Spanish
If your child is in form SAL, they’ll be studying Spanish with us at Sale Grammar School.
Welcome to the Sale Grammar School Spanish department, where language learning meets cultural exploration. We inspire our
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.
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.
Enrichment
During enrichment sessions, Year 12 students have gone to a local primary school where they deliver their planned Spanish lessons.
tRIPS
- We have enjoyed more local trips to HOME in Manchester for the Spanish film festival
- Sixth for students go to MMU to enjoy a lecture on the set film Volver
- 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!
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 |
Content |
Grammar |
Phonics |
|
1 - Todo sobre mi |
Greetings Alphabet Dates Numbers Age Family Pets Hair and eyes Colours |
Articles Adj. agreement Q&A WWW Tener Possessive adjectives Nouns, gender |
a e i o u |
|
2 - Identidad |
Soy Characteristics Nationality Countries Compass Weather |
Es vs está apostrophes intensifiers ser comparisons hablar vivir |
ca co cu cu + vowel ce ci |
|
Culture - Navidad |
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|
3 - el insti |
school subjects telling the time timetables (in Spain) facilities in school clothes (uniform) extracurricular pencil case |
present tense time phrases sequencers poder opinions reasons |
ge gi j |
|
4 - el ocio y las diversiones |
hobbies sports invitations |
soler negatives connectives near future |
silent h |
|
Culture - Semana Santa |
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|
5 - Coco |
Day of the Dead Alejibres Frida Kahlo Mexico Mexican Landmarks Plan a trip project |
Some intro to the preterite |
|
Year 8
|
Module |
Content |
Grammar |
Phonics |
|
6- Las vacaciones |
Future holidays past holidays Project- costing a holiday |
Preterite tense + era/estaba/tenía/había |
v / b ue / ui |
|
7- ¡A Comer! |
Cultural food Times Food and drink Shops Quantities Packets/containers Restaurant dialogue |
big numbers usted |
z ll que cua ía |
|
Culture - Sant Jordi |
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|
8- Pueblo |
Regions of Spain Compass Directions Prepositions Weather Places |
Prepositions Imperfect |
ue z / ce / ci |
|
9 - En casa |
Houses Descriptions Rooms Celebrity houses Furniture Daily Routine Chores |
“se” constructions Reflexive verbs |
silent h qui que |
|
10 - Ferdinand |
Bullfighting and learning about different Spanish regions |
|
|
|
Culture - San Fermin |
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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 |
Content |
Grammar |
Phonics |
|
11 - ¡diviértete! |
Technology Social media Hobbies Sport Music Film TV Meeting up |
Cuyo Demonstrative adjectives Direct Object Pronouns |
c |
|
12 - Viajes |
Andalucía Latin America Festivals |
“si” + present tense “acabar de” Preterite + imperfect |
j ge gi h |
|
Culture – Feria de Abril |
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|
13 - mi gente, mi mundo |
Famous people Identity Problems Advice |
desde / desde hace present continuous Indirect object pronouns suffixes -ito/-ita |
h v/a j/ge/gi |
|
Culture – El colacho |
|||
Year 10
|
Module |
Content |
Grammar |
Phonics |
|
14 - Mi estilo de vida |
Traditional foods Healthy routines Illnesses Injuries Giving advice |
tener + noun ya no + verb simple future if clauses impersonal verbs |
ch r rr ce/ci ca/co/cu |
|
Culture – Los Reyes Magos |
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|
15 - ¡a clase! |
Hispanic schools School rules End of school traditions |
Relative pronouns “lo que” Conditional tense False friends llevar + time Absolute superlatives |
ce/ci/z r/rr ñ u |
|
Culture – Las Fallas |
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|
16 - Mi barrio y yo |
Learn about Colombia Quinceañers Flower Festival |
Demonstrative adjectives Perfect tense ya / todavía variety of verb tenses Future plans in different ways |
ll rr cua cue í / ía io / ió |
Year 11
|
Module |
Content |
Grammar |
Phonics |
|
17- Un mundo mejor para todos |
Talking about the environment Helping in the community Climate change Helping the environment Solutions |
Prepositional pronouns Imperatives Impersonal verbs The passive Imperfect continuous Relative pronouns |
ci / ca / co / cu v r / rr j |
|
Culture – Día de los Muertos |
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|
18 - El futuro te espera |
Learn about Latino trailblazers Plans for the future Jobs Career intentions The importance of Languages in jobs Changes in the world of work Artificial intelligence |
Possessive pronouns Prepositions + infinitive Modal verbs seguir/continuar + present participle |
ge / gi / j
ga / go / gue / gui |
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 do not offer AS Spanish.)
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.