Gilbert Scott Primary School Policy for the Teaching of Foreign Languages Summer 2014 Reviewed Summer 2014 To be reviewed in Summer 2016 1
Purpose This policy document sets out the school's aims, principles and strategies for the delivery of Languages. It will form the basis for the development of Languages in the school. It gives guidance on planning, teaching and assessment and is intended to be used in conjunction with the KS2 New National Curriculum for Languages which can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239042 /PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Languages.pdf. This is in addition to the Language Centre Publication (LCP) scheme of work and languagenut online resource. The New Curriculum gives broad guidance on the aims, attainment targets and content of what pupils will cover. This policy was updated in the summer term 2014 by the Languages coordinator. Audience This policy document has been presented to teaching staff. It is available to all staff and parents via the website. The significance of Languages Languages learning provides an opening to other cultures. It prepares and motivates pupils to participate in a rapidly changing and international world in which work and other activities are often carried out in languages other than English. Children need to be equipped with Languages skills to communicate for practical purposes. Language teaching provides a base for learning other languages and to improve their competence using an existing language. Increased capability in the use of Languages promotes initiative, confidence and independent learning and encourages diversity within society and the inclusion of diversity in school. At Gilbert Scott Primary School it was decided by staff and governors to teach Spanish. Subject Aims The overall aim for the teaching and learning of Spanish is to enrich learning for all pupils and to ensure that teachers develop the confidence and competence to teach and use Languages effectively during specific foreign language lessons as well as other subjects. However, this aim can be further broken down: General To increase each child s understanding and response in Spanish through regular timetabled Languages lessons. To exploit cultural links and experiences when opportunities arise. To promote positive attitudes towards language learning To develop listening skills and phonological awareness. To understand basic grammar appropriate to other languages being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the 2
conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English. Speaking and Listening The children will: listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spellings, sound and meaning of words engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to the opinions of others; seek clarification or guidance speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences Reading The children will be given opportunities to: appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in Spanish read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary read stories for enjoyment and to practise vocabulary to gain awareness of the structure of written Spanish and begin to learn the grapheme-phonic relationships Writing The children will be taught to: describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences and to express ideas clearly copy and write high frequency words in Key Stage 2 e.g. days, months, names, ages etc. write increasingly complex sentences or questions using vocabulary Curriculum and School Organisation Spanish is taught regularly to ensure progression and skills development. Although Languages can be a cross-curricular subject, children are taught specific skills, concepts and vocabulary in dedicated Spanish lessons with the class teacher. 3
The school aims to deliver the requirements of the KS2 Languages Curriculum ensuring that particular language learning strategies are taught and appropriate skills are practised. The teaching of Spanish is part of the school day and, as such, is ongoing throughout all of children s learning e.g. during register time, changing for P.E., hallway displays and in assembly. The school s teachers aim to use some basic Spanish classroom vocabulary throughout the day and expect children to do the same. Spanish also provides opportunities for teaching the following cross-curricular themes: ~ Citizenship; ~ European Awareness; ~ Cultural Awareness; ~ Personal and Social Education ~ Art ~ Geography ~ Music Spanish has a subject leader who acts as a consultant for all Languages activities in the school (see curriculum management below). Curriculum Management The subject leader will facilitate the development of the Spanish language in the following ways: ~ By managing the implementation of the New Curriculum Languages policy; ~ By updating the policy and scheme of work; ~ By ordering/updating/allocating resources; ~ By identifying need and arranging INSET so that all staff are confident in how to teach and assess the subject and have sufficient subject knowledge; ~ By keeping staff abreast of new developments; ~ By taking an overview of whole school planning to ensure that there is continuity between year groups and that progression is taking place; ~ By supporting staff in developing pupils' capability; ~ By attending appropriate courses to update knowledge of current developments ~ By contributing to the School Development Plan; It is the responsibility of the head teacher to ensure that statutory requirements are being met (entitlement). Inclusion All pupils, regardless of race or gender, shall have the opportunity to develop their use of Spanish. The school promotes equal opportunities and fairness of distribution of Spanish resources. Children with other languages at home are encouraged to use them for 4
