MFL Curriculum Lead

Ms N Taylor

Curriculum Intent

At St. John the Evangelist, our Spanish curriculum is designed to foster curiosity, cultural appreciation and confident communication. We believe that learning a language opens doors to global understanding and deepens pupils’ empathy and respect for others. Through our mixed-age Spanish curriculum, we aim to:

•Develop pupils’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Spanish through engaging, age-appropriate content.
•Build cultural awareness by exploring Spanish-speaking countries, traditions, and daily life.
•Encourage enjoyment and creativity in language learning, using songs, stories and games.
•Ensure progression and retention across mixed-age classes, with clear linguistic building blocks and revisited vocabulary.
•Promote resilience and confidence by celebrating effort, modelling mistakes as learning opportunities and fostering a growth mindset.

 

Spanish lessons are a joyful space where pupils learn to express themselves, appreciate diversity and grow in confidence.

 

Curriculum Implementation

We follow a mixed-age scheme of work, which provides a structured yet flexible approach to teaching Spanish across Key Stage 2 as well as allowing for creative adaptation to suit our pupils’ needs.

The curriculum is organised into thematic units that spiral key vocabulary and grammar, enabling pupils to revisit and deepen understanding over time. Lessons are carefully sequenced to support progression across year groups, with differentiated outcomes and inclusive activities. Lessons also incorporate visual aids, kinaesthetic tasks, songs and storytelling to support memory and engagement. Pupils practise speaking in pairs and groups, building fluency and confidence. Teachers use informal assessment (e.g. observation, pupil response, mini-quizzes) to track progress and inform planning. End-of-unit tasks provide opportunities for pupils to showcase their learning. Our Spanish curriculum is enriched through links with geography, RE and literacy, allowing pupils to explore language in meaningful contexts.

 

Curriculum Impact

By the end of Key Stage 2, we endeavour that our pupils will:

•Demonstrate growing confidence in speaking and understanding Spanish, using key vocabulary and phrases with increasing accuracy.
•Show curiosity and respect for Spanish-speaking cultures, recognising similarities and differences with their own lives.
•Retain core language structures and vocabulary through regular retrieval and practice.
•Apply their language learning strategies to new contexts, showing resilience and enthusiasm.
•Leave primary school with a strong foundation for further language study in Key Stage 3.

 

Spanish at St. John the Evangelist is more than a subject—it’s a celebration of language, culture and connection. It nurtures confident communicators, compassionate global citizens, and joyful learners.

 

 Spanish lessons are designed to be 30 minutes and are in a consistent and common format. Lessons incorporate a phonics focus giving pupils the opportunity to practise pronunciation. The resources employ a range of teaching styles and strategies to engage the children and embed learning, whilst also incorporating sound files of the language spoken by a specialist. We also look for further opportunities to consolidate learning over the week.

KS1

Whilst there are no formal lesson requirements for KS1, a range of resources have been made to ensure exposure to a modern foreign language. In addition, KS1 may participate in language enrichment days and cultural awareness days.

MFL Documents

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