Spanish

The perks of Year 8 Spanish

For myself, one the most beneficial and enjoyable subjects I currently learn at school is my modern foreign language, Spanish. With now 530 million Spanish speakers across the globe, NHEHS is doing what they can to make this advancing language enjoyable to learn about throughout the school. This has been achieved by opening up the chance to watch Spanish films, offering trips to different cities in Spain, using fun games to learn new vocabulary and much more. Learning a subject like this in a fun environment opens up many doors for the future!

As I am currently in Year 8, I have an upcoming trip to Don Diego Bilbao in Spain where my friends and I look forward to learning about the culture and picking up more everyday Spanish which we can use in daytoday conversations. Using what I have been learning in a real-life situation is something I look forward to as it will show that my hard work has paid off and it will be a great chance to practise my Spanish. A range of activities are being carried out when I am there, which I am really looking forward to taking part in.

During our weekly Spanish lessons with Ms Barbosa, we are taught in a productive way, using games which make remembering words a lot more fun than just writing them out again and again. A personal favourite of our class is ‘Slap the Board’ or simply just ‘Splat’, where a word is read out and you must slap the correct picture on the board relating to the word faster than the other person. However, I must confess this game has had to be stopped a couple of times due to competitiveness forcing the activity to take a rather violent turn! Occasionally, classes get to enjoy a Spanish movie or typical Spanish television show with basic language and we can then have a go at interpreting it.

Moreover, embracing the modern day aspect of things, the school has found numerous websites that make learning the subject easier, such as Quizlet, online audio courses (available on the school’s Firefly page) and of course, Kahoot. With access to all these different resources, learning Spanish has never been so easy.

In conclusion, NHEHS has made such a fantastic effort to welcome different cultures and languages in the school, from hosting international food days, to showing impeccable hospitality towards exchange students. I look forward to continuing my Spanish journey, which wouldn’t be possible without the help from the Modern Foreign Languages department.

Josephine Carter, Year 8