• Students will learn a love of, and curiosity for, foreign languages, developing both the breadth and depth of their knowledge which will enable them to both understand and communicate effectively with someone from a different linguistic background.
• Students will be able to step beyond their own familiar cultural boundaries and appreciate the diversity, customs and traditions of others. Through building relationship with those from other cultures we engender tolerance, respect, empathy and compassion.
• Students will become life-long learners who develop confidence in problem solving, analysis, independence of mind and creativity. Such skills provide the tools to succeed in an increasingly globalised workplace.

Our curriculum at New Road Academy aims to enable students to communicate in another language. We empower our students to understand and respond to Spanish speakers expressing ideas and thoughts relevant to their needs. We aim to equip our students to study languages post 16 and in the longer term to be able to work with people from around the world and maybe in other countries. We focus on developing their competences in listening, reading, speaking and writing building up their independence and self-confidence during their period of study.

We intend to open students to other cultures, to foster our students’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. We want to make them aware of the value and importance of learning a language and challenge insular behaviours. We aim to develop their respect for others both in our communities and around the world and we want to build up their cultural capital and widen their horizons through a range of class activities and cultural events

We aim to ensure that:

• our students understand and respond to language from a variety of authentic sources
• they speak with increasing self-confidence and spontaneity
• they use the variety of grammatical structures they have learnt when communicating

Over the course of their studies our students are given the skills and knowledge to become confident and independent speakers through phonics, vocabulary and grammar. Learning is organised in a cyclical approach and progression is built in the curriculum. Over the course of their learning, students revisit regularly the language they learn and continually practise the skills that allow them to become good communicators.

From Year 7, we teach students the specific skills they will need later in their study for GCSE. We adapt our teaching to cater for the needs, abilities and interests of each individual student.

Through a broad range of activities, students are taught to:

• Identify and use tenses and other structures which convey the present, past and future
• Use and manipulate key grammatical structures and patterns
• Develop a wide vocabulary allowing them to give and justify their opinions and take part in discussion about wider issues than their immediate needs and interests.
• Use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation

Students also learn to:

• Listen and respond to a variety of spoken language
• Transcribe words and sentences that they hear
• Read original and adapted materials and understand their purpose
• Read literary texts which expand their understanding of the language and culture
• Write creatively and translate written texts accurately from and into the target language

We know that our students make good progress through regular assessments they take and students’ success in their GCSE examinations in Spanish. Every term they are assessed in their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.

Students are set fortnightly homework at KS3 and weekly at KS 4 which includes a combination of learning and written tasks. The learning homework is set using Languagenut where students have their own accounts and can revisit topics for revision purposes.

At KS4 the homework involves more applied activities linked to developing exam skills as well as using the exam skills section on Languagenut.

• Students are given the opportunity to sample the food they learn about in our topic on food.
• Telford School of English – Every year we have Spanish students visiting from Madrid who buddy up with KS4 students and provide an insight into Spanish language and culture.

Research indicates that people who speak more than one language develop a better memory, talent for problem-solving, ability to concentrate, and tendency to be creative than people who speak only one language.
Knowing a foreign language will help to improve cultural awareness, increase adaptability, and make students a more confident and effective communicator.