Spanish
Our Spanish Curriculum opens a door for Invicta students to explore the wonders of the Spanish-speaking world. We aim to not only provide our students with the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively in Spanish but also to appreciate the diverse and fascinating cultures of these countries.
We know how sought-after students of Spanish are, both in terms of acquiring university offers and for prospective employers, and this is not without reason. Our Spanish learners develop skills in a wide range of areas from grammatical knowledge and memorisation techniques to oracy skills and developing a healthy growth mindset through perseverance. Students also have the opportunity to deepen their learning and passion for the subject through wider exploration of Hispanic culture, which is also embedded in our curriculum.
Key Stage 3
Our carefully planned Key Stage 3 course equips students with a solid linguistic foundation from which they can develop their confidence and independence to achieve the impressive feat of reading, listening, writing and speaking in a completely new language. The topics studied range from introducing yourself and your family, talking about free time activities and talking about where you live to using several tenses to talk about present, past and future holidays and giving your opinions on what makes a healthy diet. Students build upon grammatical concepts mastered at Key Stage 2 by comparing and contrasting the mechanisms of the English language with Spanish grammar. Our course offers a wide range of opportunities for students’ personal development, with regular group and project work as well as opportunities to understand and share different cultures. Our course gradually introduces students to written and audio texts of increasing complexity and ensures mastery of key language and skills such as verb conjugation, use of conjunctions and giving opinions and reasons. We hope that by the end of Key Stage 3, students will feel confident in their language skills as they move into the Foundation Year and curious to discover more about Hispanic culture.
Topics Covered
Year 7
- Me presento
- Mi burbuja
- Mis pasatiempos
- Mi casa
- En mi ciudad
- Mi insti
Year 8
- Dieta y salud. Talking about food and drink; discussing what makes a healthy diet and learning about some typical dishes from the Spanish-speaking world.
- ¡Por fin de vacaciones! Talking about holidays; describing a past holiday;describing future holidays; getting to know Guatemala.
- Aquí mando yo. Discussing the internet and social media; discussing TV, music and film; discussing jobs and careers; learning about some Hispanic programmes and stars
- Adict@s a la moda. Describing what you wear and talking about fashion. Practising language for shopping. Learning about fashion in the Hispanic world.
- Yo y mi mundo. Describing your daily routine; discussing global environmental issues; looking after the Amazon; a closer look at the life of a young person in Mexico.
- De paseo por el mundo hispano. Discovering a Texan culture; Madrid vs. Barcelona; discovering Mexico City; finding out about Peru; learning about life in Cuba; planning a trip across South America; learning about Guinea Ecuatorial.
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 4 x 10 minutes of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Resources
- Claro 1 Workbook
- Quizlet (application or website, ideal for vocabulary revision)
- studyspanish.com (ideal for practising your pronunciation)
- Language Gym (ideal for practising verb conjugation)
- Wordreference.com (a useful online dictionary with verb conjugation tool)
To Read
- Lola en la biblioteca (Charlesbridge Publishing)
- Abuela (Arthur Dorros)
- El Cuento de Ferdinando (Munro Leaf)
- Días de clase (Daniel Nesquens)
- La y Lolo (Carmen Gómez Ojea)
To Watch
- Yohoo al rescate (Netflix)
- Pocoyo (Netflix)
- Porror (Netflix)
- Coco (Disney film)
- El lince perdido (The missing lynx, Prime Video. Animated film with an environmental message.)
- Your own DVDs! Check which ones can be watch in Spanish
(Castellano), with English subtitles, or vice-versa.
To Listen
- www.los40.com to find out what is in the Spanish music charts
- Spotify to find Spanish music
- Look up the song title and “letra” to find the lyrics
- Kevin, Karla y Labanda on www.youtube.com (Columbian group that does covers of well-known songs and created music videos with lyrics)
- Coffee Break Spanish podcasts on iMusic and Spotify
- https://www.lyricsgaps.com/es A great way to improve your Spanish listening to Spanish songs and typing lyrics.
