CURRICULUM
SPANISH
Spanish Curriculum Intent
Modern Foreign Languages empowers students to communicate successfully in the target language. They learn to appreciate the importance of languages in a rapidly changing global society and the diverse culture and customs of others. Our curriculum embeds and builds upon prior knowledge, raising students’ confidence to become successful linguists and develop a life-long love of languages.
Key STRANDS
Listening
In Year 7, students begin by listening for sounds, letters, and simple vocabulary in short texts. As they progress through to Year 11, students develop a range of listening skills such as identifying key vocabulary, recognising linked words, and picking out synonyms. They also learn to understand the gist of a variety of texts through different types of questions, ranging from multiple-choice to more open-ended responses. By Year 11, students are able to comprehend more complex spoken texts and respond confidently.
Starting in Year 7, students learn to recognise individual words and simple phrases. Over the course of our curriculum, their reading skills spiral in complexity. By Year 11, students are able to pick out synonyms, understand the gist of a text, and tackle more complex questions, including identifying positive and negative viewpoints, answering multiple-choice questions, and responding to open-ended prompts. Students are also trained to spot distractors, helping them choose accurate answers from a given text.
Reading and Translation
Speaking
In Year 7, students begin by speaking in words and short sentences, quickly learning to extend their answers using sentence builders. Throughout their journey, students develop increasingly complex language and grammar structures. By KS4 (Years 10 and 11), students are able to engage in extended conversations, discussing a variety of topics with confidence and fluency.
Students in Year 7 start by writing simple sentences, and this skill develops over time. By Year 11, they are writing more complex texts that reflect a wide range of vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structures. While Year 7 focuses on the present tense and set phrases, by Year 11, students are proficient in writing using multiple tenses, including the present, past, and future, and have an introduction to more advanced tenses such as the conditional and imperfect subjunctive.
Writing and Translation
Grammar
Grammar is taught both indirectly, within the context of language learning, and directly when appropriate. In Year 7, students focus mainly on the present tense and begin to understand adjectival agreements. By the end of Year 9, they can confidently use the past, present, and future tenses. As they move into KS4, students deepen their understanding of grammar, including more complex structures like the conditional and imperfect subjunctive tenses, preparing them for the demands of GCSE Spanish.
In Year 7, students begin working on sounds and phonics, which are revisited and developed throughout the curriculum. Starting with simple sentences and familiar vocabulary at a slow pace, students gradually progress to writing more complex sentences and structures by Year 11. The pace and complexity of dictation tasks increase to reflect their growing proficiency.
Our curriculum ensures that by the time students reach GCSE, they have developed a solid foundation in both receptive and productive language skills, preparing them for success in their exams and future language learning.
