Purpose of study

At KS2, teaching should enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language, with an appropriate balance between spoken and written language in order to lay the foundations for further language learning at KS3 and enable pupils to communicate ideas, facts and feelings using their developing knowledge of phonology, vocabulary and grammar.  

Pupils should be taught to: 

• listen attentively to spoken language and demonstrate understanding through joining in and responding;  

• explore the patterns and sounds of language, including through songs and rhymes, and make links between spelling, sound and meaning;  

• take part in conversations, ask and answer questions, express opinions and respond to others;  

• speak in sentences using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic structures;  

• develop accurate pronunciation and intonation;  

• present ideas and information orally;  

• read and understand words, phrases and simple texts;  

• appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language;  

• broaden their vocabulary and use strategies such as a dictionary to understand unfamiliar words;  

• write phrases from memory and adapt known language to create new sentences;  

• describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing;  

• understand and apply basic grammar, including concepts such as gender, articles, high-frequency verb conjugation and sentence structure, and recognise similarities and differences between the language studied and English.

Aims

• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources; 

• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, including through discussion and asking questions, while improving pronunciation and intonation;  

• write at varying length for different purposes and audiences, using the grammatical structures they have learnt;  

• develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.  

Intent

At Foundry Lane, our intent is for pupils to develop a positive, confident and enthusiastic approach to learning Spanish. We want children to leave Key Stage 2 with secure foundations that enable them to communicate for practical purposes, express their own ideas and continue successfully with language learning at secondary school. 

Our Spanish curriculum is built around the three key pillars of phonics, vocabulary and grammar. These provide the knowledge pupils need to become increasingly confident in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish.  

We want pupils to move beyond simply memorising individual words. They should learn how Spanish works, recognise patterns, manipulate familiar language and increasingly combine previously learned vocabulary and structures to communicate independently. The curriculum also develops pupils' oracy, independence and appreciation of cultural diversity, helping them become curious about languages and the wider world. 

Implementation

Spanish is taught throughout Key Stage 2 using the Language Angels scheme, providing a clearly sequenced journey from Early Language, through Intermediate, to Progressive learning. The level of challenge increases both within units and as pupils move through the teaching types, developing their skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar.  

Phonics is taught explicitly and progressively. Pupils encounter carefully selected Spanish phonemes and build on these year by year, applying their knowledge to familiar and increasingly unfamiliar words and texts. Previously taught sounds are deliberately revisited and consolidated through lessons, songs, games and revision activities.  

Vocabulary is similarly cumulative. Core, non-negotiable language is repeatedly revisited before pupils encounter a broader range of vocabulary and increasingly complex structures. Pupils progress from words and simple phrases towards longer sentences and increasingly independent spoken and written responses.  

Grammar is introduced systematically, including gender and articles, high-frequency verbs, possessives, adjectives, negatives, conjunctions, opinions and verb conjugation. As pupils progress, they learn to apply these structures rather than encounter grammar as isolated rules.  

Retrieval practice is built into the curriculum. Previously learned Spanish is revisited regularly and, importantly, applied in new contexts to strengthen long-term retention. Lessons include retrieval of prior learning, while the final lesson of each unit revisits and consolidates the language taught before optional assessment activities.  

Impact

The impact of our Spanish curriculum is that pupils become increasingly confident, accurate and independent language learners. 

As pupils move through Key Stage 2, they progress from recognising and using familiar words and short phrases towards understanding longer passages, engaging in short conversations, expressing opinions and justifications, reading unfamiliar language using decoding strategies and producing increasingly detailed written Spanish.  

By the end of Year 6, pupils should be able to draw upon previously learned phonics, vocabulary and grammar, combining these to communicate with increasing fluency and spontaneity. They should be able to listen for meaning, read with increasing independence, adapt familiar language to create their own spoken and written responses and use their grammatical knowledge with growing confidence.  

Beyond linguistic knowledge, we want pupils to leave Foundry Lane with confidence as communicators, curiosity about other languages and cultures, and the foundations needed to continue learning languages successfully at secondary school. 

Year 3

Listening & Speaking 

Recognise familiar words and short phrases in songs, stories and spoken Spanish. Communicate using simple words and short phrases. 

Reading & Phonics

Read familiar words and short phrases and begin applying taught Spanish phonics to pronounce them accurately. 

Writing

Write familiar words and short phrases using a model or vocabulary support. 

Grammar 

Begin to understand noun gender and articles and use the first-person singular of familiar high-frequency verbs, e.g. I like, I play, I am called. 

Year 4

Listening & Speaking 

Listen to longer passages and identify key familiar words and phrases. Ask and answer questions with increasing confidence and begin to use the negative form. 

Reading & Phonics

Read short texts aloud, applying a wider range of taught phonics, and understand familiar written Spanish. 

Writing

Write short phrases on familiar topics and begin to use conjunctions and negatives.

Grammar 

Develop understanding of gender and articles; introduce adjectival agreement, negatives and possessive adjectives.

Year 5

Listening & Speaking 

Listen for longer and use developing decoding skills when some language is unfamiliar. Communicate across a wider range of topics with increasing confidence and spontaneity. 

Reading & Phonics

Understand longer passages and begin to work out unfamiliar vocabulary using phonics, cognates and context. 

Writing

Write a paragraph using familiar Spanish, including conjunctions, negatives and appropriate adjectival agreement. Begin to manipulate models by substituting vocabulary.

Grammar 

Consolidate gender and articles, develop adjectival and possessive agreement and begin exploring full verb conjugation.

Year 6

Listening & Speaking 

Understand longer and more authentic spoken Spanish, using familiar language and gist listening to make sense of unfamiliar content. Hold short conversations, recycle previous learning and express opinions with justifications. 

Reading & Phonics

Apply accumulated phonics knowledge, including awareness of accents and other Spanish spelling conventions, to tackle unfamiliar text. Use context, cognates and bilingual dictionaries to decode meaning.

Writing

Write increasingly independent texts by combining language from different units. Adapt models and use verbs, conjunctions, adjectives and possessives accurately. 

Grammar 

Consolidate gender, negatives and adjectival/possessive agreement. Use a wider range of conjunctions and develop confidence with regular and irregular verb conjugation.