To Research
- Where is Spanish spoken in the world? Why is it such a widely-spoken language?
- What are some popular dishes from some Spanish-speaking countries? You could try to make some at home!
- Find out about some famous Spanish-speaking people. Who is Shakira? Can you find out about her work with UNICEF? Who is Frida Kahlo?
- What are some of the main environmental problems faced by Hispanic countries? What is being done to improve the situation?
- Find out more about the Amazon; it is such a fascinating area of the world!
- Find out about some Spanish-speaking Youtubers and bloggers, in particular those associated with environmental issues.
To Visit
- https://spainculturescience.co.uk/ This is the Spanish Embassy website dedicated to Spanish events in the UK, from art exhibitions to film screenings.
- Restaurants! Try out some Spanish tapas, Mexican enchiladas or Argentinian asasdos.
- Any Spanish-speaking country, if you are lucky enough!
- The Spanish Department here at Invicta! We have an abundance of information, support and expert knowledge. We also have plenty of resources we can lend you.
Useful Tips
Learn vocabulary little and often by listening to and repeating the word aloud, then practising the spelling
Try to complete a ‘Verb of the Day’ on days when you do not have a Spanish lesson: as we learn more tenses this will help you get to grips with them quicker and feel confident using them.
Act on corrections and feedback as soon as your book as marked: this will improve the accuracy of the notes from which you are revising and give you next steps for moving forward.
Year 9 - Foundation Year
Our Foundation Year Spanish Curriculum is a unique set of composites based around culture, personal development and oracy. It continues the momentum from Key Stage 3 by building on students’ existing knowledge and enthusiasm for the language, as well as the culture surrounding it. Now that students have a solid foundation and are able to engage with more challenging audio and written texts, we begin to incorporate these into our curriculum, opening up a wealth of exciting opportunities such as studying song lyrics, poems, short videos, history and festivals. We take this opportunity to also enrich our students’ learning through introducing culture from many different Spanish-speaking countries through an exciting curriculum which includes plenty of research and presentation. This also enables us to help students to build on their oracy skills, which is a key priority for the school. Language skills are developed even further through these cultural and personal development composites and we place more emphasis on the use of different time frames in written and spoken Spanish, as well as using other, more complex structures and encouraging students to give and justify opinions. This year is all about continuing to nurture students’ confidence and fostering their passion for Spanish. Our curriculum is mindful of the importance of using evidence from the learning sciences, such as regular recall activities, to ensure that students are well-equipped to move on to the GCSE course, having mastered the fundamental knowledge and skills.
Topics Covered
- Quién soy yo? – Who am I? A chance to present yourself and your family and focus on strategies for building confidence and positive relationships. We focus on oracy through looking at the language we use to build positive relationships.
- Las ventajas y las desventajas de la tecnología – The advantages and disadvantages of technology. Discussing tools and tips for how to get the best out of technology. We focus on oracy through making a presentation to guide young people on effective use of technology.
- Los pasatiempos preferidos en el mundo hispano – favourite hobbies in the Spanish-speaking world. We focus on oracy through conducting and presenting surveys.
- Un viaje encantador a Colombia – an enchanting trip to Colombia, focusing on the film Encanto and Colombian culture. We focus on oracy through the language we use for presentations and persuasion.
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 4 x 10 minutes of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Resources
- Kerboodle online resources and digital book
- Quizlet (application or website, ideal for vocabulary revision)
- wordreference.com (a useful online dictionary with verb conjugation tool)
- Language Gym (useful for practising verb conjugation)
To Read
- Lola en la biblioteca (Charlesbridge Publishing)
- Abuela (Arthur Dorros)
- El Cuento de Ferdinando (Munro Leaf)
- Días de clase (Daniel Nesquens)
- La y Lolo (Carmen Gómez Ojea)
To Watch
- Yohoo al rescate (Netflix)
- Pocoyo (Netflix)
- Porror (Netflix)
- Coco (Disney film)
- El lince perdido (The missing lynx, Prime Video. Animated film with an environmental message.)
- Your own DVDs! Check which ones can be watch in Spanish (Castellano), with English subtitles, or vice-versa.
