Spanish Curriculum

MFL Curriculum Intent

At BCA, the MFL department aims to provide a positive experience of learning a language which equips pupils with the necessary knowledge, skills, confidence and cultural awareness to succeed.  Pupils will study the same language (either French or Spanish) from Y7 onwards in order to provide as much exposure to the language as possible in the limited time available.

Our Curriculum is designed using evidence based research, imitating authentic “real world” language learning as far as possible in a classroom setting, with the aim of maximising retention of the phonology, vocabulary and grammar points which are taught.  We aim to make language lessons challenging, productive and meaningful in order to develop confident communicators in the Target Language. Lessons are designed to promote pupils’ development of skills in reading, listening, writing and speaking. Alongside developing linguistic confidence, our objective is to raise awareness of the wider world, developing both linguistic and cultural awareness and understanding, in order to create outward thinking global citizens with an understanding of how languages are useful in a global economy and how they could be beneficial for future careers.

Language is presented using sentence builders and is taught in chunks in order to maximise retention, pupils process that language receptively prior to producing it themselves and then learn how to manipulate it once it is familiar, to avoid cognitive overload. Key structures and vocabulary are recycled across topics to maximise exposure to and retention of the most vital content.

By the end of Key Stage 3, pupils will have a sound grasp of three tenses and key vocabulary and structures across a range of topics, enabling them to become confident communicators and providing them with a solid foundation upon which to commence their GCSE journey.  At KS3, the topics which are taught are carefully selected to engage pupils by relating to their lives and their interests, as well as ensuring that the language they learn is transferrable.  In Year 7 we start by looking at school subjects and then move on to learn how to describe people, discuss free time, where they live, their preferences in terms of music and TV programmes, work & future plans, healthy living and holidays.  All of these topics are revisited at KS4 in order to strengthen and deepen understanding and allow pupils to add complexity to the language they have learned, whilst also covering some new topics such as the environment, homelessness and poverty.

Spanish Curriculum