Languages (French and Spanish)
Why is the study of Languages important?
In languages we go beyond the National Curriculum
Each topic contains an element of cultural reference to not only the target language countries but also the Francophone and Hispanic. Medium term plans have been designed to ensure all four skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) are covered in every unit and that opportunities to revisit key skills, in different ways, are built in throughout the KS3 and KS4 courses.
Grammar is the foundation for language learning skills and enables students to speak and write with greater accuracy and with more confidence and fluency. As such, grammar is taught within sentence builders and with pop up grammar explanations where appropriate, through every unit of work and is regularly revisited to allow for spaced learning and for misconceptions to be corrected.
Homework is set on a regular basis to allow for self-study and self-reflection on the learning which happens in the classroom. Opportunities to travel to France and Spain to apply knowledge and skills developed within the classroom to the real world. Drama provides students with the opportunity to engage their minds, bodies and emotions in expressing and exploring a range of themes, characters, stories, issues and ideas. In Drama lessons, students discover their own voice, grow in confidence and develop empathy and ethical insight into the world around them.
French Learning Journey – VIEW
Spanish Learning Journey – VIEW
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How is the Languages curriculum implemented?
At Sirius Academy our implementation of the Languages curriculum is through research-based delivery which is focused on long term recall, understanding of cognitive load, self-efficacy in students and teaching content which is accessible to all students. We use the Conti method to deliver our curriculum, which incorporates many applied Rosenshein principles, to ensure students learning is retained in their long-term memory.
Primarily at KS3 we use sentence builders. These are a tool which are accessible to all students; are easy for them to use and contain the right amount of words and structures that they can cope with. These allow us to develop listening and reading as modelling, a more natural way to acquire new language. Our sentence builders contain English to establish meaning and make them comprehensible for students. Grammar and sentence structure is taught via example and are focused on high frequency content which is also useful in real life communication. We also provide opportunities to recycle and interleave old and new grammar structures and vocabulary.
In addition to including prior knowledge in new topics, we routinely check prior knowledge at the start of lessons, checking for misconceptions and gaps in knowledge or understanding. Sentence builders allow teachers to model, scaffold and support students develop their language skills. As students develop their skills the level of support from the sentence builders can be reduced or increased depending on students’ individual needs.
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How can Languages support your future?
The teachers in the Language Department are very passionate about Languages and how they can enrich our lives and those around us. We aim to share this enthusiasm with our students, as we know the value of knowing a language has no matter which career path they choose and opens up more opportunities both in terms of work and life choices.
Studying a language is a useful skill for many careers but are especially important for the ones below:
- Interpreter
- Political risk analyst
- Translator
- Journalist
- Diplomatic service office
- English as a Foreign Language teacher
- International aid/development worker
- Tour manager
Other Subjects
Student Testimonial
“I enjoy languages because it’s fun and it helps me be more cultures and know about Spain. We do activities like games and quizzes. Some skills I have developed are speaking, understanding and translating to and from Spanish. The subject will help me because I want to be an airhostess and it could help me.”