To Listen
- www.los40.com to find out what is in the Spanish music charts
- Spotify to find Spanish music
- Look up the song title and “letra” to find the lyrics
- Kevin, Karla y Labanda on www.youtube.com (Columbian group that does covers of well-known songs and created music videos with lyrics)
- Coffee Break Spanish podcasts on iMusic and Spotify
- https://www.lyricsgaps.com/es A great way to improve your Spanish listening to Spanish songs and typing lyrics.
To Research
- Where is Spanish spoken in the world? Why is it such a widely-spoken language?
- What are some popular dishes from some Spanish-speaking countries? You could try to make some at home!
- Find out about some famous Spanish-speaking people. Who is Shakira? Can you find out about her work with UNICEF? Who is Frida Kahlo?
To Visit
- https://spainculturescience.co.uk/ This is the Spanish Embassy website dedicated to Spanish events in the UK, from art exhibitions to film screenings.
- Restaurants! Try out some Spanish tapas, Mexican enchiladas or Argentinian asasdos.
- Any Spanish-speaking country, if you are lucky enough!
The Spanish Department here at Invicta! We have an abundance of information, support and expert knowledge. We also have plenty of resources we can lend you.
Useful Tips
Learn vocabulary little and often by listening to and repeating the word aloud, then practising the spelling
Try to complete a ‘Verb of the Day’ on days when you do not have a Spanish lesson: as we learn more tenses this will help you get to grips with them quicker and feel confident using them.
Act on corrections and feedback as soon as your book as marked: this will improve the accuracy of the notes from which you are revising and give you next steps for moving forward.
Make use of your grammar checklist every time you prepare an extended piece of writing to ensure that you include a range of complex structures.
Key Stage 4
Our GCSE Year Spanish course continues to build on the mastery achieved during the Foundation Year. Students study a variety of engaging topics such as ‘Family and Friends’, “Technology in Everyday Life”, “Global Issues” and “Customs and Festivals”. We aim to deepen mastery in grammar, again with a particular emphasis of the proficient use and understanding of verbs in a range of time frames. We also introduce more idiomatic language meaning that students move further towards speaking and writing using authentic-sounding Spanish. Our Foreign Language Assistant works with our Key Stage 4 classes, either on-to-one or with small groups, to develop their fluency and confidence. We prepare students for the four GCSE skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing using a variety of carefully-tailored resources which focus on memorisation techniques at the mastery stage and deeper learning when mastery has been achieved. We use technology as an integral part of our learning; students use iPads to access resources, complete interactive activities, upload recordings and to access a wide range of audio-visual material.
Exam Board/Qualification: AQA - GCSE
- 4 equally weighted papers at the end of Year 11: 1 x Listening (45 minutes), 1 x Reading including translation into English (1 hour), 1 x Writing paper including translation into Spanish (1 hour 15 minutes) and 1 x Speaking exam conducted by your class teacher
- No controlled assessment
Topics Covered
Year 10
- Holidays and travel
- Regions of Spain
- Healthy living
- Charity and voluntary work
- Poverty and homelessness
Year 11
- School
- Future studies
- Future career
- Revision strategies and techniques
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 6 x 10 minutes of guided independent homework, plus 1 x 30 minute piece
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Resources
- Kerboodle online resources and digital book
- Quizlet (application or website ideal for vocabulary revision)
- Wordreference.com (a useful online dictionary with verb conjugation tool
To Read
- Corriendo tras el viento (Manuel Luis Alonso Gómez)
- El laboratorio secreto (Lluía Prats Martínez, Enric Roig Tió)
- Una muñeca para el Día de Reyes (Esmeralda Sánchez Santiago)
- The New Spaniards (John Hooper)
- El País (newspaper)
- 20minutos.es (newspaper)
To Watch
- Vive a tú manera (Netflix)
- Siempre bruja (Netflix)
- Nailed it! – España (Netflix)
- Coco (Disney film)
- Fedinand (Prime Video)
- El libro de la vida (Netflix)
- Your own DVDs! Check which ones can be watched in Spanish (Castellano), with English subtitles, or vice-versa.
