This week, Year 6 students had the opportunity of learning Spanish and enjoyed their first Spanish taster session with Mr Emery. With Spain being the third most popular country to visit in the World, lots of students were very enthusiastic to learn more about Spain and also learn some basic Spanish.

Classes 13 & 14 were given a short presentation by Inès from Class 13 on her experience being in a Spanish primary school in Gran Canaria. Students were amazed to hear that in Spain and the Canary islands, the school day finishes at lunch time, where school kids go back home for la comida (lunch) and, of course, la siesta!

After a cultural quiz on Spain, students then got to grips with the Spanish language by learning different types of food on the website Linguascope. Within 20 minutes, some students had already mastered the 40 different items of food, ranging from breakfast foods to vegetables and fruits!

The students were then tested on how many different types of food they could remember by playing a whole class quiz on Kahoot.com. Students are given a time-limit to answer each question and are competing against each other for the top score.

After 30 questions, the winners from each class had been established. From class 13, Ben was the overall winner, with Inès second and Peter third.

It’s really cool to try a different language and learn about Spain. Spanish is now my new favourite language! Ben, Class 13, Year 6

From Class 14, Alfie won a very close battle between himself, Juliette and Finn. All three were the only students in class 14 to score 30/30, but Alfie’s faster reaction times saw him eventually come out on top.

Learning Spanish is much easier when you already know some French!  That helped me win today!  Alfie, Class 14, Year 6

Currently, only one third of Britons are now able to hold a conversation in another language. Yet with the budding enthusiasm shown by Penpols’ language stars, there’s a feeling that the tide is turning!