Our geographical location, gateway to the Spanish-speaking Americas, and current regional and international economic trends and their implications for Trinidad and Tobago, create an imperative for strengthening and deepening the national capability in Spanish at all levels and has given rise to the declaration of Spanish as the First Foreign language of Trinidad and Tobago.Research and experience have shown that the infant years are the most opportune time to begin the learning of a foreign language and to develop an appreciation of and openness to other peoples and cultures.
Beginning to speak a language at this level makes possible the acquisition of native-like pronunciation and fluency, supports the learning of the native-language and engenders confidence and willingness to use the language.Accordingly, with a view to laying the foundation for the establishment of Spanish as the First Foreign Language of Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Education has mandated the introduction of Spanish at primary school level.PROGRAMME GOALS It is expected that the introduction of this programme of instruction will: • • • • • Develop basic oral/aural Spanish proficiency among primary-age students Create a greater awareness of Hispanic cultures, Spanish-speaking countries and peoples in the region Reinforce and increase knowledge of other subject areas through content-based Spanish language instruction (e. g. Social Studies, English).
Foster a love for foreign language study in all students Enhance the levels of achievement in Spanish at the secondary level 2SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Attainment of the goals stipulated above will be demonstrated by the students’ ability to: • • • • • • Ask for and give basic autobiographical information about themselves and others Identify and describe in simple terms familiar objects common to their home and school environment Express agreement and disagreement State likes and dislikes Ask for and give basic information about routine school and leisure activities Ask for and give basic information about selected aspects of local and Hispanic cultureSYLLABUS DESIGN AND INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH The design of the syllabus is guided by the following principles: 1. 2. 3. Spanish learned at the primary level must anticipate and complement the secondary level Spanish curriculum Content and instructional activities must be consistent with the cognitive and affective developmental patterns, learning styles and interests of primary age children The development of cultural awareness is as important a goal as the development of linguistic proficiencyComplementing the Secondary Level Spanish Curriculum The syllabus has a cyclical-thematic structure which is intended to provide ongoing reinforcement of key concepts and structures across the various levels of instruction.
The primary focus, especially at the lower levels, is on developing oral skills, acquiring core vocabulary, and ensuring that students view learning Spanish as an enjoyable, ‘fun’ activity, and not as an additional ‘examination’ burden. Building intrinsic motivation for language learning at this level is critical.Students must be able to draw upon the positive experiences of learning Spanish at the primary level and embrace the challenge of mastering more difficult syntactic patterns at the higher levels of instruction. Developing a strong capability in oral communication at primary level, a major goal of this syllabus, will 3 enable secondary level Spanish teachers to devote more instructional time to increasingly complex grammatical structures, the mastery of which is required to attain the higher levels of proficiency targeted in the for the econdary school graduate.Types of Learning Activities Instructors are encouraged to make extensive use of games, songs, flashcards and other interactive learning resources with high mnemonic value to aid the learning process. The lexical scope of instruction can be expanded by contextualizing the vocabulary presented to reflect the realities of the specific communities within which the language will be taught, as it is a well known principle of language learning that meaningfulness aids acquisition.
Teachers are asked to note in this regard that while the syllabus contains comprehensive vocabulary lists in certain thematic areas, students are not required to learn all the items, but only those which apply to their personal situation. Additionally, many of the in-class activities are designed to give students an immediate sense of accomplishment in the language, and thus lend themselves naturally to formative evaluation exercises.Teaching of Culture With respect to the teaching of Hispanic culture at the primary level, the intent is to increase students’ awareness of Spanish-speaking countries, especially those in Latin America and the Caribbean. Students should also be made aware of the legacy of Spanish culture and tradition in the development of their own nation.
Such goals dictate that teachers focus not only on language-specific culture items such as the “pinata,” but also on more general knowledge. As such, it is expected that much of the teaching of cultural appreciation at the primary level will be conducted in the first language.Summary The themes, functional objectives and structures presented in this document are meant to be incorporated into the Primary curriculum, beginning at the Infants Level and sequentially developed across levels, under the tutelage of a trained and qualified teacher. The syllabus content and teaching/learning activities are not prescriptive, but are rather intended as samples, and where relevant and applicable, to serve as the basis for further development depending on the learning styles and aptitude of students.What is of primary importance is the need to ensure that the primary school syllabus be effected, not only with a focus on oral communication, but with the underlying purpose of making the learning of Spanish a pleasurable experience for all children, and in the process, increase their desire to further their study of Spanish.
4 FUNCTIONAL-NOTIONAL OVERVIEW Infants – Post Primary Syllabus YEAR Infants Year I Infants Year II Standard I Standard II Standard III Standard IV Standard V Post-PrimaryExchanging greetings and other social courtesies Identifying self and others Identifying objects Describing people and things Talking about leisure and school activities Describing places Integration of all functions and notions Infants to Standard IV Excerpts from above integrated into situational dialogues KEY NOTIONS Numbers, 1-10, the Alphabet Numbers 1-20, Colours Colours, Shape, Size Personal and Physical Qualities Time (Days, Months, Hours). Frequency Distance, Relative location.THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES STRUCTURES RELTED VOCABULARY Buenos dias Buenas tardes Buenas noches Hola Adios, Chao Por favor, Gracias, De Nada Me llamo …… ? Como te llamas? state names Soy nino/nina agree and disagree using “si” and “no” ? Como estas? (Muy) Bien gracias 1. Students identify ‘typical’ Spanish names such as Pedro, Maria, etc. 2.