To Listen
- www.los40.com to find out what is in the Spanish music charts
- Spotify to find Spanish music
- Look up the song title and “letra” to find the lyrics
- Kevin, Karla y Labanda on www.youtube.com (Columbian group that does covers of well-known songs and created music videos with lyrics)
- Coffee Break Spanish podcasts on iMusic and Spotify
- https://www.lyricsgaps.com/es A great way to improve your Spanish listening to Spanish songs and typing lyrics.
- www.newsinslowspanish.com
- www.20minutos.es
To Research
- What career opportunities are there in the Hispanic world? Where could your future job take you?
- What are the similarities and differences between school and education in the UK and across the Spanish-speaking world?
- Do children in all Spanish-speaking countries have access to a free and education? Are there any areas where education is not free for all?
- Research a university from a Spanish-speaking country. Are there any courses available to international students?
- What are some of the typical jobs in South America? Are there industries there which are not found in Europe?
To Visit
- https://spainculturescience.co.uk/ This is the Spanish Embassy website dedicated to Spanish events in the UK, from art exhibitions to film screenings.
- Restaurants! Try out some Spanish tapas, Mexican enchiladas or Argentinian asasdos.
- Any Spanish-speaking country, if you are lucky enough!
- The Spanish Department here at Invicta! We have an abundance of information, support and expert knowledge. We also have plenty of resources we can lend you.
Useful Tips
Learn vocabulary little and often by listening to and repeating the word aloud, then practising the spelling
Complete a ‘Verb of the Day’ on days when you do not have a Spanish lesson: as we learn more tenses this will help you get to grips with them quicker and feel confident using them.
Act on corrections and feedback as soon as your book as marked: this will improve the accuracy of the notes from which you are revising and give you next steps for moving forward.
Make use of your grammar checklist every time you prepare an extended piece of writing to ensure that you include a range of complex structures.
- Mentoring opportunities for KS3-4
- 1-to-1 speaking practice with native speakers
- UKLO
- Opportunity to contribute to in-house Spanish magazine
Key Stage 5
Have you fallen in love with the Spanish language, Hispanic culture and with exploring the diverse and rich world that surrounds us, on a daily basis? If so, our Spanish A Level course will not disappoint! We support our students through a carefully-planned course which builds upon the solid foundation of language knowledge already acquired and grows confidence by showing students how much they already know. Students are surprised at how quickly they can progress to debating and analysing key topics such as equality, the role of celebrities and the pros and cons of new digital technology. We also study “El laberinto del fauno”, a film directed by the outstanding Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro, and a spellbinding book, “Como agua para chocolate”, which gives our students an insight into Latin-American magical realism. Learning takes place through a wide variety of activities, from studying audio and written texts, to debating, recording audio-visual material, playing games, researching authentic material and listening to Hispanic music. Students also have the opportunity to choose an area which particularly interests them and study this in depth for the “Independent Research Project” in Year 13. Students also have a one-to-one weekly conversation class with our native-speaker assistant; an invaluable way to work towards fluency and learn more about Hispanic culture. It is no surprise that students who have studied a language are among the most sought after by prospective employers and universities; studying a language opens your eyes to different ways of life and ignites a life-long flame for language learning.
