¡Hola! LEH International School Foshan is delighted to announce the introduction the Spanish Programme into our British Curriculum starting from the upcoming school year 2022-2023. The programme will be led by Ms Sara Saavedra, Head of Spanish who will offer outstanding Spanish lessons to our students, both native and non-native Spanish speakers.
Spanish provides a competitive edge in career choices and students at LEH Foshan will be able to learn the three most popular and useful languages in the world: English, Chinese, and Spanish. By learning a new language, students will be able to have access to a new culture and new perspectives to see the world. For that reason, it is very important to link the language to the culture and to use as many authentic resources as possible. The learning of a language will be meaningful and practical, and students will embrace the cultural differences between their own and the Hispanic cultures from a tolerant spirit while growing in international mindedness.
Spanish Programme Overview
Our Spanish programme aims to enable students to be able to express their ideas and thoughts in Spanish and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. Our Spanish curriculum will give students an insight into what it is like to live in a Hispanic country and allow them to compare their lives with the lives of their Hispanophone peers. We aim to incorporate authentic literary texts and authentic sound and video clips into our curriculum in order to stimulate ideas, develop creative expression and expand understanding of the Spanish language and Hispanophone culture.
The Fallas
Meet the Head of Spanish
Ms Sara Saavedra
Head of Spanish
Ms Sara Saavedra is our Head of Spanish as well as the Head of Academics. She is not only a Spanish native speaker but also a very experienced teacher of Spanish, and she has been in the teaching and education industry in the UK and Dubai since she attained UK Qualified Teacher Status at the University of East London in 2013. Her last post was Head of Spanish in a well-regarded British international school in Dubai.
Ms Sara Saavedra has taught Spanish to all year groups, including GCSE and IGCSE, AS and A level, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) at Ab Initio, Standard and Higher levels and MYP for 10 years with excellent results in both programs. She is passionate about sharing with her students not only my language but also Hispanic traditions, culture and history.
Spanish Curriculum
The community of LEH Foshan is one where multilingualism is embraced and encouraged by students and staff alike. The aims of the Spanish Department are to promote proficiency in the language taught and to promote intercultural respect and understanding. Spanish is compulsory in KS3 (Y7-9) and KS4 (Y10-11, IGCSE) and it is an elective in KS5 (Y12-13, A Level).
Key Stage 2 & 3 (Y4-9)
At LEH we are committed to our provision of the Spanish from a very early age. From Year 4, students will learn the alphabet, master pronunciation and intonation, develop a broad-ranging vocabulary, and studied topics such as numbers, days of the week, animals, colours and directions in an interactive and intuitive way. They will build the foundation necessary for greater challenges in KS3.
The curriculum for Spanish aims to ensure that all students:
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understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources;
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speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity.
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discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
Key Stage 4 (Y10-11, IGCSE)
At Key Stage 4, we aim to build on Key Stage 3 for languages and prepare them for the IGCSE examination. Our objective is to enable students of all abilities to develop their Spanish language skills to their full potential, equipping them with the knowledge to communicate in a variety of contexts with confidence in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Key stage 4 Spanish covers distinct themes. Students are expected to understand and provide information and opinions about these themes relating to their own experiences and those of other people, including people in countries/communities where Spanish is spoken. These themes cover the following areas allowing the students to become confident in any transactional Spanish scenario -
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Home and abroad (Local, national, international);
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Education and employment;
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Personal life (identity and culture)
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Social life
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The World around us (global areas of interest)
Key Stage 5 (Y12-13, A Level)
The Spanish curriculum at KS5 provides clear links to some of the most fundamental and interesting aspects of the Hispanic culture and communities. Popular literary texts and films together with authentic source materials from Spain and South America. A Clear and coherent structure encourages creativity and independent learning through engaging themes:
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La evolución de la sociedad española;
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La cultura política y artística en el mundo hispanohablante;
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La inmigración y la sociedad multicultural española and
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La dictadura franquista y la transición a la democracia.
These themes are studied alongside two works (either two literary texts or one literary text and one film) assessed through two externally-examined papers (Paper 1 and Paper 2) and one teacher-examiner conducted speaking assessment (Paper 3).
Spanish Extra-Curricular Activities
The school will be offering 2 different ECAs which focus on Spanish speaking practices as well as the cultural aspects of the Hispanic world involving music, traditions, films, and gastronomy.
Immersive Spanish Experience
Whether teaching beginners or advanced students, it is essential that the teacher establish Spanish as the language of the classroom. Some English may be used in certain situations: for example, to make sure everyone in the class understands a specific point, or when correcting tasks where the use of English is specified.
Spanish for Everyone
As an international school, we understand that our students are from a variety of countries/regions and cultural backgrounds meaning different levels in Spanish in this case. It is our aspiration to ensure all students will benefit from some differentiation, at different stages in their Spanish learning, in order for them to fulfil their potential in the language.
In lessons, teachers are aware of the various levels of the students and differentiation must happen - by task and/or by the outcome. Teachers will add adjustments and differentiation according to the individual needs of their students. The Spanish department believes in promoting a good working ethos and teamwork in the classroom, so pair work or small group activities can also help students of various abilities within the same teaching group. Whenever possible, extra reading material and/or extension tasks should be available in the classroom for students.
Bilingual students/very advanced students: students with a high level of proficiency or those who have had more exposure to the language (they may have started the language at a very young age or may have lived in a country where the language is spoken) may be following a special programme depending on their individual learner profile. Often these students will have strong comprehension skills and good oral fluency. However, their written work may need more attention. Differentiation can be expected by the outcome, but there is also a need for more advanced tasks (e.g. use of magazines and literature books) as well as specific language work to cater for their specific writing needs.