Spanish - GCSE - Year 11

How and when will I study Spanish?

Spanish continues to be taught for five hours per fortnight in Year 11, building on language skills developed in Year 10 and previously in Key Stage 3. All learning resources are electronic , however for assessment we now move away for our normal way of working by taking paper-based exams, as we will in the actual GCSE.

As in Year 10, students will need to actively participate in class to improve all four language skills and - crucially - be prepared to spend time learning their Personal Response Questions which is vital to achieving success at GCSE.

Remember that, along with English, Maths, Science, Geography or History, a language is essential to achieving English Baccalaureate status. Therefore, GCSE Spanish is a qualification very much worth achieving.

What will I study?

Programa 3

Haciendo amigos

Tension builds between Mikel and his Mum about working in the bar. Meanwhile, Richard heads off to the beach hoping to find the girl again whilst Joseba sets off for a more sinister location. Sophie and Ainhoa go to school and chat with friends about uniform and school rules.

Sharing problems and finding solutions
Making a complaint
Schools in Spain
Describing TGS, including uniforms, school rules, facilities, subjects studied and plans for Sixth Form and beyond

In grammar, we focus on the comparative, the perfect, and imperfect tenses.

En busca de algo o alguien

Joseba is clearly in bad company and Richard has no luck at the beach. Meanwhile, Sophie finds something out about her family history.

- The qualities of friendship
- Social problems for young people

Todo sale bien para Richard

Richard is feeling depressed after his lack of success at the beach. But some cooking cheers him up! Meanwhile, Mikel and Sophie head to the archive. Joseba is getting desperate. Richard bumps into Sophie and Mikel and they go into the bar and finally encounter the girl Richard has been looking for!

Jobs and future careers
The benefits of knowing how to cook

In grammar, we learn about how to make exclamations in Spanish! We also study how to use the construction acabar de + infinitive to describe events that have just happened and the present continuous.

🇪🇸 You will reach this waypoint by December.

Programa 4

Cuatro jóvenes felices

Sophie and Mikel get an exciting surprise, while Richard and Aiohoa get to know one another and plan a trip to a basque pelota game. Meanwhile Mariví realises her money is missing and fears the worst

Popularity of doing sport
Benefits of doing sport
Talk about the sports we do ourselves
Read about and see videos of 7 more fiestas in Spain and another in Mexico - the country with the most Spanish speakers in the world.

Trabajando en el bar

Sophie and Mikel enjoy the big football match and return to the bar. Ama overhears the Joseba problem and goes to meet Marivi in the church. Sophie tries her hand behind the bar, (with not very successful results!) while Richard tries his hand in the kitchen.

- discuss healthy eating
- role play ordering pintxos
- identify some habits to avoid
- learn about the historic influence of religion in Spain
- share our success criteria for the future, and study plans from September

Solucionando un problema

Begoña and Marví bravely decide to tackle the villains head on. Meanwhile Mikel reveals his real career ambitions to Sophie. But how will his Mum take it?

🇪🇸 You will reach this waypoint by April.

Programa 5

Solo quedan tres días

It is nearly time for the festival, so everyone starts planning, Mikel and Sophie go on a boat ride. Richard is feeling sad as there are only three days of the trip left. What will become of him and Ainhoa? But at least Joseba is smiling at last.

Additional details coming soon!

Ambiciones secretas

All the young people meet up with Marivi and go to the bar and talk about the festival. But MIkel has a secret ambition to share but how will his Mum take it?

- Additional details coming soon!

La venganza

The day of the festival in Bermeo arrives; there is music and dancing in the streets but a drama soon unfolds as Sergio and Noemí seek their revenge.

- Additional details coming soon!

🇪🇸 You will reach this waypoint by June.

Theme and topics

All the exam themes in the diagram below are studied periodically throughout our unique two-year course.

Video content

Video continues to be a crucial component of our bespoke course, as we accompany Sophie and Richard on their Aventuras Vascas. This made-for GCSE story by Channel 4 is complemented by carefully curated YouTube clips that provide exposure to authentic material covering Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries around the world.

What else should I know?

- You will continue to prepare your Personal Response Questions electronically in your PRQ eeBook under controlled conditions, with the help of an online dictionary, electronic verb tables and, most importantly our bespoke scaffolding, which covers a variety of opinions and experiences.
- Later in the year, you will start to transfer your checked responses to a final preparation document, which you will customise so that it is right for you and in line with your aspiratioaln target grade.
- You will also continue to add grammar notes to your eeBook de gramática.
- Remember that to be successful, it is essential to be able to describe events in the present, past and future time frames, link sentences using conjunctions, and be able to extend ideas, express opinions and give reasons for your views.
- As you know, Spanish is a phonetic language, which means that it is pronounced how it is spelt - once you know the rules of course! So now you know those rules, this should be a big advantage when it comes to spelling, which of course matters in writing assessments.
- Throughout this course, you must aim to improve your Spanish accent and intonation and develop more confidence in your ability to communicate in this language. This does mean that you will be required to speak not only individually with the teacher but also with and in front of others.

Independent Learning

As a GCSE student, you most certainly need to also study Spanish outside of lesson time to achieve a pass grade, defined as grade 4 and above. This will be one or more of the following.

Read, listen or watch Spanish material posted on Google Classroom in order to consolidate content, ready for recap and recall.
Review grammar notes made in class.
Complete any new PRQ assignment for which there was no time in class or for which you were absent.
Learn by heart some if the prepared personalised material that you constructed in class.
Improve your Spanish using The Gatwick School Linguascope account. You can still use the beginners section for vocabulary building but you should also now be looking at the intermediate section too, particularly the introductory dialogues

Note: there is never any week that you do not have independent learning in Spanish. You should be doing at least one of the above regardless and must take some responsibility for your own learning at this level.

You will find details of all ILTs (Independent Learning Tasks) in Google Classroom and on the Independent Learning Hub.

Note that the use of Google Translate and other translation packages and AI is not allowed in lessons or for any work done at home, other than when specific permission is given by the teacher for checking PRQs.

How will I be assessed?

In Year 11, you will sit Mocks in all four language skills In November and again in February.
If you have gained at least a grade 4 in both Listening and Reading in the previous Mock, you will sit Mocks at Higher Tier; otherwise you will take the Foundation Tier papers.
The real GCSE Speaking Test will take place in the second week after the Easter holidays and the other papers in June.

For your information, the actual GCSE will be assessed by means of four components, all worth 25% of the final grade. This chart summarises how this brand new GCSE is structured.
The Examination Board is AQA and the specification number is 8692. You can see the full specification here.
For precise examination dates and revision advice and materials, click on the TGS Revision MicroSite.

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