MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
INTRODUCTION:
The study of languages provides opportunities for people to communicate more effectively with others. They also help children to understand what it is to be a global citizen. This includes the importance of tolerance, understanding and empathy, which is of huge importance in a global society. Our intention is that pupils will feel able, and motivated, to continue studying languages beyond key stage 2 because of understanding the values, benefits and opportunities language acquisition brings.
We use the national curriculum as the starting point for our languages curriculum which is delivered through these main areas.
Speaking
Listening
Reading
Writing
Grammar
Pupils will acquire an appropriate balance of knowledge and skills in order to apply them with confidence in speech, reading and writing.
At St Stephen’s, we have decided to teach Spanish because of the many identifiable ‘hooks’ and obvious benefits, not just now but in the future for potential travel, study and employment.
Spanish is the second most spoken language by native speakers in the world, with more than 400 million Spanish speakers in 21 countries
It is the most common language encountered by our pupils through holidays and travel
Many of study units in other subjects have links with Spanish culture, history, art and geography
Spanish is seen as the most important language for the UK in an analysis made by the British Council
It is one the easiest languages to learn. Spanish vocabulary is similar to other *Romance languages, it’s completely phonetic and its pronunciation is relatively straightforward
Spanish can be used as a ‘gateway’ to learn other languages as it has many similarities to other languages such as Italian, French and Portuguese
With an ever-increasing presence in the global market, emerging economies in the Americas mean that the chance of work and business opportunities from Spanish knowledge (whether working directly for or dealing with such companies) is increasing
Plenty of aspects of culture in the Spanish-speaking world have become world-renowned and famous. Artists such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero and Frida Kahlo have produced some of the most famous pieces of artwork in the modern era. Writers from Cervantes to Vargas Llosa and García Márquez have enriched the world literature. A total of 11 Spanish-speaking writers have won the Nobel prize for Literature: five from Spain and six from Latin America
Spanish and South American sport has consistently been among the best in the world in sports such as football (Spain won the World Cup in 2010 and European Champions in 2008 and 2012, Argentinian player Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or three times) and tennis (Rafael Nadal has won 13 Grand Slam titles)
*Romance languages are a branch of Indo-European languages that trace their roots to Latin. Combined, there are over a billion people around the world who speak Romance languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian are the main ones)
To help us deliver our curriculum, we use the ‘Language Angels’ scheme as the main source for resources and teaching material. Although Modern Foreign Languages does not have to be introduced until Key Stage 2, we have decided to introduce some material at the end of Year 2 as part of transition work and preparing pupils for the key stage 2 curriculum.
