Spanish

Key Stage 1

Key Stage 1 will focus mainly on speaking and listening as well as noun-based vocabulary to ensure children are given a solid foundation to build on.

In Year 1, students will begin their language learning experience by exploring some of the most fundamental phonemes in Spanish (ch, ll, n, j and rr). Then, they will move on to acquire some basic noun-based vocabulary such as numbers, colours, forms of transport and minibeasts through songs and rhymes. 

In Year 2, students will revisit the phonemes learned the previous year and will add five more (ca, ce, ci, co, cu) to their phonetic toolkit. They will then learn new noun-based vocabulary by exploring a variety of topics (vegetables, ice-creams, fruits, actions and shapes).

Lower Key Stage 2

In Lower Key Stage 2, children will continue to hone their speaking and listening skills. However, they will also begin to develop their writing skills.

In Year 3, children will expand their knowledge of Spanish phonetics by acquiring five new phonemes (ga, ge, gi, go, gu). They will also explore new topics (animals, instruments, Ancient Britain and Red Riding Hood) and build on prior knowledge to create their first sentences. Students will also learn some basic grammar, such as gender agreement and the different forms for the article ‘the’.

In Year 4, the last four phonemes will be introduced (b, cc, v, z). Furthermore, students will revisit prior knowledge (vegetables and Ancient Britain), acquire new vocabulary through various new topics (greetings, presenting myself and house) and learn how to use conjunctions accurately. The focus will be on building more complex sentences by adding description. 

Upper Key Stage 2

In Upper Key Stage 2, writing will gain more relevance, although children will be given ample opportunities to continue to develop their speaking and listening skills.

In Year 5, all of the previous phonemes will be revisited to ensure every student is secure in their phonetic knowledge. The new topics taught in Year 5 will put the students’ conversational skills to the test, as they will be expected to speak and write about a specific topic fluently and extensively by building on prior knowledge. Some of these topics are: at the cafe, family and clothes.

In Year 6, students will draw upon the knowledge they have acquired since Year 1 to speak and write about a variety of topics fluently and with a certain level of prosody. The topics introduced in Year 6, such as ‘do you have a pet?’, ‘the weather’ and ‘schools’, will provide students with more advanced descriptive tools that will help them build more complex sentences.

 

Upon leaving Ascot Road, children will become proficient in Spanish, being able to converse about a wide range of topics including school, family and time. They will also be able to talk about the history of Britain, including the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as Roman times in Spanish. 

Furthermore, they will have learned about the culture of many Hispanic countries and explored the many nuances of dialect in the different Spanish-speaking countries.

 

At Ascot Road, we believe that the acquisition of a second language must begin in Early Years, as this will give our students a head start and allow them to develop a deep-seated passion for Spanish from the very beginning.

Our youngest learners will begin their language learning journey by exploring sounds and learning words through rhymes, songs and games. They will also learn basic vocabulary such as colours, numbers and shapes that will help them create a strong foundation to build on in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

 

At Ascot Road, we strive to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn Spanish. For this reason, a wide range of strategies have been developed and implemented to meet the needs of all children, especially those with a SEN need. Some of these strategies include adapted tasks, individualised support, visual prompts and adaptive technology which provides SEN children with the necessary tools to access every lesson and become proficient in Spanish regardless of their needs.

 

Our school promotes an ideal environment for language acquisition through an all encompassing curriculum that includes:

• Spanish displays in every classroom with key words and sentence stems.

• Duolingo certificates awarded to the highest scorer of every class to encourage students to continue to practise outside of school.

• A Spanish day to allow our students to immerse themselves in the culture of many spanish speaking countries.

• The Spanish leader meeting with every year group every half term so learners can share with him what they have learned.

We wish to promote a culture where, not only is every child given the opportunity to learn Spanish, but they become proficient, fluent and confident in doing so.