Spanish in St Austin’s Catholic Primary School
Our school mission statement in Spanish
En nuestro colegio
Todos somos especiales
Amaremos y serviremos
Como Jesus nos enseño
Our aim
In St Austin’s we aim to provide all children from EYFS through to Year 6 with the opportunity to study Spanish and develop cultural awareness of Spain and other Hispanic countries. Our language teaching and learning strategies aim to support the development of language learning skills which benefit our pupils, not only in their Spanish learning but across the curriculum and in future language learning opportunities. We aim to develop positive attitudes to language learning which will remain with our pupils throughout life. Learning Spanish enriches our pupils’ curriculum and introduces an international dimension to their learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and those of others. In our multilingual and multicultural world, we aim to equip our pupils with vital skills and knowledge to prepare them for future opportunities. Most of all, we aim for our pupils to enjoy their learning whilst making excellent progress in their Spanish language skills.
How Spanish is delivered
Spanish language
Our native Spanish language tutor, Pachy Guzman, delivers Spanish language lessons in all classes across KS1 and KS2. Class teachers in EYFS teach Spanish to their classes. Teaching and learning strategies focus progressively upon all four key strands of language learning; speaking, listening, reading and writing. The kinaesthetic and varied nature of classes ensure teaching and learning is fully inclusive to all learners.
Throughout the week, all class teachers are reinforcing the use of Spanish language in their classes. Spanish may be spoken, for example, in prayers, class instructions, short reinforcement activities, reading and writing tasks.
Spanish Maths
In all KS2 classes, Señor Cuevas delivers one weekly Maths lesson in Spanish. This is in addition to the class teachers’ Maths lessons and is supported by them. Señor Cuevas’ classes follow, support and reinforce the Maths curriculum being taught by class teachers including new strategies to help children to communicate in the foreign language.
School website
Within the curriculum section of the school website, there are the pages for both Spanish language and Spanish Maths. These give details of what the children are learning and celebrate their progress by displaying work, photographs of Spanish activities etc. Some useful links are also be provided to support Spanish learning at home.
St Austin’s offers a Spanish Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programme with a goal to provide students with the opportunity to become proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English and Spanish. At the same time an international and multicultural dimension is added to the curriculum.
The programme is designed for all students in years 3 to 6. From our Spanish teacher, Senor Cuevas, students receive instruction in Spanish language as well as part of the Maths curriculum through the medium of Spanish. The new language is thus acquired in a natural way, using it for practical purposes and relating it to the new content and materials students are learning in English. This approach improves language competence and communication skills in both English and Spanish and develops multilingual interests and attitudes. It also increases the students’ motivation and confidence in both the language and the subject being taught.
This programme is the result of the collaborative efforts between the Liverpool City Council and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in Spain.