Examintion Board/Qualification: AQA A Level
- 3 papers at the end of Year 13
- Paper One (2 hours 30 minutes): Listening, Reading, Translation into English and Translation into target language
- Paper Two (2 hours): Writing, two essays on set texts/films
- Paper 3 (21-23 minutes): oral exam, discussion of a sub-theme based on a stimulus card and presentation/discussion of individual research project)
Topics Covered
- Aspects of Hispanic society: modern and traditional values, cyberspace, equal rights
- Artistic culture in the Hispanic world: modern day idols, Spanish regional identity, cultural heritage
- Multiculturalism in Hispanic society: immigration, racism, integration
- Aspects of political life in the Hispanic world: today’s youth, tomorrow’s citizens; monarchies and dictatorships; popular movements
- El laberinto del Fauno, Guillermo del Toro
- Como agua para chocolate, Laura Esquivel
- Independent Research Project
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 8 hours of guided classroom learning
- 2 hours of guided independent study
- 10 hours of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
Books in English about, or set in, Hispanic countries:
- Guernica, Dave Boling
- The Return, Victoria Hislop
- The New Spaniards, John Hooper
- The shadow of the wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway
- Origin, Dan Brown
- Ghosts of Spain, Giles Tremlett
- Turn right at Machu Pichu, Mark Adams
- One hundred years of solitude, Gabriel Garcia Márquez
- Evita, the real lives of Eva Perón, Nicolas Frase
- South from Granada, Gerald Brenan
- Granada: The light of Anadalucía, Stephen Nightingale
Books or plays in Spanish
- La casa de Bernarda Alba,
- Gabriel García Márquez Crónica de una muerte anunciada
- Laura Esquivel Como agua para chocolate
- Ramón J. Sender Réquiem por un campesino español
- Carlos Ruiz Zafón La sombra del viento
- Isabel Allende La casa de los espíritus
- Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Rimas
- Fernando Fernán-Gómez Las bicicletas son para el verano
- Luis de Castresana El otro árbol de Guernica
- Gabriel García Márquez El coronel no tiene quien le escribe
To Watch
| TV Series | Films |
| Gran Hotel (Netflix) La casa de papel (Netflix) Alta Mar (Netflix) Las chicas del cable (Netflix) |
El laberinto del fauno, Guillermo del Toro El espinazo del diablo, Guillermo del Toro Volver, Perdor Almodóvar María llena eres de gracia, Joshua Marston Ocho apellidos vascos, Emilio Martinez |
To Listen
- Radio Nacional de España (Spain’s national radio station)
- Cadena Ser (A popular Spanish radio station)
- Los 40 Principales (A radio station with separate channels for the different regions in Spain)
- Historias (a weekly program of discussion about Latin American culture)
- The History of Spain podcast (YouTube)
- Audible (a subscription to Audible gives you access to thousands of Spanish language books)
- Spotify (there is a selection of Spanish language books to listen to)
To Visit
- El Instituto Cervantes, London.
- Cervantes Theatre, London.
- El día de los Muertos events, various locations in London.
- International Brigade war memorials (there are hundreds of these across the UK to commemorate the volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War)
- La Taberna, Spanish restaurant in Maidstone
To Research
History
Spain and Spanish-speaking countries offer a fascinating range of history to discover. From the discovery of the Americas and the various the struggles for independence to the Spanish Civil war and the many dictatorships across the Spanish-speaking world, the rich variety of history is astounding.
Popular Movements
Political activism and popular movements is a fascinating area to research. Social media has acted as a catalyst for activism, which often leads to societal or political change. Try researching one of the following popular movements or finding out about some others:
- 15-M
- El movimiento de los pingüinos (Chile)
- Las Madres del la Plaza de Mayo (Argentina)
Music
Spotify, iTunes, YouTube…just to name a few. As students of Spanish, you have an abundance of Spanish music at your fingertips to research. See what is popular in a particular Spanish-speaking country (list 40) and then look up some of the artists.
Particular favourites among the Spanish Department are:
Juanes, Jarabe de Palo, Buena Vista Social Club, Maná, Manu Chao, Carlos Bauté, Shakira, Rosalía and Enrique Iglesias.
Useful Tips
Nurture your love of all things Spanish. You are now a hispanophile and the more you love learning, the more you will want to learn. The subject becomes a hobby!
Keep a note of all new vocabulary by family: can you deduce the noun and adjective from a verb, and vice versa?
Stay informed: you will be required to have and show knowledge of the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Read newspapers and blogs and watch the Spanish news to stay up-to-date.
Make use of the activities available on Kerboodle to extend your learning outside of the classroom.
Remember to plan and check back through your written work just as you would for other essay-based subjects.
Careers
We have a wealth of information on our Careers page - Please click here to visit.
