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Spanish

Welcome to the Sale Grammar School Spanish department, where language learning meets cultural exploration. We inspire ourPicture1 students to become confident communicators, culturally aware global citizens, and enthusiastic linguists. Our curriculum spans from KS3 and KS4, where language learning is compulsory, to KS5, where we have excellent uptake numbers, offering a dynamic and enriching experience.

Our department has three experienced members of staff:

  • Mrs S Lancake (Head of Spanish)
  • Mrs M Rodriguez Sanchez
  • Mrs E Shaw

Do more with Spanish 

LOOK 

  • Netflix has an array of options: there are lots of original Spanish and Latin American dramas, or you can change your subtitles/dubbing to Spanish
  • YouTube channels:
  • Butterfly Spanish
  • Take it Spanish
  • Señor Jordan
  • Señor Lamb
  • Instagram:
  • @Spanish_English_Rosie

LISTEN

  • Podcasts:
  • Spanish coffee break
  • SpanishPod101
  • Discover Spanish
  • Españolistos
  • Notes in Spanish

READ

REFERENCE 

....EVEN MORE!

Each Spanish student has a Manual Español which has a list of places to access. They also each have a log in to www.sentencebuilders.com which has practice for all skills and topics required.

Extra Opportunities

We believe in elevating the classroom experience and, where possible, taking it beyond the walls of the school.

We regularly have online events for students to engage with about where language can take them. These could come from GCHQ, British Council or other organisations.

COMPETITIONS

  • Our sixth formers enter a team into the annual Cheadle Hulme debating competition with our Year 12 team winning the trophy in 2024.
  • We take part in the Oxford University Anthea Bell Translation competition and in 2024, one of our Year 7 students won a commendation for their work.
  • Our students love celebrating not only Spanish, but also their Mother Tongue, and so we have an array of fantastic entries to the MMU Mother Tongue, Other Tongue poetry competition.
  • The European Day of Languages happens every year in September and we regularly host quizzes and competitions in the school.

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CLUBS

  • Cooking club links really nicely into our KS3 units and students get a chance to do some real Spanish cooking after school.
  • Pen Pals we have a link with a school in Spain where we exchange letters with students of a similar age in KS3.

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tRIPS 

  • There are many opportunities to get out of school and into Manchester for a more local trip where we can explore Spanish film and text and we have taken students to HOME and MMU
  • In Sixth Form, we run a bi-annual trip to Andalucía where we stay in Málaga and adventure out to Córdoba and Granada. We soak up the culture (of which there is a lot), and use as much Spanish as possible along the way. Students have come back home much more confident with their level of speaking and keen to keep it up!

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What Our Students Say: 

"Learning a language at this school is especially fulfilling due to the enthusiastic and supportive staff“

" A language is one of the most useful A-Levels you can have.  Be prepared for hard work, but work that will be rewarding“

“Spanish is a chance to stand out from the pack when applying to Uni courses: problem solving and communication are sought after skills. ”

“I think it's really important to be able to speak another language and learn about other cultures and their history. I think especially in England we need to as a whole put languages as a higher priority, as lots of people assume that everyone can speak English in other countries which is unfair.”

“I like the diversity of topics, it's like sociology, religious studies, geography and English literature, just in Spanish”

 

KS3 Curriculum

We have a fast paced, challenging curriculum which introduces students to the fundamentals of the Spanish language through engaging and interactive lessons. Along the way, we look at key cultural moments and finish Year 7 and 8 with a cultural project. The curriculum flows from Module 1 in Year 7 to Module 18 in Year 11 with regular retrieval points to ensure the long term memory in secure.

Year 7:

  • Module 1 – Todo sobre mi (all about me)
  • Module 2 – Identidad (identity)
  • Culture – Navidad (Christmas)
  • Module 3 – El insti (school)
  • Module 4 – El ocio y las diversiones (free time)
  • Module 5 – Film project (Coco: Día de los Muertos)

Year 8:

  • Module 6 – Las vacaciones (holidays)
  • Module 7 - ¡A comer! (food)
  • Culture – Sant Jordi (St George’s Day in Catalonia)
  • Module 8 – Pueblo (town)
  • Module 9 – En casa y la rutina (home and routines)
  • Culture – San Fermín (bull running)
  • Module 10 – Film project (Ferdinand: bullfighting)

KS4 Curriculum

We follow the AQA Spanish GCSE Specification and use Year 9 as our bridging year as all students will study their language to GCSE. Some themes revisit prior content but stretch and develop students to use more complex language and structures. While we do follow a textbook to a certain extent, our students are of such a calibre that our resources are created to challenge them and push them beyond, reducing the gap between KS4 and KS5.

Year 9:

  • Module 11 - ¡Diviértete! (freetime)
  • Module 12 – Viajes (travel)
  • Culture – Feria de Abril
  • Module 13 – Mi gente, mi mundo (my people, my world)
  • Culture – El Colacho (baby jumping)

Year 10:

  • Module 14 – Mi estilo de vida (my lifestyle)
  • Culture – Los Reyes Magos (the three wise men)
  • Module 15 - ¡A clase! (school)
  • Culture – Las Fallas (event in Valencia)
  • Module 16 – Mi barrio y yo (my neighbourhood and me)

Year 11:

  • Module 17 – Un mundo major para todos (environment)
  • Culture – Día de los Muertos (day of the dead, Mexico)
  • Module 18 – El future te espera (future plans)

Throughout KS3 and KS4, students will be assessed on at least one skill per half term, alongside their weekly vocabulary tests:

  • Listening (including dictation)
  • Reading
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Translation
  • Grammar

KS5 Curriculum

We follow the AQA Spanish A Level Specification. In recent years, we have seen consistently high numbers of students taking A Level Spanish, and, in addition to high level practical language skills, the content of the A level provides depth of knowledge, understanding and intercultural competence and fosters a range of transferable skills such as communication skills, critical thinking, autonomy, resourcefulness, creativity, and linguistic, cultural and cognitive flexibility; all of which are of value to the individual, to wider society, to higher education and to employers. We have a Language Assistant for the sole purpose of supporting our A Level students in a weekly speaking slot.

Year 12:

ASPECTS OF SOCIETY:

  • Family
  • Cyberspace
  • Voluntary work
  • Equal rights
  • Modern and Traditional Values
  • ARTISTIC CULTURE:
  • Culture Heritage
  • Modern day idols
  • Contemporary music and cinema
  • Regional Identity
  • Grammar is consolidated from GCSE and extended so that by the end of Year 12, all students have learnt all grammar required for A Level
  • Literary text: El coronel no tiene quien le escribe, Gabriel García Márquez

Year 13:

ASPECTS OF SOCIETY:

  • A Diverse Society - Integration, immigration and Racism
  • Life for the Marginalised
  • The Treatment of Criminals
  • POLITICAL LIFE:
  • Young People and Politics
  • Popular Movements and Protests
  • Monarchies, Republics and Dictatorships
  • Film study: Volver, Pedro Almodóvar

Successful Language Students

  • Exceptionally motivated, hardworking and well organised.
  • Interested in the countries and people whose language they study.
  • Open to the challenge of thinking for themselves and formulating opinions through reading and discussion.
  • Willing to play an active part in lessons conducted in Spanish

Language learning is hugely rewarding, but it demands commitment,  determination, and consistent application.  If you embark on this course of study,  you should be willing to invest heavily in your own success.