educational benefit and parents are offered advice about what is appropriate. When timetabling, class teachers to include the children who access the KS2 SEN ELP. Positive images of languages being used by people of both sexes and all backgrounds will be promoted. The motivational advantages of the use of Spanish by children with Special Educational Needs will be exploited. Time Allocation All children, in years 3-6, are entitled to 60 minutes of dedicated Spanish language teaching a week. This can be split into sessions throughout the week as timetabled by the class teacher. Planning Pacing has been done for all year groups by the Languages co-ordinator, all class teachers have a copy and it can be found on the shared network. Any changes to this must be submitted to both the Languages co-ordinator and the head teacher. Where deemed appropriate the curriculum content may be increased to take longer or minimised according to the children s learning needs. Daily planning must be completed in advance and must outline the learning objective and the task. Class Organisation and Teaching Style The class teacher is responsible for planning Languages lessons, while ensuring that these complement and reflect the overall aims and philosophy of the school. During these lessons children are given opportunities to work as a class, as individuals and as part of a group. The choice of class organisation is determined by the learning task. By its nature Languages will involve lots of interaction with visual, auditory and kinaesthetic prompts. Lessons involve a range of activities but all usually follow the present, practise, produce model when learning vocabulary. The class teacher will plan for and use computer resources in the teaching and learning of Spanish. Progression Progression entails the children revising and becoming more fluent with the vocabulary and structures they have learnt, learning about different topics and using increasingly complex grammatical structures with a wider range of vocabulary. Please see details of the scheme of work below for the year groups. Children are gradually asked to respond to longer pieces of Spanish and in more detail throughout KS2 on a variety of topics. Only oral Spanish is presented at first, with oral responses required. Writing activities must also take place throughout the year however the content and quantity of this will be determined by the class teacher. By year 6, this should include sentences, questions and answers with some detail. 5
Scheme of work Planning will be based on the LCP scheme of work (which was based around the previous framework). However, this will provide the spine of all the progression only. Resources from a range of schemes and our Computing online resource, languagenut, will be used to complement and extend the scheme and may have slight variations (e.g. the range of colours learnt or class room objects) Years 3 & 4 Years 3 and 4 will learn the basic building blocks of vocabulary relevant to building initial conversations and understanding of the world including greetings, names of countries and languages, the days of the week, months of the year, seasons and weather, animals and pets, classroom objects and commands, numbers to 10 and up to 100, questions requesting personal information such as name, age, country and favourite colours, pets and animals, and key Spanish festivals. Information is mostly introduced in year 3, consolidated and expanded upon in year 4 with the children increasingly becoming confident and fluent and able to use vocabulary in two part conversations. In year 4 children also learn to use more vocabulary around the home, family, food and shops. Years 5 & 6 Years 5 and 6 introduce new vocabulary and expand with more detailed written and spoken responses including more extended answers and using existing language patterns to adapt and tailor relevant information into personalised responses. All content and delivery remains on children learning Languages content that can be practically applied. Content in years 5 & 6 include schools, food and drink, sport, my local area and the Spanish speaking world. Assessment, Record Keeping, Reporting Most assessment is formative and is used to support teaching and learning and inform future planning. These informal assessments will be used to identify gifted linguists and those requiring extra support. A simple assessment of progress and learning will be provided to the subject leader at the end of each academic year. Written Spanish work will be marked in line with the school policy on marking. Monitoring Monitoring is carried out by the Languages coordinator through inset workshop time and training on Languages, discussion with staff and pupils and planning scans. Resources and Accommodation A variety of resources are available in school. These include children s reference books, LCP schemes of work, teachers resources, books, CD ROMs, and audio/visual materials as well as languagenut, a subscribed paid online resource with personal logins for each KS2 child. 6
The Languages co-ordinator is responsible for maintaining resources, monitoring their use and organising storage. Resource purchasing is in accordance with normal school procedures and is based upon the Languages budget. INSET Provision The Languages coordinator will attend coordinator meetings and INSET to support their work in school and cascade any relevant information to staff during staff meetings or on staff development days/meetings. The Languages coordinator will use this time to share new activity ideas with staff to ensure motivation is maintained and lessons remain varied. Key areas for development will be to raise awareness of the various existing resources and communicate regular updates in the online resources made available through languagenut. Embedding Languages in the curriculum & exploiting opportunities Spanish will be increasingly embedded in the curriculum through its use in lessons, INSETs, assemblies and updated resources (online). Opportunities for speaking another language should be exploited, be it in the playground, on displays, in the assembly hall, dinner hall, online or in the classroom. All staff in the school will be responsible for ensuring this. Evaluation/review There is an annual review of this policy by the Languages coordinator. Reviewed by Kate Desouza, Subject Leader for Foreign Languages Presented to Staff Summer 2014 Presented to Governors Autumn 2014 Agreed by Curriculum and Inclusion Committee 30 th September 2014 Presented to full Governors October 2014 Review date Summer 2016 7