At Thames View, Spanish helps pupils develop confidence, curiosity and respect for languages and cultures beyond their own. Pupils learn to listen, speak, read and write in Spanish, while developing their understanding of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure.
Spanish is taught in Key Stage 2 through the Language Angels scheme of learning. Our Spanish curriculum is shaped around the needs, context and experiences of pupils at Thames View, helping them build the foundations for future language learning.
How Spanish develops Global Citizens
Spanish helps pupils become curious, respectful and confident Global Citizens. Through learning another language, pupils begin to understand that people communicate, live, learn and express themselves in different ways.
Pupils develop respect for Spanish-speaking cultures and communities, while also building the confidence to communicate beyond their own language and local community. Spanish supports pupils to see themselves as part of a wider world.
Our Spanish Narrative Threads
Our Spanish curriculum is organised around three narrative threads. These help pupils revisit important language-learning ideas over time, moving from early language foundations in Year 3 to more confident communication and independent language use by Year 6.
Thread 1: Language Foundations and Communication
Pupils learn the foundations of Spanish so they can communicate with increasing confidence. They develop accurate pronunciation, understand key sounds, learn useful vocabulary and begin to build simple spoken and written sentences. Over time, pupils become more confident using Spanish to talk about themselves, their families, pets, school, homes, healthy lifestyles and weekend activities.
Thread 2: Culture, Identity and Global Connection
Pupils learn that language is closely linked to culture, identity and belonging. Through Spanish, they begin to understand that people communicate, live, learn and celebrate in different ways. This helps pupils develop curiosity, respect and confidence when learning about Spanish-speaking communities and the wider world.
Thread 3: Grammar, Patterns and Language Learning Skills
Pupils learn how Spanish works as a language. They explore sounds, spelling patterns, grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary links. They learn to spot patterns, make connections, ask and answer questions, and use prior learning to understand and create new language with growing independence.
How we teach Spanish
In Spanish, pupils revisit prior learning before being introduced to new vocabulary, sounds, grammar and sentence structures. Lessons include listening, speaking, reading, writing, songs, games, repetition, partner practice and opportunities to use language for real purposes.
Pupils are taught to think like language learners by listening carefully, copying and adapting modelled language, noticing patterns, practising pronunciation, building sentences and using what they already know to understand new language.
From Year 3 to Year 6, pupils follow carefully sequenced Language Angels units. These move from early language learning, such as Phonetics 1, I Am Learning Spanish, Animals and I Know How To…, towards more developed units such as Presenting Myself, My Family, Do You Have a Pet?, The Date, My Home, At School, Healthy Lifestyles and At the Weekend.
Vocabulary and subject talk
Vocabulary is taught explicitly in every unit. Pupils learn and revisit important vocabulary linked to greetings, numbers, colours, animals, family, pets, dates, homes, school, healthy lifestyles and weekend activities.
Pupils also learn language-learning vocabulary such as phonics, pronunciation, masculine, feminine, noun, adjective, verb, sentence, question, answer and translation. This helps pupils talk about how Spanish works, explain their choices and make links between Spanish, English and other languages.
Inclusion and Removing Barriers
Pupils may have different levels of confidence, memory, vocabulary knowledge, pronunciation skills or previous experience of learning another language. Some pupils may find listening carefully, speaking aloud, remembering new words, reading unfamiliar spellings or writing in Spanish more challenging.
We use modelling, repetition, songs, games, visuals, actions, sentence stems, partner practice and carefully structured tasks to make Spanish meaningful and accessible. Teachers adapt activities where needed so that all pupils, including pupils with SEND, can access the same ambitious Spanish curriculum and experience success as language learners.
Progression in Spanish
Our Spanish progression map shows how pupils build knowledge, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and communication skills from Year 3 to Year 6. This will be added to the page once finalised.
Useful Websites
Language Angels
BBC Bitesize Spanish
Duolingo for Schools
Rockalingua
Spanish Games
Digital Dialects Spanish