Student Booklet

Name …………………………………………..

Form ……………..

Introduction

Welcome to Spanish in the Sixth Form at Crypt. You have chosen to

study not only a fascinating language, spoken in many far-reaching

corners of the globe, but to embrace a culture, a civilisation, a way of

thinking that is both similar and dissimilar to our own.

Teaching Staff

Your AS / A Level course will be taught by Mrs Joynson

You will also have a 30 minute session once a week with the Language

assistant.

Expectations

You undoubtedly expect well-prepared lessons at an appropriate level for your ability and we give you our assurance that this

expectation will be met.

You are entitled to six taught lessons a fortnight with appropriate homework. In addition to this you will be timetabled 3 lessons where we will set you work. On top of this you are expected to undertake a certain amount of self-study, which will involve learning grammar and vocabulary, researching various topics, using on-line learning, as well as self-study audio files. As with any course, you will only get something out of it if you put something in yourself. We therefore hope for your assurance that this expectation can be

met.

Speaking Spanish

You should use Spanish as much as possible in class, even if it is for something really minor. Build up your confidence!

Tip: Try and say simple everyday phrases in Spanish It is advantageous but not essential to visit Spain or a Spanish-

speaking country during your course. Any opportunity you have to make contact with the language should be taken, as it is in practising it that you will perfect it.

Organisation

Be prepared for lessons – bring paper, folder, pocket dictionary, text book.

Be organised – divide your folder according to teacher, or vocabulary, or topic, or devise a system that works for you.

Ensure you learn all vocabulary from each lesson – test yourself, keep a record of words relating to different topics.

Self Study

You will be expected to be familiar with all the grammar points covered at GCSE and although they will be reviewed at AS, you will need to plug the gaps in your knowledge yourself. Use the Grammar pages of your text book plus the ‘Cuaderno de Gramática’ for practice.

You will be expected to be comfortable knowing the names of various parts of speech, (eg. noun, verb adjective, past participle etc) so that you can understand and explain why the language is

composed as it is.

In the MFL office there are dictionaries. Use them! You should consider purchasing a reasonable size one of your own. They will vastly increase your knowledge of how language works.

Michel Thomas. He was a world-famous linguist who has taught many of the world’s famous people to speak foreign languages. He has CD’s which you can buy or borrow from a library – this might help with your oral work

If you get the opportunity to read a Spanish newspaper or magazine, take it. You will not understand everything at the beginning but you will build up your competence by perseverance.

Useful websites: See the end of this booklet

Specification – to refer to the specification/syllabus and to see a full list of grammatical structures, refer to the online version at www.aqa.org.uk and follow the links.

Learning Log. You can use the pages in this booklet to record any additional work you do. This could be watching a film, reading a book, discovering a new word, doing an online activity, reading a magazine… anything! Try to log it according to topic, and be prepared to share what you do with your teacher.

LANGUAGES: SPANISH Level: AS and A2 Examination Board: AQA

Course Outline:

This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams at the end of the course.

Core content

1. Social issues and trends

Students must study the themes and sub-themes below in relation to at least one Spanishspeaking country. Where Spain is not specified, students may study the themes in relation to any Spanish-speaking country. Students must study the themes and sub-themes using a range of sources, including material from online media.

Aspects of Hispanic society

• Modern and traditional values (Los valores tradicionales y modernos)

• Cyberspace (El ciberespacio)

• Equal rights (La igualdad de los sexos)

Multiculturalism in Hispanic society

• Immigration (La Inmigración)

• Racism (El Racismo)

• Integration (La Convivencia)

2. Political and artistic culture

Students must study the themes and sub-themes below in relation to at least one Spanishspeaking country.

Artistic culture in the Hispanic world

• Modern day idols (La influencia de los ídolos)

• Spanish regional identity (La identidad regional en España)

• Cultural heritage or cultural landscape (El patrimonio cultural)

Aspects of political life in the Hispanic world

• Today's youth, tomorrow's citizens (Jóvenes de hoy, ciudadanos de mañana)

• Monarchies, republics and dictatorships (Monarquías, repúblicas y dictaduras)

• Popular movements (Movimientos populares)

3. Grammar

AS and A-level students will be expected to have studied the grammatical system and structures of the language during their course. Knowledge of the grammar and structures specified for GCSE is assumed. In the exam students will be required to use, actively and accurately, grammar and structures appropriate to the tasks set, drawn from the following lists. The mention of an item in these lists implies knowledge of both its forms and its functions at an appropriate level of accuracy and complexity.

