LANGUAGES - SPANISH - AT OAK GREEN SCHOOL

Why do we teach what we teach? (Our intent)

At Oak Green School we teach Spanish as part of the KS2 curriculum. We believe that children benefit  from  learning a foreign language from an early age; the earlier a child is exposed to the language, the  easier and faster it is to achieve. Furthermore, the children also acquire awareness of other cultures,  improved listening and reading skills, memorisation techniques and an increased confidence in oral  communication and enjoyment. Skills for life, that children will use to succeed far beyond the classroom.    We believe that our diverse, multicultural local community gives us strength and we have a part to play in  the wider world.

How do we teach it? (Our implementation)

Children in KS2 take part in weekly lessons of 45 minutes. We use a full suite of resources that include  interactive teaching materials for all lessons. We cover a wide variety of topics (including cross-curricular  topics) with all instances of the Spanish pre-recorded using a native speaker and fully controlled by the  teacher. We teach the language primarily through stories, rhymes, songs and games, with the addition of  written activities which are differentiated by outcome so that all children can access them. The emphasis is  on communication and confidence, but not at the expense of grammatical accuracy or written work. We  strive to give the children a varied and realistic experience of the language to make it fun, but also relevant  to their lives. There is also a strong emphasis on the links with cultural aspects and traditions of countries  across the world where Spanish is spoken.

What is the difference that this makes? (Our impact)

We believe that by delivering quality experiences that are memorable, worthwhile and challenging children will become self-aware learners, well informed characters, who have a thirst for learning and see it as a route to maximising their life chances.