The Spanish Department
¡Hola! ¡Bienvenidos!
The Presdales Spanish Department comprises two teachers and a Spanish Language Assistant, who are passionate about the subject and keen to pass on our knowledge and a love of the Spanish language to the pupils we teach.
So, why learn Spanish? Spanish is a language of global importance. Only Mandarin Chinese has more native speakers and globally almost 500 million people speak the language. Nowadays it is the second most studied language and the second language in international communication. 28 countries spread over four continents have Spanish as their primary or secondary language.
It is becoming increasingly popular as companies develop and broaden their links with Spain and South America. The world of business management, marketing, tourism, banking, the Civil Service and telecommunications all provide opportunities for language graduates.
Our Vision and Aims
The department aims to equip pupils with language which they can make use of in Spain, and with the skills of language learning. We also aim to provide an insight into Spanish culture and traditions, providing excursions to Spain and exhibitions in the UK when suitable.
Extra-Curricular Spanish
Spanish is offered at Presdales from Year 7 up until Year 13. The department offers an annual trip to Andalucía in the south of Spain, available to Years 8, 9, 10, and 12. We also facilitate work experience in Spain through an experienced company, should pupils wish to do this in Year 12. These trips offer pupils the opportunity to practise the Spanish they have learnt with native speakers and to experience Spain’s rich culture and cuisine.
Independent Learning
The Spanish Department has developed two Google Sites to aid pupils’ independent learning with additional study materials, accessible via pupils’ RM Unify logins.
→ Please click here for the KS4 Google Site: https://sites.google.com/presdales.herts.sch.uk/spanishgcseatpresdales/home
→ Please click here for the KS5 Google Site: https://sites.google.com/presdales.herts.sch.uk/alevelspanishpresdales/home
Key Stage 3 : Years 7 – 9
In Year 7 students have the chance to start Spanish alongside another language. Students are their form groups of two parallel (mixed ability) groups.
During this year they will learn the basics for communication in Spanish through studying the language’s phonics, vocabulary and grammar. Additionally, we examine cultural aspects of the language, such as Christmas and New Year traditions, Semana Santa, and the depiction of southern Spain in the Disney film Ferdinand.
In Years 8 and 9 students continue to build on what they have learned in Year 7, still based on the pillars of phonics, vocabulary and grammar, and broadening cultural knowledge by researching a variety of festivals from the Spanish-speaking world. Grammar is introduced in a logical order with regular recycling of structures to embed knowledge. Vocabulary focuses on high-frequency, transferable and inclusive words that students really need. During our weekly phonics sessions, Year 7, 8 and 9 students learn the most frequent Spanish sounds to enable them to recognise and pronounce all the words encountered during the year.
Y7 key contexts/topics: Classroom language, Introducing myself, Dates and birthdays, Describing myself and others, Family and pets
Y8 key contexts/topics: Hobbies and free time activities, Sport, Where I live, Weather
Y9 key contexts/topics: School and Education, Jobs, Holidays and Places of interest, TV and Film, Celebrities
The Lingofest competition allows students to ‘read great literature in the original language’, as per the aims of the National Curriculum – but in a supported and well-scaffolded way, appropriate to the age and level of learners. Year 7 students study and practise reading aloud Antonio Garcia Teijero’s beautiful yet simple poem En un trozo de papel, while students in Year 8 extend their study of Spanish-language poetry through working on Mariposa, by Federico García Lorca, one of Spain’s most renowned and beloved poets. Also during Lingofest, Year 9 students look at and dramatise El viento en la isla by Chilean poet, politician, and political activist Pablo Neruda. In September the school celebrates Global Week of Languages and Culture (formerly European Week of Languages), and students at KS3 have the opportunity to extend their cultural knowledge by learning about hispanic musicians, traditional food from the Spanish-speaking world, and tourist sites and places of interest in the Spanish-speaking world.
Year 9 frequently revisit grammatical points learnt in Year 7 and 8 and build on prior knowledge to develop an understanding and use of the immediate future tense, preterite tense, differences in use of the two verbs for ‘to be’ (‘ser’ and ‘estar’), and other irregular present tense verbs. Students learn to manipulate the language to produce more and more complex language, providing an excellent base to support Spanish GCSE study.
Year 10 and Year 12 Spanish Exchange to Barcelona