Options

4. Works:

Literary texts and films

Assessments

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

• 160 marks in total

• 40% 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 in Castilian Spanish 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 (60 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 (60 marks).

• Translation into English; a passage of minimum 100 words (20 marks).

• Translation into Spanish; a passage of minimum 100 words (20 marks). No access to a dictionary during the assessment.

Paper 2: Writing

What's assessed

• One text and one film or two texts from the list set in the specification

• Grammar

How it's assessed

• Written exam: 2 hours

• 90 marks in total

• 30% 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 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 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.

What are the course entry requirements?

Candidates should have a high ‘B’ Grade in the GCSE and have done exam papers at Higher Tier. A good understanding of grammar at GCSE level is also essential.

Who should apply for the course?

The AS and A2 Spanish course is for students of a high linguist ability, who are preparing for a variety of possible futures in the spheres of Higher Education, employment and leisure.

The aims of the courses are:

to develop in students a range of practical skills which will enable them to understand and communicate in written

and spoken language for leisure purposes and in the world of work;

to make students aware of the cultural, social, commercial, historical, geographical and political background of the

countries where Spanish is spoken;

to offer enjoyment, challenge and intellectual stimulation;

to develop study skills which will help students in their acquisition of other foreign languages;

to allow students to complement their other studies by pursuing selected areas of interest in greater depth;

to encourage maximum use of the foreign language by students.

Career Paths:

All British universities offer courses in Spanish, either by itself, combined with another foreign language, or as part of a composite European Studies course. Spanish can also be studied in a variety of more broadly based combinations such as Spanish with Business, History, Philosophy, Law, and Engineering amongst many others! Teaching, translating, and interpreting can all require specialist knowledge of Spanish. There are many other careers, however, in which a knowledge of another language to a higher level is becoming increasingly useful and indeed, sometimes a necessary qualification: export marketing and sales, banking, insurance, chartered accountancy, law, travel, advertising, civil service, the BBC, librarianship, secretarial work, journalism and computing.

OK then, what do you know?? QUIZ!

1. Where is Spain?

North of Germany and South of Sweden

Between Switzerland and Italy

South of France and East of Portugal

Right next to the Netherlands

2. Which figure is most famous in Spanish history?

Herod

Christopher Columbus

Confucius

Julius Caesar

3. In which city can you visit the Sagrada Familia church?

Salamanca

Lugo

Barcelona

Madrid

4. Who directed the film "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (Spanish: "Mujeres al

borde de un ataque de nervios")?

Alejandro Amenábar

Pedro Almodóvar

Vicente Aranda

José Bigas Luna

5. What do the Fallas consist of in Valencia?

Building artistic constructions made of combustible materials that depict figures and then burning them on

the Saint Joseph’s Day.

Creating wax figures to put on display in the Wax Museum.

Celebrating the arrival of the Virgin of Falla

Lighting bonfires to burn books

6. What do bullfighters dress in before stepping into the ring for a bullfight?

A tuxedo

A suit of lights

A Sevillana dress

Riding attire

7. What do Spaniards call a "siesta"?

The meal between lunch and dinner

Going out for tapas with friends

Taking a quick nap after eating

When your wallet gets stolen without you realizing it

8. What do Spaniards do on December 28th?

They play jokes on each other

They don’t eat meat

They make offerings to the Virgin

The jump and dance over bonfires

9. What are the races in front of bulls that take place in many cities called?

Encierros

Cencerros

Ceniceros

Domingueros

10. Which of the following ingredients is not typically used to make a paella?

Meat and fish

Shellfish

Nuts and raisins

Saffron

11. What does a Spaniard say when somebody sneezes?

Azul

Avestruz

Obús

Jesús

12. What to Spaniards have on New Years Eve right at midnight?

A glass of champagne

Twelve grapes

Thirteen olives

Nougat candy

Bridging the Gap

You are now at the stage in your language learning where you bridge the gap between GCSE

and A Level. You will need to build on prior learning, expand knowledge in weaker areas and

widen your grammatical, lexical and factual knowledge of the Spanish language and culture.

Complete the following:

I have chosen AS Spanish because ...

I am interested in Spain and Spanish speaking countries/cultures because…

You may know some of the answers to the items below, but as you increase your knowledge

of Spanish, you will be able to answer all of them.

