Spanish - Options 2024

Course Specification:                          AQA GCSE Spanish 8698

Course contact:                                  Mrs. Dorman           dorman.h@whiteroseacademies.org

Course Description: GCSE Spanish teaches students how to communicate in Spanish both in speech and writing and will develop the skills of reading and listening including how to respond to speakers of the Spanish language. Students will also study different cultural aspects of Spanish speaking communities to broaden their knowledge of the Spanish speaking world.

 

What will I learn?

You will study a range of topics, which are organised into 3 main themes: 

Theme 1: People and lifestyle

Topic 1: Identity and relationships with others

Topic 2: Healthy living and lifestyle

Topic 3: Education and work

Theme 2: Popular culture

Topic 1: Free-time activities

Topic 2: Customs, festivals and celebrations

Topic 3: Celebrity culture

Theme 3: Communication and the world around us

Topic 1: Travel and tourism, including places of interest

Topic 2: Media and technology

Topic 3: The environment and where people live

How will I be assessed?

Paper 1:  Listening (25% of grade)

Exam = 35 minutes, 40 marks(F), 45 minutes, 50 marks(H)

Paper 2: Speaking (25% of grade)

Exam = 7-9 minutes + 15 minutes preparation time, 50 marks(F), 10-12 mins + 15 minutes preparation time, 50 marks(H)

What’s assessed?

·       understanding and responding to spoken extracts comprising the defined vocabulary and grammar for each tier

·       dictation of short, spoken extracts

Section A – listening comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally

Section B – dictation where students transcribe short sentences

What’s assessed?

·       Speaking using clear and comprehensible language to undertake a Role-play

·       carry out a reading aloud task

·       talk about visual stimuli

Role-play – 10 marks

Reading aloud task and short conversation – 15 marks

Photo card discussion – 25 marks

Paper 3: Reading (25% of grade)

Exam = 45 minutes, 50 marks(F), 1 hour, 50 marks(H)

Paper 4: Writing (25% of grade)

Exam = 1 hour 10 minutes, 50 marks(F), 1 hour 15 minutes, 50 marks(H)

What’s assessed?

·       understanding and responding to written texts which focus predominantly on the vocabulary and grammar at each tier

·       inferring plausible meanings of single words when they are embedded in written sentences

·       translating from Spanish into English

Section A – reading comprehension questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally

Section B – translation from Spanish into English (35 words at Foundation tier, 50 words at Higher tier)

What’s assessed?

·       writing text in the language in a lexically and grammatically accurate way in response to simple and familiar stimuli

·       translating from English into Spanish

Foundation tier

Question 1 – 5 short sentences in response to a photo

Question 2 – a short piece of writing in response to 5 compulsory bullet points, approx. 50 words

Question 3 – 5 short grammar tasks

Question 4 – translation of sentences from English into Spanish, minimum 35 words

Question 5 – a piece of writing in response to 3 compulsory bullet points, approx. 90 words (There is a choice from 2 questions.

Higher Tier

Question 1 – translation of sentences from English into Spanish, minimum 50 words

Question 2 – a piece of writing in response to 3 compulsory bullet points, approx. 90 words (There is a choice from 2 questions.)

Question 3 – open-ended writing task (student responds to 2 bullet points, approx. 150 words (There is a choice from 2 questions.)

 

Future Opportunities and Careers

 Future Opportunities and Careers

Foreign language skills can be very attractive to future employers. GCSE Spanish could complement many career paths such as those in law, international marketing, travel and tourism and the media.

Further Information

The GCSE Spanish course is divided into 2 tiers, Foundation and Higher. You will need to sit all papers at the same tier and all question papers must be taken in the same series.