Intent
At Cathcart Street, the modern foreign languages curriculum aims to provide pupils with an opening to different cultures, encouraging them to be lifelong language learners, with a focus on the Spanish language. The curriculum prepares them for Key Stage 3 by building up levels of complexity in language production over time, progressing to writing in sentences, manipulating simple language and a broadening of vocabulary across time. Throughout Key Stage 2, pupils will develop a depth of understanding through learning language that can be used in a variety of situations, moving to engaging with longer texts and conversations.
Our modern foreign languages curriculum gives pupils opportunities to communicate for practical purposes, equipping them with the knowledge required to work and study in other countries. As well as teaching pupils to communicate what they want to say, they are encouraged to discuss and ask questions to aid them in understanding and responding to written and spoken language. Pupils are taught a balance of vocabulary that includes topic words, with a focus on common words so that they are able to manipulate simple sentences. During their time at Cathcart Street, language learning is seen as a continuous event with the complexity of language steadily increasing in order to strategically help transition to Key Stage 3.
Through Spanish lessons, pupils will develop a depth of understanding and over time they will build a passion for Spanish, showing cultural awareness and linguistic progression through speaking, listening, reading and writing in a variety of ways.
An ambitious, vocabulary rich curriculum ensures that pupils are able to write in simple sentences and each year will provide the foundation for learning into the next stage, enabling them to make substantial progress in the one language.
Implementation
At Cathcart Street, the modern foreign languages curriculum has been designed to progressively develop skills in Spanish. We are currently using the Language Angels scheme to deliver our Spanish lessons. This scheme ensures pupils acquire an increasingly complex bank of vocabulary organized around topics. It ensures development is progressive as they build on previous knowledge from units already studied.
All pupils in Key Stage 2 are taught Spanish in a weekly discrete lesson. This is delivered by the class teacher or another qualified teacher during PPA.
Lessons are taught through the four key language learning skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing and all necessary grammar will be covered in an age-appropriate way across Key Stage 2. We use knowledge organisers that work alongside learning to provide clarity to teachers, pupils and parents with a clear pathway to where children are starting and ending up on their language journey in each unit. Included in this is what they will be able to do by the end of the unit, what it will help them to already know, skills, activities, vocabulary, phonics and pronunciation and grammar.
In Lower Key Stage 2, pupils are introduced to units covering greetings, animals, musical instruments, Ancient Britain and the longer text of Little Red Riding Hood. These are taught through language learning activities, videos, songs and application to writing. Furthermore, they will then go on to learn about family, habitats, the Café, the classroom and will learn to tell the story of Goldilocks. Opportunities will be given for pupils to hear and observe authentic language being used in everyday situations. In Upper Key Stage 2 pupils will learn to converse about pets, dates, the weather, clothes, the Romans, the Olympics, school, the weekend, World War 2, healthy lifestyles and the planets.
Assessment at Cathcart Street is designed through peer, self-assessment and end of unit assessments to shape future learning. This is so that teachers can ensure pupils embed key concepts in their long term memory. Through the Language Angels scheme, teachers use end of unit assessments to assess the learning of the pupils through the disciplines of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Assessments are used by teachers to allow them to reflect on the learner’s needs and allows them to revisit and learn through the next unit of work. Children also work with a partner who helps them to self-assess in order to identify their own learning needs, allowing them to become aware of where they need to progress in their own learning journey.
Impact
Our Spanish curriculum will ensure all pupils develop key language learning skills and progress in the 12 DfE Languages Programme of Study for Key Stage 2 attainment targets, as well as developing a love of languages and learning about other cultures. As well as subsequent lessons being progressive, the organisation of teaching directs, drives and ensures progressive learning and challenge. A progression in the amount of text (in both English and Spanish) and content, encourages children to become more confident with the language they are learning, formulating their own, more personalised responses based on a wide bank of vocabulary, linguistic structures and grammatical knowledge. By the time pupils leave Cathcart Street they will be ready for the next stage of education, equipped with greater communication, comprehension, reading and literacy skills.