of background or any additional needs, have the right to a good quality education. Through differentiation and additional support, all children can enjoy learning a language, develop communication skills, discover more about the world and its diversity, and celebrate and appreciate cultural and linguistic differences. These skills can then be linked to and developed in other curriculum areas.

Assessment:

Our curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression both in core skills and language learning skills. Assessment for learning takes place during lessons in order to evaluate and provide immediate feedback to improve further. Errors are corrected by being ‘re-framed’ and growth mindset is encouragement for all to ‘have a go’ and learn from any mistakes. Pupils self-assess each learning objective using PLN’s self-assessment cloud documents. There are inbuilt opportunities to carry out summative assessment (Puzzle It Out) three times during the year in listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to track progress. The aim is for a core body of language (words and phrases) to be ‘left in the sieve’ (as quoted by Dr Michael Wardle, HMI Lead for Languages) by the end of each stage.

Through the use of Puzzle It Out assessments and the tracking of results using a spreadsheet, progress can be monitored, and show the impact of language learning. The outcomes of these assessments allow staff to identify any of the core skills which still need developing and any areas of content which need further reinforcement.

Impact

By the time our pupils leave us in Year 6, we aim for them to have;

❖ The ability to communicate in another language through writing and speaking.

❖ Knowledge of a culture different to their own.

❖ Excitement and enjoyment about speaking in Spanish.

❖ A foundation for learning further languages in the future.