COURSE DESCRIPTION
Prepare for the introduction of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in the Primary Curriculum Framework with this creative, hands-on online course—designed for primary teachers who want to make language learning engaging, practical, and inclusive.
Each day, you’ll explore a different Spanish city and discover how to bring culture, movement, art, storytelling, and sensory learning into your classroom. While the focus is on MFL, all strategies are fully transferable to other subjects, helping you build child-led, inquiry-based lessons across the curriculum.
With a flexible mix of live sessions and self-paced tasks, you’ll collaborate with peers, build confidence, and leave with ready-to-use ideas and a clear action plan for creative teaching.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
✔ Understand how Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) align with the Primary Curriculum Framework and its key principles.
✔ Use project-based and inquiry-led approaches to design engaging, student-centred lessons.
✔ Integrate culture, storytelling, arts, and real-world themes across MFL and other subjects.
✔ Create inclusive, multisensory activities that meet diverse learning needs.
✔ Build learner confidence through reflection, self-assessment, and peer feedback.
✔ Develop a flexible MFL lesson or unit using creative, cross-curricular methods.
✔ Use digital tools to enhance collaboration, language learning, and expression.
✔ Draft an action plan to implement MFL or apply course strategies in their teaching.
✔ Grow in confidence as reflective educators and curriculum leaders.
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR
Mireia Lopez is a passionate educator with a strong background in child development and creative learning. She holds a degree in Primary School Teaching, a Master's in Educational Psychology, and QQI Level 6 certificates in Therapeutic Play Skills and Training and Evaluation. She is also a qualified children’s entertainer and certified Spanish as a Foreign Language Instructor, with over four years of experience teaching Spanish through private lessons, clubs, camps, and grinds.
As a mother of two, Mireia believes that play is essential to a child’s growth and development. Her teaching philosophy centers on the idea that children learn best when they are engaged, curious, and connected to real-life experiences.
Her entrepreneurial journey began with play-based workshops for babies, toddlers, and children with autism, using sensory-rich activities to nurture life skills and foster parent-child connections.
Mireia later founded Discovery Playtime to bring her play-based learning approach to life. She now promotes learning through play via her educational toy shop, events, camps, training programs, and the Rediscovering Childhood Podcast.
Whether training teachers, guiding children, or supporting parents, Mireia brings warmth, expertise, and a deep commitment to child-led learning.
Module 1 - Foundations of Child-Led Learning and Language Introduction
🔍 Discover the power of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in MFL to boost student motivation and real-world language use.
🧠 Understand the stages of language acquisition and apply them to effective, student-centered lesson planning.
🗣️ Build confidence using everyday Spanish through greetings, classroom commands, and simple routines.
🌍 Experience cultural immersion and learn how real-world context deepens language learning.
🧭 Use virtual tools like Google Earth to bring cultural exploration into your MFL classroom.
🎭 Engage in fun, movement-based and role-play activities that make vocabulary stick and learning come alive.
📝 Reflect on your learning journey through journaling and self-assessment aligned with the SSE framework.
🎯 Set a personal goal to guide your growth in MFL instruction and spark continuous professional development.
Module 2 - Inquiry and Sensory-Based Learning Across the Curriculum
🔎 Explore the principles of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) and discover how to make language learning more student-led and curiosity-driven.
👁️👂✋ Use multisensory strategies—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—to support deeper language acquisition.
🎨 Tap into the power of sensory play to boost vocabulary retention and keep learners actively engaged.
🕺 Apply Total Physical Response (TPR) techniques, using movement and gestures to reinforce meaning and support memory.
🧩 Design inquiry-based MFL lessons where students explore language through questions, discovery, and creative tasks.
🎭 Create realistic role-play scenarios that empower students to practice conversational language authentically.
📝 Reflect regularly through journaling and self-assessment, identifying actionable strategies to apply in your own classroom.
Module 3 - Creativity, Art, and STEM for Language and Beyond
🏛️ Use cultural landmarks and famous artworks as engaging entry points for vocabulary building and cultural exploration.
🎨 Incorporate visual storytelling and student art projects to develop descriptive language and creative expression.
🧪 Integrate STEM concepts into MFL, designing hands-on engineering challenges that support language use and problem-solving.
🔍 Drive student curiosity with inquiry- and project-based learning, encouraging exploration, collaboration, and creativity online.
🔗 Create interdisciplinary lesson plans connecting MFL with art, architecture, and design to make learning dynamic and meaningful.
🎭 Boost speaking and listening skills through interactive role-play scenarios—like architect-client meetings or virtual tour guides.
🛠️ Foster teamwork and critical thinking with collaborative building or design tasks, even in virtual settings.
📘 Reflect and grow through peer feedback and self-assessment, identifying innovative strategies to enhance online MFL teaching.
Module 4 - Using Culture, Music, Movement, and Self-Assessment
🎶 Bring language to life through cultural traditions, music, and dance, using real-world connections to deepen student engagement.
💃 Incorporate movement-based learning like Flamenco rhythms, call-and-response chants, and role-play to boost fluency and pronunciation.
🎉 Use cultural events (e.g., Feria de Abril) as the basis for interactive speaking activities, building student confidence in real-life conversation.
🧠 Promote learner autonomy through self-assessment, helping students set goals and reflect on their language learning journey.
📊 Create student-friendly self-assessment tools like journals, progress charts, and peer-feedback prompts to encourage reflection and motivation.
🖼️ Use storytelling and festival-inspired art to reinforce vocabulary, sentence structures, and cultural understanding.
🤝 Collaborate with peers to share best practices and co-develop creative, student-centered MFL activities.
Module 5 - Consolidating Learning, Review, and Action Planning
🔄 Reflect on professional growth and evaluate how new strategies have transformed your teaching practice.
🎊 Design lessons inspired by cultural traditions and festivals (e.g., Las Fallas in Valencia) to make language learning vivid and real.
🧩 Use interactive revision and gamification tools to reinforce key language skills in fun, student-centered ways.
🎓 Develop and present a mini MFL lesson, showcasing cultural, creative, or movement-based strategies explored throughout the course.
🗂️ Create a personalized action plan to implement cultural immersion, movement, and self-assessment in your own classroom.
✅ Use practical self-assessment tools like "Can-Do" charts and goal-setting sheets to track progress—for both teachers and students.
🎉 Celebrate your learning journey, recognizing growth, confidence, and creativity developed throughout the course.
🚀 Leave empowered with practical tools, strategies, and inspiration to deliver engaging, student-centered, and culturally rich MFL lessons.
