Higher

WHY STUDY LANGUAGES ?

Higher Spanish aims to develop further the student’s communicative competence in the language: both orally and in writing. The course also involves further development of the student’s ability to understand both spoken and written language. Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems. This skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well. Foreign language study enhances listening skills and memory. Analytical skills improve when students study a foreign language. If you have one language, it is easier to acquire a second and you can be therefore be more easily trained while working. The study of a foreign tongue improves the knowledge of one’s own language: English vocabulary skills increase. The study of foreign languages teaches and encourages respect for other peoples: it fosters an understanding of the interrelation of language and human nature.

COURSE CONTENT

The themes studied are the same as in National 5 :

Employability, Society, Learning and Culture.

The Contexts are the same as National 5 with some extra topics:

Society Family / where you live / the environment / technology / media / health.

Learning: School systems in Spain or Latin America and Scotland / what kind of learner you are / future plans.

Employability: Your job plans / work experience / part-time job / gap year.

Culture: Traditions / celebrations / events/ holidays.

The core skills developed are READING, LISTENING, WRITING and TALKING which are all important communication skills.

The Assessments

The exam is marked out of 100, but is then scaled to be out of 120 which means that each SKILL or component is worth 25%. The components are:

Talking: This takes the form of a conversation between the student and the teacher. It will cover 2 contexts, chosen by the student. It will last up to ten minutes. This part of the exam is marked out of 30. Pupils are permitted prompts to assist them.

Listening: This involves 2 texts ( as in National 5 ) played two times. A total of 20 marks (scaled to 30 marks) are awarded for Listening,. Candidates are not permitted to use a dictionary in this section.

Reading: This paper has 30 marks allocated. Students will be given 1 text written in the foreign language and must answer questions on the text in English. This part of the paper accounts for 20 marks. The extra 10 marks are for translating a small part of the text. Dictionaries are again permitted for this part of the examination.

Writing: This paper, referred to as Directed Writing, is where pupils have to respond to bullet points and use the past tenses. It takes place after the Reading paper during the SQA diet of exams. 30 marks awarded to the writing. Dictionaries are permitted in this section of the exam.

Therefore, each component is worth 25% of the overall grade.

ENTRY LEVEL

The Higher Spanish course is open to all pupils who will potentially attain an overall A/ B pass for National 5 Spanish. However, we would advise all pupils who attain a band 3 National 5 Spanish and who wish to continue with Spanish beyond S4 to discuss their choice with both their languages teacher and their Guidance teacher.

The Higher Spanish course is also open to those pupils in S6 who ‘dropped’ the subject at the end of S4.

We would advise however that these pupils will undoubtedly have to quickly re-adjust to language having been absent from the subject for a year.

How will I learn?

During the 4 periods a week, you will use your ChromeBooks as well as be involved in group work and pair work for speaking exercises and projects. You will have a booklet for every topic with set exercises and input booklets covering grammar and phrases to help prepare for assessments.

How will I know I am progressing?

Pupils will be given a target to achieve and will be aware of their progress through self-evaluation, peer evaluation and from feedback from teachers. Pupils will be given advice on what steps to take to meet their targets.

How can I take this course forward?

If you are successful at Higher level you may be able to continue to study Advanced Higher Spanish as part of the City Campus. This would be dependent on the grade achieved and recommendation from class teacher.

What are the possible career opportunities from this course?

Languages can be easily combined with courses in Law, Business Management and Travel and Tourism. Languages are also invaluable for careers in Primary and Secondary teaching, Oil and Energy, Commerce, Catering and Hospitality. Knowing how to speak a foreign language is widely recognised as a huge asset to your chances of employment. A language qualification can help you to gain the credits required for entry into university, even if languages are not the subject that you intend to pursue. Higher Spanish can be an alternative to Higher English when applying to university courses such as Medicine/ Sciences/Engineering/Music to name but a few. Business skills plus foreign language skills make an employee more valuable in the marketplace. Dealing with another culture enables people to gain a more profound understanding of their own culture. Foreign languages provide a competitive edge in career choices: one is able to communicate in a second language.

What will my home learning commitment be?

You will have homework every week. Learning a language is like learning to play an instrument or becoming very good at sports. It requires regular practice and a good memory. The homework involves regular essay practice and frequent vocabulary learning.

How can I consolidate my learning?

Go over the work covered in class on a daily basis by covering up vocabulary ,recording it on your phone and using Post Its / cue cards / mind maps with vocabulary that you are finding difficult to remember.

Refer to past paper questions that we have completed in class and practise completing them under timed conditions.

Use the past papers provided on line to practise at home.

Do the homework on time and review it. If you do the regular homework and learn vocabulary at home by heart you will not need to revise as much at exam time hereby freeing up time for other subjects.

Where to access learner materials?

Materials posted on Google Classroom.

Workbook materials in class.

Links to online materials:

BBC bite size

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zchv87h

You tube Easy Spanish

https://youtu.be/VbAsMHy6WWA

SQA Past Papers

https://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpastpaper.htm?searchText=&subject=Spanish&level=&includeMiVal=

Bright Red Higher on line resources

https://www.brightredbooks.net/higher