Spanish

¡Bienvenidos! At Lampton we are proud to offer Spanish as a subject. Spanish is the 2nd most spoken native language in the world (489 million speakers) after Mandarin and the most widely spoken language in the Americas. It is an official language in 21 countries and is the second most learnt language worldwide (after English).

Students at Lampton have access to a varied curriculum which is enriching both academically and culturally. At Lampton we also have a Modern Language Assistant, a native Spanish-speaker to push students to become competent Spanish-speakers as well as offering trips to Spain. 

 

Curriculum Intent

Students at Lampton have access to a varied curriculum which is enriching both academically and culturally. 

Students develop their communicative competence in four key skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing.

Lessons are based on three main objectives:

- the learning of new items of vocabulary;

- understanding and applying a grammatical structure concept; and 

- applying these in order to communicate something new.

We encourage a communicative approach in lessons where students are praised and made to feel comfortable when using the target language.

 

Curriculum Overview

At KS3, our intent is to create confident communicators who can talk and write about themselves and their immediate surroundings.

At KS4, our intent is to have students who can communicate about a wider context of topics and have an informed opinion about topical issues.

At KS5, Our students develop more analytical and evaluative competences by talking and writing about current affairs and history in Spanish-speaking countries, especially Spain. They also study a literary and cinematic piece of work relating to these.

 

Programme of study:

 

Knowledge Organisers

Our Knowledge Organisers – containing all key information for KS3 – can be found here:

• Year 7 - Module 1; Module 2; Module 3; Module 4; Module 5; Module 6

• Year 8 - Module 1; Module 2; Module 3; Module 4; Module 5; Module 6

• Year 9 - Module 1; Module 2; Module 3; Module 4; Module 5

Exam Boards

We follow the AQA course for both GCSE and A-levels.

How to help your child

Luckily you do not need to speak Spanish in order to help your child excel.

• Ensure your child completes their homework on time and fully – students are given Quizlet sets based on our Knowledge Organisers to provide a thorough understanding of the course content. Typically, these are set every week.

• Encourage your child to learn bit by bit rather than cramming. Language learning is about spacing and practising. A little and often is key to success.

• Discourage your child from using Google Translate or other online platforms which do not encourage them to manipulate language and verbs. 

What enrichment opportunities are there in Spanish?

In recent years, the Spanish department has organised highly successful trips to Spain for Years 9 and 10. There are also regular trips to the British Film Institute in Southbank where students can practise their language skills through the study of film. Students have also participated in SOAS Capital L Summer Schools where they have learnt a range of languages.

Our team also includes a native Modern Language Assistant who works with students in developing their speaking skills in Spanish.

What careers can success in Spanish lead to?

Aside from the obvious careers in translation, interpreting, teaching or diplomacy, languages offer a range of enriching career opportunities. A degree in languages can lead to careers in law, finance and the arts. Success in languages shows that you are able to be analytical, communicate well and to understand and empathise with people from diverse countries. You will also be able to work in a Spanish-speaking country and explore opportunities outside of the UK.

For further information, please contact:

Mr L Rees

Head of Spanish

lrees@lampton.org.uk