SPANISH IN THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

Spanish Lessons Begin

Mrs Diana Ivancic - Assistant Head of Junior School

Learning languages provides the opportunity for students to engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world and its peoples…students develop an intercultural capability and an understanding of the role of language and culture in communication and become more accepting of difference and diversity. They develop understanding of global citizenship, and reflect on their own heritage,

values, culture and identity. (NSW Syllabus, Spanish K-10)

St Gregory’s Junior School is a PYP Candidate school and the decision was made this year to adopt Spanish as the Language taught from Kindergarten to Year 6. The decision to incorporate Languages Other Than English (LOTE) into the Junior School has been in the planning for the last couple of years and it is wonderful to see this come into fruition. Seeing students authentically engaged in learning the Spanish language and the various cultural aspects has been pleasing to witness.

Spanish was selected as the LOTE language because:

• it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world

• it is the official language of more than 20 countries

• it is one of the easiest languages to learn • Spanish is spoken across different continents • it provides opportunities for students to gain insights into the contributions that have been made by Spanish speaking communities to

Australian society and to the global community.

Mrs Paula Grados was employed as the inaugural Spanish Teacher and has led the implementation of the Spanish program in the Junior School (K-6) with distinction. She has planned engaging and fun activities to immerse students in the language through literature and music. Within the first few weeks the students were greeting their teachers and engaging in basic dialogue. The dedicated Spanish room is colourful and rich with language – a vibrant learning environment for all students to fall in love with learning Spanish!

The students are open-minded and are learning to be multilingual communicators. The parent community have also embraced the new Language program with enthusiasm. The exploration of the Spanish language has created an organic dialogue about their own cultural backgrounds. Many of the students have gone home to ask about their own heritage and explore similarities to the Spanish language. They come to class with lovely stories about their parents and grandparents’ cultures. The students have also made an effort to ask questions about countries that speak Spanish and where these are located on a map, which has created fun and spontaneous Geography lessons. “The dedicated Spanish room is colourful and rich with language – a vibrant learning environment for all students to fall in love with learning Spanish! ”