Contact Teacher: Miss E Lopez Gamero
Exam Board: AQA
Vision
Students will develop their linguistic confidence in a safe and supportive environment in which they are encouraged to take risks. The lessons foster cooperation, collaboration and teamwork. Students will develop their linguistic skills through the use of authentic materials (songs, articles, stories) in a positive atmosphere. Their teachers are experts in building positive relationships and they will have high expectations of students to engage and adapt to the pace of their lessons. Students will find teachers draw on their own experiences, which helps to take the subject outside of the classroom. They will be challenged to question where they have seen language used in the wider world, out of school. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a residential visit abroad.
Spanish Learning Journey
This is a visual representation of how students' knowledge and skills develop through the Spanish curriculum.
(click on the image below to view a larger version)
Why study Spanish?
Spanish is currently the second most widely spoken language in the world and therefore a key to open a lot of doors in your future. It also enables students to develop a broader choice of A-level courses, as it covers many topics taught in other areas, such as History, Geography, Science, Literature, Economics, Business and Religious Studies.
Being able to speak and understand another language is a very valuable skill and this course is therefore recognised by universities as a high quality qualification. In the working world many companies have international links and prefer employees with knowledge of another language. Consequently, this course will prepare you to pursue further studies in other fields such as interpreting and translating, law, international business, the travel industry and marketing. Overall Spanish A-level is a challenging academic exercise as well as enjoyable!
Course details
This two year course is designed to help students to build on their experience at GCSE by increasing their linguistic competence and their self-confidence to express their ideas in another language. They will gain a more detailed insight into the culture of Spanish-speaking countries, improve their general communication and research skills and also learn much about other issues in the world around them.
How the course is taught and assessed
Spanish students have nine periods with a teacher over two weeks. We also encourage our students to use their independent study time to research current affairs and news items on the internet and to read literature of all sorts in Spanish.
Lessons are mostly in Spanish and will involve active participation from the students. Students will have a course book and are encouraged to buy, through school, an accompanying grammar work book. Students will also use texts from the internet and other sources as well as audio material for listening practice.
All the skills will be assessed by exams. Students will be evaluated on speaking, reading, listening and writing and will have to complete two assessed translations.
Entry requirements
Anyone intending to take this course will normally be expected to have achieved a grade 7 or above at GCSE Spanish, the minimum expectation is a grade 6. Higher papers must have been taken in the Reading and Listening skills.