Spanish

Curriculum Intent

At The Eastbourne Academy, learning a foreign language is an integral part of
our curriculum intent and vision. We believe that a high-quality language
education provides cultural capital and opens doors to other cultures, fostering
curiosity and respect. Our language teaching enables students to express
themselves in speech and writing, while understanding and responding to
authentic sources. By developing confidence and fluency, our students gain
the skills needed to communicate for practical purposes and think critically,
enhancing their oracy skills. This not only lays the foundation for learning
further languages but equips our students to study and work in other
countries, improving their future prospects and contributing to the wider
economy. By providing our students with a language education, we are
helping them to become confident, independent, and well-rounded individuals
with a passion for learning, who are equipped to succeed in a global society.

We teach Spanish through KS3 from year 7 to year 9. Spanish is a global
language that leads to a wide range of job opportunities. Spanish culture is on
the rise and we embrace music, film, and literature in our classes.

Within our team of two, we have a native Spanish speaker and both teach up
to KS4. We have a clear understanding of the KS5 courses students may wish
to follow in the future so ensure our students are well prepared by the time
they leave us. At KS4 students can choose whether they wish to continue
Spanish as an open option or EBacc subject.

We recognise that our curriculum goes beyond what happens in the
classroom, and is a broad term that encompasses our wider offer.

Our Knowledge Curriculum: Ambition in the Classrooms

KS3
Lessons focus on practical topics for visits to Spain, such as ordering a meal,
going to the doctor, meeting and greeting, with a strong emphasis on reading,
writing, speaking, and listening skills. Pupils use phonics to help with spelling
and pronunciation. We also focus on introducing the topics that will be
covered in their GCSE class - friends and family, technology, free time,
festivals, holidays, lifestyle, jobs, and school. We introduce grammar themes
and build on the patterns they learn. All students have access to Seneca
online for homework to practise their vocabulary and grammar learning from
the classroom.

Our aim is for students to develop the confidence to talk about themselves
and their interests in Spanish as they move into KS4. Through learning
another language, students are learning more about English and its grammar
structures. We focus a lot on literacy, which helps to solidify key concepts of
English literacy too.

KS4
The team strongly recommends that students study a language at GCSE, due
to the introduction of the EBacc. This will also help with their university application and widen their career opportunities. Students prepare for the AQA GCSE syllabus which assesses four skills; reading, writing, speaking and
listening. The course continues to embrace Spanish culture and explore the
culture of other Spanish-speaking countries, especially literature and festivals.
We encourage the students to listen to music, watch films and TV
programmes and clips alongside their formal studies. On leaving us they will
have developed the confidence to communicate in Spanish and an
understanding of Spanish life and culture.

Our Character Curriculum: Ambitious Individuals
Learning languages involves the 4 skills of speaking, reading, listening and writing,
so students are often able to communicate in another language with each other and
with the teacher. They therefore have to use good listening skills and take turns to
speak.

Part of learning a language is understanding difference and realising that we don’t all
do things in the same way. We eat different food, we celebrate different traditions
and we follow different religions. It often promotes conversations in lessons that
discuss current events in the news or what one student in the room did differently at
Christmas time or what they ate for dinner.

Our Cultural Curriculum: Ambition Beyond our Classrooms
We encourage the use of Duolingo to complement language learning. This is a
fantastic tool for enhancing cultural awareness as it extends language knowledge
and makes students aware of different countries and nationalities, plus different
social situations.

We offer an after school French Club every week for those students who have a
passion for language learning. It is presumed students have no prior knowledge of
French.

We also regularly suggest films or series available to watch in Spanish to help with
listening skills and vocabulary learning but also to enhance cultural awareness as
many are filmed in Spanish or Spanish-speaking countries.

The curriculum offers knowledge about Spanish food, music, dance, film, festivals
and traditions. Every child will leave The Eastbourne Academy knowing exactly what
La Tomatina is, for example!

Enrichment

We have run trips to Barcelona pre-pandemic and intend to offer further trips abroad going forward. We have visited the theatre to watch a flamenco show and held a flamenco workshop in school, which we hope to make an annual event. We have also visited a Spanish tapas restaurant, allowing students to order food and drink in Spanish and taste a variety of typical dishes.

Spanish Documents

 Year 7 Curriculum Map
 Year 8 Curriculum Map
 Year 9 Curriculum Map
 Year 10 Curriculum Map
 Year 11 Curriculum Map