Modern Foreign Languages
Subject Leader: Mr Kerrigan
We believe that exposure to a foreign language and associated culture develops a broader perspective of the world. At school we aim to provide a high-quality language education that engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to explore a different culture through the native language.
Teaching and Learning
Spanish is taught to all children in school on a weekly basis during a Friday carousel (which includes Music and RE/PSHE) by a subject specialist to develop key skills, promote enjoyment of learning languages and embed the purpose and importance of the subject. The core aims of the National Curriculum are addressed in each lesson. Our approach to the planning, assessment and teaching of Spanish is streamlined by being delivered by one teacher to ensure consistency and the highest standards of teaching and learning. To compliment the EYFS curriculum, content taught matches key learning undertaken in Acorns class. In Twiglets and Oaks class content taught is matched to specific learning goals in other Foundations subjects, most commonly History, Geography and RE. As pupils progress, we ensure they are given the opportunity to acquire more concrete language skills in the four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. We encourage pupils to practise their skills informally both inside and outside of school, supporting children to share their experiences of other languages and cultures and further promote the importance of learning languages.
Our teaching of Spanish aims to ensure that all pupils:
develop the communication skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing
acquire knowledge of the countries where Spanish is spoken
understand some of the culture of Spanish speaking countries, including festivals
embed this knowledge alongside learning across the whole taught curriculum
Sequenced Learning
Although the teaching of MFL is non-statutory for pupils in Key Stage 1, we have developed a curriculum which leads to children becoming familiar with simple vocabulary and learning how to listen to and to speak simple sentences. We then build upon this with children from Year 2 upwards (Twiglets and Oaks classes) where we progressively introduce all strands from the Key Stage 2 national curriculum for MFL.
Acorns class pupils will be taught to:
listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhyme
speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
Twiglets class pupils will be taught to:
appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
link the spelling, sound and meaning of words.
Oaks and Birch class pupils will be taught to:
write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.
Endpoints
Through the use of the intent, implementation and impact approach, we have designed an action plan that aims to achieve specific endpoints. Children will leave Brough School having explored another language in detail. They will have been given opportunities to acquire key communication skills, to practise these regularly and to learn about the countries where Spanish is spoken.
Subject Action Plan
Curriculum Map