Modern Foreign Languages
Each term children are selected by their class teacher to speak to the subject leader about the teaching and learning of Spanish at Blakehill Primary School. Each class in Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) has the opportunity to speak to Mrs Javed to give their thoughts and opinions on what is working well and what can be improved. The Subject leader/s take children's view points and opinions very seriously - they are central to what we do. We always listen to our pupils and, where possible, adapt our approaches to suit their needs. These meetings take place regularly so that we can gauge pupil responses.
The Modern Foreign Languages Subject Council had commented that they would like more games, songs and videos in their lesson - and that is exactly what we did! Mrs. Haynes has adapted her lessons so that pupils have fun whilst learning Spanish.
Here is what our pupils in KS2 had to say when Mrs Javed spoke to them about Modern Foreign Languages at Blakehill Primary School during the summer term (2024):
Pupils could explain the importance of learning a language, including moving to a different country or going on holiday.
“It is important to learn languages if you travel the world.”
Pupils were able to discuss their language learning so far including counting from 1 to 10; identifying colours; stating feelings and emotions; and the phrase ‘My name is…’ They could explain the different tasks they have completed including crosswords, word searches and sentence builders.
Some pupils explained that they found pronunciation of different Spanish words and phrases difficult. This is something we will focus on next term.
Pupils explained that they sometimes found learning a new language ‘challenging’, particularly remembering things. Children commented that they found looking at images and listening to songs the easiest way to remember what they have learnt. This has become a focus of language teaching in the Spring term.
Pupils could explain their learning including saying and writing different verbs; pet names, including how to say 'I have a...'; and being able to say and write the date. Pupils could explain the different activities they have completed including matching, sorting and sentence level work.