El Abrazo, la bendicion chart Nino/Nina Chico/Chica CULTURE Alphabet 3. Students learn the Spanish Alphabet song SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1. Song: “Buenos Dias”Students practice greeting each other RESOURCES 1. ?Quien soy Students will be able to: yo? xpress greetings and farewells express basic courtesies 1.
Name tags 2. Gifts identify self as boy/girl 3. Spanish Lo siento 6 THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Identify the immediate members of their family Count from 1-10 STRUCTURES RELTED VOCABULARY El papa, La mama El hermano La hermana SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1. Students identify and label family members by name 2. Students count the number of children in “The old lady who lived in a shoe…” RESOURCES 2. La Familia ?Quien es? Es mi ….
. Photographs of family members ?Cuantos/Cuantas hermanos/ hermanas State the number of brothers and/or sisters they have tienes?Hay … cuartos en mi casa una casa un cuarto no si 1. Select a ‘casa” from among a series of different objects 2. Students draw their own ‘casa’ 3. Students connect a dot-to-dot to draw a ‘casa’.
Pictures of drawings of houses (frontal and aerial view) Masking tape, Worksheets, Lego, Files for children’s efforts Letter cards 8 THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Identify and request specific classroom objects Understand and respond physically to basic classroom instructions as given by the teacher STRUCTURESRELTED VOCABULARY Papel SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1. Game: Simon dice 2. The teacher gives a series of instructions to which the students respond RESOURCES 5. La Escuela ?Que es? Es un/una … Classroom objects Lapis, goma, creyones, plasticina ? Que son? Son …. Entra/entren Sientate/Sientense Ponte de pie Ponganse de pie Pasame, Dame 3. Pair work: Requesting and passing objects Understand singular and plural commands Por favor Silencio Desditos en la boca Repite/repitan 9 THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Identify selected fruits in Spanish State which fruits they want or do not want STRUCTURESRELTED VOCABULARY una naranja una manzana una banana una papaya una pina SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1.
Draw, colour and label fruits by tracing along the dotted lines. 2. Students identify fruits in Spanish according to pictures they are given RESOURCES 6. La comida ?Que es? Es un Es una Charts Crayons & drawing paper Pictures of fruits Plasticine Plastic fruits, Real fruits Fruit basket ?Que quieres? Quiero … No quiero … una mango 3. Teacher gives out cards with pictures of the items in random fashion then asks all with bananas to stand … 10 THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Identify six means of transportSTRUCTURES RELTED VOCABULARY Un carro Una bicicleta Un autobus Un taxi Un maxi-taxi Un avion SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1.
Drawing & colouring 2. Songs/Poems RESOURCES 7. El Transporte ?Que es? Es un Es una Crayons, Paper, Bristol Board, scissors, toys 3. Show and tell 8.
Mi Patria Students will be able to: To identify their country of origin State the names of the leaders of the country Mi patria se llama … El presidente se llama … El primer ministro de mi patria se llama … La patria El presidente El primer ministro Students match flashcards with presidente, primer ministro and patria with picturesPictures of Trinidad and Tobago, the President, and the Prime Minister 11 THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Identify by name two countries in the Caribbean and Latin America where Spanish is spoken STRUCTURES RELTED VOCABULARY Venezuela Colombia Argentina Cuba SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1. Students colour and name Spanish-speaking countries on a map RESOURCES 9. Encuentro Cultural ?Donde se habla Espanol? Map where Spanish speaking countries can be identified Our Spanishspeaking Neighbours En … Puerto Rico Costa Rica Dominican RepublicStudents display all drawings, etc. one throughout the year 12 INFANTS YEAR II THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES STRUCTURES RELTED VOCABULARY La calle La avenida Una casa ? Donde vives? Vivo en … Un apartamento Puerto Espana, etc Numbers 1-20 numbers SAMPLE ACTIVITIES 1. Number games BINGO from 1 - 20 RESOURCES 1.
?Quien soy Students will be able to: yo? State their name State their age Say where they live Count from 1-20 (reinforcement) 2. La Familia Students will be able to: State the name of the family members State the age of their brothers and sisters Express affection for someone Me llamo … Tengo … anos 1. Pictures 2. Boxes ofMi hermano se llama … Tiene …anos Quiero a mi … Numbers 1 – 20 Mama Papa Hermano hermana 1.
Students identify family members and tell class their names 2. Students tell age of sisters and brothers 3. Students express affection for family members Photographs drawings of family members 13 THEMES FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Introduce friends Inquire about friends health Identify their favorite television/cartoon characteristics Identify basic colours STRUCTURES RELTED VOCABULARY bien/mal chevere mucho gusto blanco/a negro/a roja/a amarillo/a verde azul SAMPLE ACTIVITIES Identify Games.Teachers present pictures of wellknown cartoon or TV characters, students name and describe them (e. g.
Mickey Mouse, Elmo, cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog, Big Bird. ) RESOURCES 3. Mis Amigos y yo ?Qu tal? ?Como estas? ?y tu? ?Quien es? ?Es … ? De que color es? ?Es … Pictures of cartoon and television characters Puppets 4. La Casa Students will be able to: Identify common objects in the home environment State the number of items that they have or want ?Tienes un/una? Tengo un/una Un televisor Un radio Una mesa Una silla Matching Game Teacher distributes picture cards illustrating different vocabulary items.
