Spanish

Subject: Spanish

Syllabus Number: AQA 8698

Teacher who leads the subject: Mrs E Lopez-Gamero

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Why study Spanish?

With over 500 million Spanish speaking people in Spain, the emerging Central and South America, Spanish is the official language in more than twenty countries and spoken in 40 countries around the world.  It is predicted that by 2050 the USA will be a bi-lingual country.  Overall, in the business world, Spanish is second in importance after English.

Linguists are valued in all areas of employment.  Some work in creative industries such as journalism, advertising or cinema.  Many others become doctors, lawyers and bankers; they work in the City, multinational companies or even international organisations such as NATO or the EU.  There are no limits for the linguist! 

Learning Spanish at GCSE will help you to:

  • develop your confidence
  • improve your communication skills
  • have an awareness and understanding of other cultures and communities where Spanish is spoken.  
  • develop transferable language learning skills. You will also acquire a far better understanding of your native language and how it works.
  • be able to communicate effectively and present yourself in front of others
  • stand out from the crowd (particularly for university or job applications!)
  • Spanish teach you about culture, art, cinema, sport, cuisine, music, history, and philosophy.
  • our teaching and learning invites you to be responsive, thoughtful, creative and collaborative.
  • learning Spanish will teach you how to think.  You learn how to prepare arguments succinctly, how to express your points persuasively and, above all, how to relate to people who may think differently from you.

 

Outline of syllabus content

Our aim is to ensure that every student benefit from a broad spectrum of Spanish culture, supporting their development and greater understanding of the role Spanish plays in the global market.  

Topics covered from Year 9 to Year 11: 

Unit 1: Identity and relationships with others

Unit 2: Education and Work

Unit 3: Healthy living and lifestyle

Unit 4: Free time activities

Unit 5: Customs, festivals and celebrations

Unit 6: Celebrity culture

Unit 7: Media and technology

Unit 8: The environment and where people live

Unit 9: Travel and tourism.


We also offer students the opportunity to do an exchange or cultural trip abroad to support their learning of the language and their understanding of Hispanic culture. 

 

Assessment

Students are assessed on four skills at the end of Year 11 which carry equal weighting: listening, reading, speaking and writing.  GCSE Spanish has a Foundation Tier and a Higher Tier.  The breakdown of the question papers is as follows:

  • Listening paper: 25% of the GCSE.
  • Reading paper: 25% of the GCSE.
  • Writing paper: 25% of the GCSE.
  • Speaking assessment: 25% of the GCSE.

Additional information is available on the Curriculum Overview section of the website - click here