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A-Level Spanish

Awarding Body

Course Code

Head of Department

Email

AQA

 Miss Manley Manley-l@beaconsfieldhigh.bucks.sch.uk

Why study this course?

You will develop your linguistic skills alongside your understanding of the culture and society of the countries where Spanish is spoken.  You will study technological and social change, looking at the multicultural nature of Hispanic society. You will study highlights of Hispanic artistic culture, including a focus on Spanish regional identity and the cultural heritage of past civilisations. They will learn about aspects of the diverse political landscape of the Hispanic world.  You will explore the influence of the past on present-day Hispanic communities. Students will study texts and film and will have the opportunity to carry out independent research on an area of their choice.

Spanish is an increasingly important language in business. Als,o increased travel to Latin America and Spain creates opportunities for a whole range of careers. It is a useful life skill that will increase employability for any career.

What level of prior knowledge, attainment and skills are required?

Grade 7 GCSE.

It is suited to those who have enjoyed GCSE and want to develop their language skills further. It combines well with any subject because it is a life skill but it is very popular to combine it with French or English Literature.

What does the course cover and how is it structured?

Social issues and trends

Political and artistic culture

Grammar

Literary texts and films 

How is the course assessed?

Paper 1 Listening, Reading and Writing (50% of A-Level)

•        Aspects of Hispanic society

•        Artistic culture in the Hispanic world

•        Multiculturalism in Hispanic society

•        Aspects of political life in Hispanic society

•        Grammar

•        Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes

•        100 marks

•        50% of A-level

  • Listening and responding to spoken passages from a range of contexts
  • Students will have individual control of the recording
  • Reading and responding to a variety of texts written for different purposes
  • All questions are in Spanish, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in Spanish
  • Translation into English; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks).

·        Translation into Spanish; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks).

Paper 2 Writing 

Two essays on one text and one film or two texts from the list set in the specification (20 % of the A-Level)  

Paper 3 Speaking 

Discussion of one sub-topic and an individual research project (30% of A-Level)

•        Individual research project

•        One of four sub-themes ie Aspects of Hispanic society or Artistic culture in the Hispanic world or Multiculturalism in Hispanic society or Aspects of political life in Hispanic society

How it's assessed

•        Oral exam: 21–23 minutes (including 5 minutes preparation time)

•        60 marks in total

•        30% of A-level

Discussion of a sub-theme with the discussion based on a stimulus card (5 – 6 minutes).

The student studies the card for 5 minutes at the start of the test (25 marks).

 Presentation (2 minutes) and discussion (9 – 10 minutes) of individual research project (35 marks).

How can families help?

Holidays to Spain or Spanish speaking countries are always so beneficial to A-Level students. Language school experience, reading Spanish newspapers, listening to Spanish radio and watching Spanish television online are all very beneficial practices.