Curriculum - Spanish

Spanish is one of the most vibrant and widely used languages across the world, with nearly 600 million speakers worldwide. Apart from being so widely spoken, the Spanish culture has a rich history with arts, music, literature, sports and fashion at its centre. Studying Spanish at Cheam High School is all about communication and interaction for real purposes. Students really enjoy the games, competitions and spontaneous interaction.

Skills you will develop in Spanish include:

• Confidence in expressing yourself in another language

• Engaging with Spanish grammar develops your cognitive skills

• An appreciation of Spanish speaking countries and their culture, as well as Spanish films

• High employability: recent research demonstrates that graduates of Spanish are in a very good position when entering the job market

• Literacy skills

• Improved listening skills

• Improved ability to think creatively and critically

• Language events in the Learning Resource Centre

• Pen-pal project with Spanish schools

• Trip to Madrid

An introduction to Spanish is offered to all Year 8 students in an extra-curricular club. Students will study the language needed for everyday interaction. Work on routines features heavily throughout lessons from start to finish and the natural interaction that arises from classroom situations will enable students to become confident speakers very quickly. Students also study a range of Spanish paintings and the Mexican film ‘Coco’ as well as Latin American culture. Students also produce a page about their likes and dislikes for a class book.

Students who show an aptitude for Spanish and who would like to learn the language will have the opportunity to do this as a second or third language in Year 9.

YEAR 9

• Communication in Spanish and establishing the routines

• School subjects and life at school

• Film ‘Coco’ as a context to study Spanish traditions and festivals such as ‘El Día de los Muertos’

YEAR 10 AND 11

In Years 10 and 11 students work towards the GCSE course focusing on topics such as holidays, health, education and work, family and relationships and social issues. The skills of speaking, writing, listening and reading are all developed with a central focus on target language teaching and interaction.

At the end of Year 11, students sit their exam with a listening, reading, writing and speaking exam; each element is worth 25%.

• A Level Spanish