Foreign Languages
Foreign Languages are taught at Hey with Zion from Year Three onwards.
Teaching focuses on enabling pupils to make substantial progress in Spanish, with another foreign language introduced in Year Six when it prepares the children for the specific language to be taught at Saddleworth School in Year Seven. For this language we receive specialist tuition from Saddleworth School.
The teaching provides an appropriate balance of spoken and written language and sets out to lay the foundations for further foreign language teaching at key stage 3. It enables pupils to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing, focused on familiar and routine matters, using their knowledge of phonology, grammatical structures and vocabulary. The focus of study in Spanish will be on practical communication. Our school is involved in a British Council funded venture linking our school with a variety of Spanish schools in Santander, and Spanish culture is celebrated and studied in lessons and in special events such as our annual International Day.
Pupils are taught to:
- listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding
- explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and meaning of words
- engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help
- speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
- develop accurate pronunciation and intonation so that others understand when they are reading aloud or using familiar words and phrases*
- present ideas and information orally to a range of audiences
- read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing
- appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the language
- broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
- write phrases from memory, and adapt these to create new sentences, to express ideas clearly
- describe people, places, things and actions orally and in writing
- understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of the language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.
Enquiry-based and Literacy-loaded curriculum
We are increasingly following a Literacy-loaded and enquiry-based approach to the study of our foundation subjects. This means that where appropriate, activities will link with aspects of core texts covered in English lessons, adding context and depth to the learning, and will be framed in ways which heighten children's engagement. Our children tell us that this helps them greatly: http://heywithzion.primaryblogger.co.uk/2018/11/29/thinking-about-thinking/
