Spanish

“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages opens every door along the way.” – Frank Smith

At The Southwater Junior Academy, we believe that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps the children to develop communication skills including key skills of speaking and listening, and extends their knowledge of how language works. Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world.

Children at SJA all learn Spanish with our specialist languages teacher, Señora Waide.

We teach three core strands of essential knowledge:

1) Phonics – the key components of the sound-writing relationship
2) Vocabulary – a set of the most frequently used words
3) Grammar – the essential building blocks required to create simple sentences independently (including gender of nouns, singular and plural forms, adjectives (place and agreement), and the conjugation of key verbs)

Our children learn to:

Listen and show understanding by joining in and responding
Link the sound, spelling and meaning of words
Read aloud with accurate pronunciation
Read and show understanding of phrases and simple texts
Speak in sentences
Describe people, places, things in speech and writing
Ask and answer questions
Express opinions
Write phrases from memory
Adapt phrases to create new sentences
Use a dictionary

To celebrate our love of language learning, we organise a whole day for the children to celebrate Spain and Spanish speaking countries. Children learn about where Spain is located, where Spanish is spoken in the world and just why it is so important to learn languages. They produce their own artwork based on well-known Spanish artists. There are opportunities throughout the day to immerse themselves in Spanish culture and tradition, from taking part in flamenco dancing, to listening to traditional Spanish songs and celebrating their love of learning another language. The children bring Spanish-themed food in their lunchboxes that day, anything from tortilla, paella or churros to food that has been imported from Spain, like strawberries. The children are invited to dress up in Spanish-themed clothing, anything from a flamenco dancer to a paella dish!