Languages

What do Modern Foreign Languages look like at Meldreth Primary?

At Meldreth Primary School we are keen to offer an early introduction to Languages and children are given access to different languages throughout their time in school.  Even the children in Reception answer the register in different languages!

Once children reach Key Stage 2 there is a more formal expectation on language acquisition and we have chosen Spanish as our main language to study.

Our curriculum aims to foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. Our teaching aims to enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. We provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes and at Meldreth, firm foundations are set for further foreign language study at secondary school.

Our Curriculum Aims

Our curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • understand and respond to spoken and written Spanish from a variety of authentic sources
  • speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
  • can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt
  • discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied

Curriculum Content  

Early Years

Communication and language is one of the three prime areas in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and involves giving children opportunities to:

  • experience a rich language environment
  • develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves
  • speak and listen in a range of situations.

We encourage children to share phrases from languages they speak at home.

Key Stage 1

The expectation of the Key Stage 1 curriculum is to explore as many different languages as possible, enabling children to be interested in the world around them. Children learn key words and number systems which is then built upon in Key Stage 2.

Key Stage 2

Choosing Spanish, we enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language. The teaching provides an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and aims to lay the foundations for further foreign language teaching at secondary school. It aims to enable pupils to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, and focuses on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary. Our focus of study in modern languages is on practical communication.

Pupils are taught to:

  • listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
  • explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
  • engage in simple conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
  • speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
  • develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases
  • present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
  • read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
  • appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
  • broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
  • write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
  • describe people, places, things and actions both orally and in writing
  • understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including: feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.
Download our whole school curriculum plan for Spanish by clicking the link below