Spanish GCSE A/A* Booklet

General- Top Tips & Resources

Listening/Reading
- Higher tips for listening/reading questions
Speaking/Writing
- Tips for success in controlled assessment
- Model paragraphs/answers A*-C
- A/A* phrases to use in speaking/writing

Spanish Top Tips!

Practise key vocabulary

Make a mind map or revision poster of the key vocabulary. You can use
the link below to create an online revision map.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maps/index.shtml)

Vocab Express (www.vocabexpress.com)

You should be using this website weekly to practise key vocabulary and
focus on the topics you need to revise or find more difficult. (Higher Tier Vocab
Section)
- Online revision tools:
You can use the websites below to complete exercises interactively for revision
www.languagesonline.org.uk
www.linguascope.com

Complete practice higher level questions- Make a list of key words

that appear regularly.
- Edexcel Revision Workbook (available to buy from school or online)
Complete the higher listening and reading graded exercises in each topic and
check your answers. Each page also offers examiner tips which you should read
through carefully.

BBC GCSE Bite size

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/spanish/)
You can use this website to complete practise listening and reading activities
and check your answers.
- Past papers(available on the school website)
You can complete higher tier listening and reading past papers from the Edexcel
Exam board. It is also useful to practise using the AQA/OCR papers also

available here. The markschemes are online as well as the audios for you to
access.

Buena suerte!
Listening/Reading
Use the 5-minutes pre-listening
Underline question words e.g. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW,
HOW MANY
Underline the mark allocations (1), (2), (3)
Anticipate what words will come up and note them down

Read the questions FIRST

Read the title so you know what topic to focus on
And use the example
Remember that the questions are asked in chronological order
Use clues the texts give away
When listening

When you hear the words, write the KEY words on the exam paper,
Be clear about positive/negative language and opinions, one small word can
change meaning.
What tense is the question in? Make sure you know your tenses!

Practise synonyms:
Some examples include:
a. piscina/natacin/nadar
b. caballo/equitacin
c. esqu/deportes de inverno/nieve
d. aburrido/poco interesante
e. cine/pelculas
f. alegre/contento/feliz
Practise negatives
Listen very carefully for negatives. If you miss a negative, you will think a
sentence means the exact opposite.

No (not)
Nunca/Jams (never)
Nadie (nobody)
Nada (nothing)
Ya no (no longer)
Ni ... ni (neither ... nor)
There are other words which express negatives indirectly, such as salvo
(except).
EXAMPLE:
Look at the following example:
A question in the exam paper asks When is the market open?
The answer to that question is contained in the sentence El mercado est
abierto todos los das salvo el martes.
If you dont know the word salvo or dont listen carefully to all the words, you
might think the answer was either every day (todos los das) or Tuesday
(martes). However, if you catch the word salvo you will be able to give the
correct answer of every day except Tuesday.
Listen for tone of voice
Listen to the way things are said on the recording as this can often help with
questions about opinions. If the speaker sounds negative or enthusiastic this can
help you assess his or her opinion, even if you are unsure of the exact
vocabulary they use
Be prepared for traps
Be prepared for answers to come anywhere on the recording, so listen
immediately and do not switch off, even if you think that you have heard the
answer you are listening for. Sometimes additional or contradictory information
may follow, which could be vital in getting the correct answer.
EXAMPLE
For example, if you are listening for a specific place that the speaker has
visited and hear, fui a la piscina, you might believe that you have found the
correct answer and stop listening, only to miss the vital addition, pero estaba
cerrada, as que fui al cine.

Watch out for twists and turns

Some questions appear straightforward, but you might hear extra information
on the recording which could mislead you.

In listening for the speakers opinion about something you might hear other
opinions too. Make sure you listen carefully to work out who is saying or thinks
what.
EXAMPLE
For example, if you are asked what the speaker thinks about skiing and hear A
mi hermano le gusta esquiar, pero yo lo detesto. dont just write down the first
thing you hear. The speaker hates skiing, its his brother who likes it.
READING Tips for revision
Spot references to the past and future
a) You can tell that an event happened in the past by identifying the verb form
e.g. fui (I went) from the use of a time phrase such as el ao pasado (last
year).
b) You can tell that an event happened in the future by spotting a straight
future tense e.g. ir (I will go) the near future using ir + infinitive e.g. voy a
jugar (Im going to play) other phrases which indicate the future e.g. tener la
intencin de (to intend), esperar (to hope), planear (to plan), etc. the use of a
time phrases such as la semana que viene
Be careful of false friends.
For example, simptico is kind, not sympathetic or simple. assistir (to
attend), pas (country/countries), una librera ( bookshop), un pie (a foot),
soportar (to put up with), sano (healthy), realizar (to carry out/achieve),
embarazada (pregnant), un xito (a success), un pariente (a relative).
Different ways of giving opinions
a favor de (for/in favour of), contra (against), estar de acuerdo (to agree)
as in estoy de acuerdo contigo (I agree with you).
Read questions carefully and dont just pick the first word you recognise
The texts will usually be about similar topics, for example, one statement could
say nunca hice natacin, another might write, ayer fui a la piscina. and the
final one might add, voy a nadar maana. If the question asks, Who has
recently been swimming? you will need to study each passage in depth and use
your language skill to decide the correct answer, as all 3 mention the sport in
their texts.
Watch out for traps
Some questions appear more straightforward, but can trick you.
If you are asked for the writers opinion about something, there will often be
another persons opinion, which will not be the correct response. A mi padre el
golf le parece aburrido, pero a mi modo de ver es genial! is an example where
the initial comment is negative but the writers opinion is positive.

