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Spanish

General Subject Information

Spanish is an academic subject that opens doors, broadens the mind and offers an insight into other countries and cultures.  In our multi-cultural society there’s never been a better time to learn a foreign language such as Spanish.  The main benefits of learning a language are: enhanced job opportunities/salary and it improves your CV, improves opportunities for sixth form and higher education, improves memory and brain function – allowing you to perform better in other academic subjects.  You also improve your English -learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics of language: grammar, conjugations, and sentence structure.  This makes you more aware of language, and the ways it can be structured and manipulated.  These skills can make you a more effective writer and help improve your English GCSE grade.

Mr Prentice, Lead Learner of Modern Foreign Languages.

KS3 Subject Information - Year 7

All Year 7 study Spanish in Terms 1-3 covering the following topics:

  • Term 1: Talking about myself and others
  • Term 2: Talking about school life
  • Term 3: My family

KS3 Subject Information Year 8 & Year 9

Year 8

Term 1 My house

Term 2 My free time

Term 3 My town

Term 4 My holidays

Term 5 Food

Term 6 Fashion

 

Year 9 Sets 1-2

Term 1 Media

Term 2 School

Term 3 Health

Term 4 World of Work

Term 5 Spanish speaking world

Term 6 Revision/Start GCSE Course

 

Year 9 Sets 3-9

Term 1 Talking about people

Term 2 Going out

Term 3 Holidays

Term 4 Food

Term 5 Fashion

Term 6 Revision/Start GCSE Course

Year 10 and Year 11 GCSE Subject Information

  Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4 Term 5 Term 6
Year 10 Holidays Schools Family/relationships Free Time Where I live

Customs, Festivals

EOY revision
Year 11 My Career Local and Global Issues Exam Preparation/Practice Exam Preparation/Practice Exam  

How is the course assessed?

The GCSE consists of 4 units: Writing 25%, Speaking 25%, Reading 25% and Listening 25%.  These components are all taken at the end of this linear course. 

GCSE Spanish - Course Information

Staff

Click Here

HOMEWORK

  Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4 Term 5 Term 6
Year 7 Click Here Click Here Click Here n/a n/a n/a
Year 8 Click Here Click Here Click Here Click here Click Here Click Here
Year 9

Set 1 = Click Here

Sets 2 - 4 = Click Here

Set 1 =Click Here

Sets 2 - 4 = Click Here

Set 1 =Click Here

Sets 2 - 4 = Click Here

Set 1 =Click Here

Sets 2 - 4 = Click Here

Set 1 =Click Here

Sets 2 - 4 = Click Here

Set 1 =Click Here

Sets 2 - 4 = Click Here
Year 10 Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here
Year 11  Click Here Click Here        
 

Revision

General Information (Useful Information for Parents)

All MFL students have bought or been loaned a Pearson MFL GCSE 9-1 Revision Guide, this contains everything they need to know and be able to do for their exams. In addition to these, below are a number of useful websites that can be accessed by students for further revision help.

GCSE Spanish - we follow the AQA syllabus.

Useful revision websites -

BBC Education - www.bbc.com/education/subjects/z4dqxnb

www.vocabexpress.com - App available on Apple App Store/Google Play Store

GCSE Spanish has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series.

The papers assess the following three themes, divided into sub-topics.

THEME 1: IDENTITY AND CULTURE

Topic 1: Me, my family and friends

Relationships with family and friends

Marriage/partnership

Topic 2: Technology in everyday life

Social media

Mobile technology

Topic 3: Free-time activities

Music

Cinema and TV

Food and eating out

Sport

Topic 4: Customs and festivals in Spanish-speaking countries/communities

THEME 2: LOCAL, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL AREAS OF INTEREST

Topic 1: Home, town, neighbourhood and region
Topic 2: Social issues

Charity/voluntary work

Healthy/unhealthy living

Topic 3: Global issues

The environment

Poverty/homelessness

Topic 4: Travel and tourism

THEME 3: CURRENT AND FUTURE STUDY AND EMPLOYMENT

Topic 1: My studies
Topic 2: Life at school/college
Topic 3: Education post-16
Topic 4: Jobs, career choices and ambitions
Paper 1 Paper 2

Personal Learning Checklist

Listening – Revision topics can be found in General Information Section

What's assessed

Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language

How it's assessed
  • Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier)
  • 40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 marks (Higher Tier)
  • 25% of GCSE

(Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.)

Please practice the following types of question using revision guide and BBC Bitesize.

Questions

Foundation Tier and Higher Tier

  • Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
  • Section B – questions in Spanish, to be answered in Spanish or non-verbally

Example Exam Questions/Model Answers

Example listening questions can be found in the ‘test area’ of BBC Bitesize GCSE Spanish.

Click Here

Revision Materials/Sharepoint

Bitesize

Vocaexpress

Personal Learning Checklist

Speaking - Revision topics can be found in General Information Section

What's assessed

Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes

How it's assessed

Non-exam assessment

  • 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time
  • 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time
  • 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)
  • 25% of GCSE

Please practice the following types of tasks using the questions you have prepared in class and using your revision guide.

  • Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier)
  • Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier)
  • General conversation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier

 

Example Exam Questions/Model Answers

Click Here

Revision Materials/Sharepoint

Pink revision guide, BBC Bitesize.

Bitesize

Vocaexpress
Paper 3 Paper 4

Personal Learning Checklist

Reading - Revision topics can be found in General Information Section

What's assessed

Understanding and responding to different types of written language

How it's assessed

•             Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier)

•             60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier)

•             25% of GCSE

Please practice the following types of tasks using the practice paper below and using your revision guide.

Questions

Foundation Tier and Higher Tier

  • Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally
  • Section B – questions in Spanish, to be answered in Spanish or non-verbally
  • Section C – translation from Spanish into English (a minimum of 35 words for Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier)

Example Exam Questions/Model Answers

Example reading questions are in this specimen paper.

Foundation

Higher

Revision Materials/Sharepoint

Pink revision guide, BBC Bitesize.

Bitesize

Vocaexpress

Personal Learning Checklist

Writing - Revision topics can be found in General Information Section

What's assessed

Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes

How it's assessed
  • Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier)
  • 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier
  • 25% of GCSE

Please practice the following types of tasks using the practice paper below and using your revision guide.

Questions

Foundation Tier

  • Question 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks
  • Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks
  • Question 3 – translation from English into Spanish (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks
  • Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks

Higher Tier

  • Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks
  • Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks
  • Question 3 – translation from English into Spanish (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks

Example Exam Questions/Model Answers

Example writing questions are in this specimen paper.

Foundation

Higher

Revision Materials/Sharepoint

Pink revision guide, BBC Bitesize.

Bitesize

Vocaexpress

 

Job Opportunities / Careers

To learn a foreign language is to see the world anew. You are as many people as the languages you speak. The business world is in need of people who are multi-lingual because of the global economy. You will be an asset to any business with more than one language at your disposal. In today’s global economy such opportunities are constantly expanding.

Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2019, Education and Learning for the Modern World shows the major European languages most commonly in demand among businesses are Spanish (35%) and French (32%).

People who can speak another language earn on average 20% more than people who do not.

Some of the occupations involving languages are…

  • Computer programmer
  • Customer support adviser
  • Executive search consultant
  • Cultural briefing consultant
  • Interpreter
  • Teacher
  • Language trainer
  • Translator
  • Engineering
  • Banking
  • Civil service
  • Travel and tourism
  • Secretary/PA
  • Marketing
  • Public relations
  • Pharmaceutical work
  • Journalism and media
  • Transport and distribution
  • Website localiser