Spanish

Spanish quote

What our students think about Spanish

Intent

In Spanish, it is our belief that learning a language is essential to the personal development of our students. We aim to develop in our students not only a wider understanding of the language and customs of other countries, but the core values of ambition and resilience that are necessary to overcome the challenges of learning a language. In doing so, it is our vision that through studying Spanish, our students will become open-minded, tolerant adults with a curiosity about the world, with the skills needed to allow them to experience it.

VIDEO: Learn more about Spanish at MHS

Learning hours

Year group	7	8	9	10	11
Learning hours per week	2	2	2	2	2

Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

At KS3, students are introduced to the vocabulary, grammatical rules and skills which will form the foundation of the key themes studied for the GCSE. Throughout each year, equal opportunity is given for students to practise the target language through the four core skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking.

In Year 7, students are first equipped with the key structures used to greet others, introduce themselves and describe members of their family, allowing them to practice fundamental grammatical skills such as adjectival agreement and verb conjugations. Later in the year, the core skills are developed as students engage with the topics of hobbies, school, and local area. In Year 8, students are introduced to the topics of holidays, technology, daily routine, shopping, and their final topic of Spanish cities in which they research Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, allowing them to express their opinions and understand information in both the past and present tense. In Year 9, students build on their grammatical knowledge further by engaging with at least three tenses through the topics of holidays, healthy living, my studies, future aspirations and relationships. As they begin to approach KS4, greater emphasis is placed on developing students’ linguistic strategies needed to perform the core skills at exam-level. Each year of KS3 concludes with a cultural project, in which students will research the context of and watch the films Coco, Zipi Zape y el Club de la Canica, and Valentín in the target language, concluding with a film review and presentation of their research.

Finally, during KS4, students deepen their knowledge of the topics previously studied at KS3, forming the key themes People and Lifestyle, Popular Culture, and Communication and the World Around Us. As such, students will develop the skills needed to comprehend text and audio on a variety of topics and apply their knowledge to engage with real-life interactions in the target language. In doing so, students will be equipped with the skills needed to navigate communication barriers in the target language and tackle more challenging texts featuring previously unseen language.

5 year learning journey

Spanish

Specification

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/spanish-8698/specification-at-a-glance

Careers

Language skills can lead directly into a career in translating, interpreting or teaching, and are also in demand in areas such as hospitality, law, publishing and business services. Modern language degrees typically involve spending a year abroad and this can be an opportunity to find work in a field that interests you and gain relevant experience.