1. The names of three Spanish newspapers are …

2. The names of three Spanish companies are …

3. The names of three recent Spanish films are …

4. The names of three famous Spanish actors/singers/writers/artists (3 of each) are …

5. ‘El Bachillerato’ is

6. Three famous Spanish dishes/foods are

7. Three wine-producing areas are

8. Three Spanish football teams are

9. Three famous Spanish sportspeople are

10.‘Hispanohablante’ means

11.The names of 3 DOM/TOMs are

12. 5 countries where Spanish is spoken

13.The name of the Spanish equivalent to British Rail is

14.AVE stands for

15.The Spanish Prime Minister is

16.The Spanish King is called

17.The name of the ruler of Spain from 1939-1975

Grammar

You have already covered many different grammatical concepts for GCSE. For A level you

need to be confident in all tenses and be able to use negatives, pronouns etc well. If you are

unsure then practice on www.languagesonline.org.uk

Write a grammar quiz below to show that you understand 5 tenses (preterite, imperfect,

present, immediate future, future), and 5 other grammar points.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

You have not done the subjunctive yet can you find out what it is???

Here is an example of AS Level Reading – how much can you do?

Antes de leer

Mira la imagen y lee el título de este texto. ¿De qué se trata?

¿Nos hacen tontos los teléfonos inteligentes?

Son las 8 de la

mañana y estoy en

el tren para ir a la

oficina. El vagón

está lleno,

como siempre, con gente de camino al trabajo. Ocho de cada diez están mirando una pantalla.

Algunas son tabletas, pero la gran mayoría mira sus teléfonos inteligentes. Desde que su uso

se masificara a principios de esta década, los celulares y sus aplicaciones se han convertido en

aliados indispensables de la humanidad.

Es fácil argumentar que estos dispositivos nos mantienen mejor informados y más

comunicados pero recientemente una serie de estudios y artículos han llamado la atención

sobre los riesgos de estar conectados 24/7. Los móviles se han convertido en una extensión

"aceptable" de nuestra persona.

Es claro que la aceptación oficial de los dispositivos móviles como extensión de nuestra

humanidad trae consigo enormes desafíos. Algunos son sociales y otros de productividad.

Tener tanta información y tantos mensajes a mano provoca que las personas se concentren

menos y intentan hacer múltiples actividades al mismo tiempo, reduciendo así la calidad y la

concentración en cada una. Hacer muchas cosas a la vez y tratar de pasar de una actividad a

otra completamente diferente en un instante, no tiene sentido. Nos hace falta un periodo de

transición entre una y otra para asimilar lo que acabamos de hacer antes de pasar a una nueva

tarea.

Estamos pensando en mensajes y noticias en lugar de concentrarnos en el mundo real. Ahora

la gente no vive el momento, lo captura en una fotografía que revive después. Pero quizá todo

esto sea parte de la evolución humana. Quizá es temprano para saber cómo nos afectan estos

cambios en nuestras normas sociales. La humanidad ya ha pasado por grandes cambios como

éste y ha sobrevivido.

Después de leer

1. ¿El texto trata sobre las ventajas del uso de móviles o de los inconvenientes

asociados?

Subraya en el texto las palabras o las expresiones para justificar tu respuesta.

2. Empareja las palabras en español con su significado en inglés.

1. ocho de cada diez a. quality

2. una pantalla b. to live in the moment

3. masificar c. challenge

4. un aliado d. to multitask

5. llamar la atención e. to make accessible to all

6. el desafío f. screen

7. la calidad g. to need

8. hacer múltiples actividades al mismo tiempo

h. 8 out of 10

9. hacer falta i. ally

10. vivir el momento j. to attract attention

Busca en el texto los sinónimos del “teléfono inteligente”.

3. En la lista (A-G) sólo hay 4 frases correctas, según la información en el texto. Pon la

letra de las frases correctas en la casilla.

A. El 80% de los pasajeros utiliza su tableta o móvil durante su viaje al trabajo.

B. Los estudios concluyen que no hay ningún peligro en estar conectado todo el tiempo.

C. La utilización de teléfonos inteligentes ha aumentado considerablemente desde 2010.

D. Somos más eficaces gracias al uso de móviles.

E. Nuestra concentración disminuye cuando hacemos múltiples actividades simultáneamente.

F. Aún no podemos determinar si los móviles causan una repercusión en nuestras normas

sociales.

