Modern Languages at Hazelwood

"Learning a language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way” Frank Smith

At Hazelwood, all pupils from Oak (Reception) to Year 8 are given the opportunity to learn French. For the majority of their time at Hazelwood, our pupils are taught by native speakers.  Pupils in the Upper School also have the opportunity to learn Spanish.

From Oak to Year 3, the emphasis is on speaking and listening using Euro Stars. This fun, flexible and interactive software offers a bank of teaching units that contain a wide range of activities for our learners’ delight. Amongst their favourite activities are songs and rhymes, animations and photo stories, wordbank flashcards and practice activites.

In addition to French, some of our pupils are given the option to start studying Spanish in Year 7 with the aim of presenting it at an easier level during Common Entrance examination the following year. Our range of resources is very wide but the most popular is without doubt Viva, our interactive book online! At Hazelwood everyone finds Spanish very fun to speak and loves the video clips, audio and interactive activities and songs found in our course.  

The Language Faculty is continuously looking for ways to bring languages alive. We regularly record children speaking French and Spanish, encouraging them to practise both accurate pronunciation and authentic intonation. Several events take place during the year, which add enjoyment to learning languages, such as European Language Day, DVD evenings in the target language, plays, visits and language competitions.

Alongside the linguistic demands and expectations of these subjects, we hope that our pupils will develop a genuine interest in and tolerance of other cultures. At Hazelwood we aim for our learners to grow an insatiable appetite for languages, feel confident in unfamiliar situations and rise to the challenge of speaking French or Spanish spontaneously during lessons and eventually in real life.