“A different language is a different vision of life.” Federico Fellini
Introduction
At St Michael’s, we learn Spanish as a modern foreign language. Children begin Spanish lessons in Year Three but often get an introduction to basic Spanish words in Early Years and KS1.
Intent
At St Michael’s we believe that learning is a change in long term memory. We believe children learn best by having opportunities to revisit previous learning. We teach MFL every week so that the children can fully immerse themselves and have opportunities to reflect and build on prior learning.
The objectives of teaching MFL in our school are:
- Ask and answer questions;
- Use correct pronunciation and intonation;
- Memorise words;
- Interpret meaning;
- Understand basic grammar;
- Use dictionaries;
- Work in pairs and groups, and communicate in Spanish;
- Look at life in another culture;
- Read and decode words both that they have learned and haven’t using phonic knowledge
As a school, we want to:
- To develop a curriculum which promotes progress and understanding for each child.
- To develop computing knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of speaking and listening, reading and writing in Spanish
- To develop cultural capital to give our students the vital background, knowledge required to be informed and thoughtful members of our communities.
- To give children experiences in a range of topics
- To provide links with our local and wider community to make learning relevant and purposeful
Implementation
Our computing curriculum design is based on principles derived from evidence through cognitive science:
- Learning is most effective with spaced repetition.
- Retrieval of previously learnt content is frequent and regular, which increases both storage and retrieval strength.
In addition to the principles, we also understand that learning is invisible in the short term and that sustained mastery takes time.
Our content is subject specific. We make intra-curricular links to strengthen schema. Reading, writing, speaking and listening skills are further promoted in MFL.
Skills and Techniques
- Speaking in Spanish
- Listening to Spanish
- Using phonics to read words
- Find similarities between languages
- Use dictionaries to translate words
- Write simple sentences from memory and with support.
These techniques are repeated over the years so that the children can build upon and refine their skills in each area. Throughout all projects, speaking and listening is a key skill.
KS2 children will have the opportunity to make links with other topics like learning about other cultures in RE and SMSC.
Culture Capital
Curriculum Enrichment
In addition to our MFL lessons, children are given the opportunity to attend Spanish after school clubs which are led by our specialist Spanish speaking student.
Impact
The intended impact of our curriculum is that children build semantic and procedural knowledge; Children will have a sound understanding of how language differs in the world around them.
Useful websites
http://www.rachelhawkes.com/
