Spanish

The Modern Foreign Languages Department

Mrs D Egan – Leading Practitioner and Head of Department
Mrs P Stanziola – Spanish Teacher
Miss C Williams – Spanish Teacher

We aim to ignite and nurture pupils' interest in and enthusiasm for the Spanish language and, at the same time, build up their self-confidence so that they become excellent communicators, not solely in this foreign tongue, but in their own native language. We want to give them the confidence, the academic skills and knowledge they need to understand and communicate with other people in Spanish. We aim to provide students with the opportunity to experience Spanish language and culture as well as a love of the subject as well as help them to become independent speakers who can communicate in another language naturally and talk about a range of areas of interest. As the Spanish is an accumulative subject, our curriculum introduces pupils to essential vocabulary and grammar and builds upon these basic structures term upon term, year upon year, until learners become confident and competent Spanish speakers. The course starts in year 7 with essential Spanish pronunciation, spelling and grammar which includes knowing how to identify word categories and use articles, pronouns, nouns, adjectives and the present and immediate future tenses. The year 7 content is rooted in learning about the geography of Spain, its culture, traditions and ways of life. In year 8 pupils move on to building upon their grammatical understanding and application by learning more complex structures such as comparative adjectives, use of adverbs and tenses such as the past imperfect and preterite tenses with a content focus on the customs, traditions and culture of the Spanish speaking countries in Central and South America. In year 9, pupils will build on their grammatical understanding, learning other present, past and future tenses and they will study the life and culture in their own world and compare it to that of Spanish speaking countries. At the end of year 9, pupils have the opportunity to choose Spanish as one of their GCSE options. They will follow the AQA course that includes further developing their spoken, listening, reading and written skills through focusing on a range of topic areas that are pertinent to the three main themes; Identity and Culture, Local, national, international and global areas of interest and current and future study and employment. The Spanish GCSE is completely examination based and involves four separate examinations: a speaking exam (conducted by their teacher), a listening exam, a reading exam and a written exam. After their GCSE exam, pupils have the choice to select A Level Spanish where they will continue to develop their language skills, as well as study aspects of society, culture, traditions and literature in the Spanish-speaking world.

Exam Board

Spanish GCSE - AQA

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/spanish-8698

A Level Spanish - AQA

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/spanish-7692

Curriculum Summary