“A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in a language.” Noam Chomsky 

At Florence Melly we are linguists! We want our children to love speaking new languages. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up wanting to be translators, hospitality managers, flight attendants or teachers.

Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Language teaching should provide the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries. National Curriculum (2013). 

Bringing Spanish Alive at Florence Melly!

We often use the vibrancy of Liverpool as a vehicle  to enrich pupils’ time in our school with memorable and unforgettable experiences, trips, lessons and clubs. Here are just a few examples of how we have brought our Spanish curriculum alive this year:

• Our pupils and staff embraced the Mexican celebration of ‘Dia de los Muertos’ (the Day of the Dead) and enjoyed a whole host of exciting activities linked to this wonderful event. Dia de los Muertos is a multi-day holiday involving family and friends gathering to pay their respects and to remember friends and family members who have died. Every class enjoyed a Spanish tasting platter, some designed their own calaveras (decorative skulls) and everyone had a blast researching this wonderful celebration! Best of all – everyone got to dress up! Some of the costumes were so SCARY! The day was organised by Mrs Matthews, our MFL (Modern Foreign Languages) Lead and she was supported by the amazing team at Apple of my Eye.

Spanish Subject Characteristics

Modern Foreign Language subject specific characteristics, which we expect the children to demonstrate, have been developed and shared with all stakeholders. These characteristics underpin all work in MFL and form a focal point for display areas and provide a common subject specific vocabulary for staff and pupils. 

At Florence Melly, we are Linguists. We have…

• The confidence to speak with good intonation and pronunciation.
• Fluency in reading and imagination in writing.
• A strong awareness of the culture of the countries where the language is spoken.
• A passion for languages and a commitment to the subject.
• The ability to use language creatively and spontaneously.
• An independence in their studies and the ability to draw upon a wide range of resources.

Key MFL Documentation

Please use the links below to access our key documentation.

Spanish Curriculum Map