Spanish
“Our language is the reflection of ourselves. A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers” – Cesar Chavez, American civil rights activist
A-Level Spanish will be offered for the first time to our students from September 2019. It is likely we will follow the AQA specification but it will be confirmed in due time.
According to most estimates, Spanish is the mother tongue of more than 400 million people around the globe, which equates to approximately six percent of the world’s population. It has official language status in 20 different countries and more than 550 million people speak Spanish with at least some degree of competence. In today’s global marketplace, knowledge of a second language can be an extremely valuable asset employers and employees alike. Modern businesses are always keen to have staff members who can help them with international trade and the Spanish language is especially valuable in the current climate.
Year 12:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/spanish-7691
Year 13:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/as-and-a-level/spanish-7692
Paper 1 - Listening, reading and writing
What’s assessed
• Aspects of Hispanic society • Artistic culture in the Hispanic world
• Multiculturalism in Hispanic society • Aspects of political life in Hispanic society
• Grammar How it’s assessed • Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
• 100 marks
• 50% of A-level Questions
• Listening and responding to spoken passages from a range of contexts and sources covering different registers and adapted as necessary. Material will include complex factual and abstract content and questions will target main points, gist and detail. Studio recordings will be used and students will have individual control of the recording. All questions are in Spanish, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in Spanish (30 marks).
• Reading and responding to a variety of texts written for different purposes, drawn from a range of authentic sources and adapted as necessary. Material will include complex factual and abstract content and questions will target main points, gist and detail. All questions are in Spanish, to be answered with non-verbal responses or in Spanish (50 marks).
• Translation into English; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks). • Translation into Spanish; a passage of minimum 100 words (10 marks). No access to a dictionary during the assessment.
Paper 2 - Writing
• One text and one film or two texts from the list set in the specification
• Grammar How it’s assessed
• Written exam: 2 hours
• 80 marks in total
• 20% of A-level Questions
• Either one question in Spanish on a set text from a choice of two questions and one question in Spanish on a set film from a choice of two questions or two questions in Spanish on set texts from a choice of two questions on each text.
• All questions will require a critical appreciation of the concepts and issues covered in the work and a critical and analytical response to features such as the form and the technique of presentation, as appropriate to the work studied (eg the effect of narrative voice in a prose text or camera work in a film). No access to texts or films during the assessment. No access to a dictionary during the assessment. Students are advised to write approximately 300 words per essay.
Paper 3 - Speaking
What’s assessed?
• Individual research project
• One of four 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 Questions
• 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). No access to a dictionary during the assessment (including 5 minutes preparation). Students may take the assessment only once before certification. Assessments will be conducted by either the centre or a visiting examiner and marked by an AQA examiner.
Recommended Websites
Staff
Ms Raphaelle Roujansky - Subject Leader