G. Los mensajes y las noticias nos mantienen en contacto con el mundo real.

4. ¿Tienes un teléfono inteligente? En tu opinión, ¿cuáles son los riesgos de su uso?

¿Y las ventajas?

SPANISH WEBSITES FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY

TO WORK ON YOUR LISTENING

You should select a short audio or video clip from the Internet. Play the clips at least three times and

write a brief summary in Spanish (it needn’t be any longer than 50 words) with a vocabulary list of at

least lo words. These could be key words or they could be words that are new to you and had to be

looked up.

It is easier to start with short news bulletins. Video clips are ideal as they are easier to understand.

Start with shorter clips and then when you feel ready, you could choose a radio programme from the

Radio station websites listed below.

Spanish news

www.euronews.net : Select language ‘español’ and then choose from a wide variety of news

videos.

www.20minutos.es/

es.news.yahoo.com/ : Follow the link to Video Noticias for three-minute news clips.

es.noticias.yahoo.com/

Spanish TV channel websites:

www.antena3tv.com: Choose from the menu for the topic area you are interested in and then

browse for video clips: www.antena3videos.com/

www.broadcast-live.com/television/spanish.html

www.rtve.es

For news, browse for videos at:

www.informativos.telecinco.es/

www.canalsur.es: Click on the link to TV “en directo” (live) and you will be able to watch the

channel on streaming video.

www.informativos.telecinco.es/reproductor_video.htm

For celebrity gossip....

es.celebrities.yahoo.com/: Click on “Perfiles de Famosos”

Spanish radio on-line

me.es: Radio Nacional de Espana

Radio 1 es la radio generalista de RNE. Sus programas lIegan a todos los publicos. Noticias, entretenimiento, cultura, deportes ...

Radio 3 es la radio más joven, la preocupada par los temas de la juventud. Musica, cine, teatro, libros, debates ...

Radio 5 es la radio dedicada al mundo de la actualidad, con noticias durante las 24 haras del día, todos los dias del año.

Radio Exterior de Espana (REE) es la voz de RNE en el exterior, la que difunde la cultura y la que acerca a los pueblos.

www.mediatico.com www.rtve.es/rne/envivo.htm: Select a radio station from the list.

www.topradio.es/: Easy listening music radio station for Spanish and English / American pop

music

www.lyngsat.com/freeradio/Spain.html: Selection of the most important radio channels

Newspapers

a List of newspapers: www.libraries. mit.edu/guides/types/flnews/spanish www.Mediatico.com www.bbc.co.uk/mundo www.elmundo.es www.20minutos.es www.elpais.es www.diariosur.es www.primerasnoticiastv.com

Podcasts and blogs

http://ssl4you.blogspot.com/ http://andale-profe.blogspot.com/

Music

http://www.morkol.com/index.php/artistas/spanish/: Listen to the song and read the lyrics http://www.musica.com/

TO WORK ON YOUR READING

An excellent resource for revision is the electronic magazine “Tecla”

(http://www.educacion.es/exterior/uk/es/tecla/tecla.shtml). It contains a wealth of exercises with

their answers in a variety of topics. You can also listen to some recordings. You are strongly advised

to do some work using this outstanding resource.

Otherwise, browse the net (see addresses below) and select an article which interests you. Read it

carefully and select at least lo new pieces of vocabulary to look up. The choice of topic area is

limitless. The temptation may be to pick an article on fashion, but you should avoid doing this every

week as they are not so easy to understand. It is a good idea to vary the topic area and to choose

articles related to the syllabus topics so that you encounter a variety of vocabulary.

www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/news

The best place to start is the BBC’s languages web-pages. Choose the “Reportajes” link to find

articles from the former “Semanario Internet” with a variety of reading exercises. The

articles are archived into topic areas that relate to the AS and A level syllabus.

Some of them include audio clips so you can base your listening task on the same topic.

www.elmundo.es: Spanish daily newspaper. The website gives you access to all of the day’s news

articles.

www.elpais.es: Spanish daily newspaper. The website gives you access to the day’s news

articles although you may require a subscription to view the majority of the articles in full.

es.news.yahoo.com/

www.abc.es/: On-line Spanish daily news.

www.terra.es: On-line Spanish daily news.

www.donbalon.es/front/: Spanish football website with related articles.

www.hola.com: Spanish celebrity gossip magazine. Subscription required to view some of the

articles.

www.terra.es ( archive news)

www.marca.es (sport)

www.estrelladigital.es

* * * * * * * *