Make sure you read carefully to work out who is saying or thinks what.
When you have to answer in English
Always read the questions thoroughly and give as much information in your
answers as is necessary- look at numbers in brackets. For example, if a question
asks you where the writer lives and the answer can gain you 2 marks, you would
need to include 2 pieces of information. If in the passage it says Vivo en una
casa en el campo you need to write that he/she lives in a house (1) in the
countryside (1).

Speaking/Writing
- Tips for success in controlled assessment
-

Use the Look, cover, write, check technique to prepare

Prepare more complex sentences using connectives (e.g. pero but,
cuando when, donde where, o or, sin embargo however, no obstante
nevertheless, etc.) adverbs (e.g. a veces sometimes, solamente only,
igualmente equally, etc.) adjectives (making sure they agree with the
noun they describe expressions using verbs (e.g. antes de/despus de
+infinitive)
To achieve the higher GCSE grades, you will need to vary the way to give
reasons and justifications for your opinions using connectives and opinion
expressions ( pienso que/creo que (I think that), se dice que (people say
that), desde mi punto de vista/a mi modo de ver/ a mi parecer (in my
opinion).

Model paragraphs/answers A*-C

Talking about school and lunchtime
GRADE C
Como bocadillos, bebo limonada, hablo con mis amigos y juego al tenis.
GRADE B
Normalemente, despus de comer algo, juego con mi ordenador. Puedo
navegar por internet. Ayer, a la hora de comer, vi una pelcula. Maana voy
a jugar en una competicin de ajedrez. Voy a ganar.
GRADE A

Generalmente, despus de comer algo, sin perder ni un segundo, cojo mi

ordenador nuevo que tiene internet, por supuesto. Ayer, a la hora de
comer, vi una pelcula inolvidable. Adems,maana voy a participar en una
competicin de ajedrez. Me encantara ganar.
GRADE A*
Desafortunadamente es realmente corto. Vaya cincuenta minutos. Qu pena!
Sin embargo, por lo general, despus de comer algo, sin perder ni un
segundo, cojo mi ordenador nuevo que tiene internet, por supuesto. Acabo
de comprarlo. Mi hermana menor me acampa de compras. Ayer,a la hora
de comer,vi una pelcula inolvidable sobre la Guerra Civil. Adems, maana
voy a participar en una competicin de ajedrez. Me apetece ganar, lo que
sera estupendo. Qu hiciste t al medioda?
A/A* phrases to use in speaking/writing
Use Lo que + verb (what/which)

Lo que es importante, es comer sano (what is important is to eat

healthy)

SI + imperfect + conditional
Si tuviera el tiempo, je podra hacerlo

(If I had the time, I could do it)

Use infinitive after the words after/before
Despus de leer su libro, vio la tele

(After he read his book, he watched tv)

Connecting phrases:
Cuando: Cuando estoy de vacaciones, leo mucho. (when on holiday, I read a lot)
Que: Visitamos Sevilla, en el sur de Espaa, que era realmente precioso! (we

visited Seville, in the south of Spain, which was really pretty)

Pero/sin embargo: el viaje fue bien, sin embargo, mi hermano pequeo se puso
enfermo despus. (the journey went well, however my little brother got ill

afterwards)
Exclamations

 Qu bien! Qu sorpresa! Qu desastre!

Comparatives/superlatives

Fue ms interesante que el ao pasado

Est menos lejos que pensaba
Es mi mejor amigo
Es la ciudad ms bonita que he visto
Son las vacaciones ms divertidas que jams he tenido
Es el peor da de mi vida

Adverbs

Es mucho ms guapo
Es realmente interesante
l trabaja bien/duro
Ella juega habitualmente
Es extremadamente importante (its extremely important))
Es terriblemente dificil (terribly difficult)
Ella es demasiado amable.

Subjunctive:
Cuando sea mayor, ir a Australia. (when I am older, Ill go to Australia.)
Nos pasaremos un mes en Alemania para que pueda practicar el alemn.

(well spend a month in Germany so that I can practise my German).

Use an infinitive to start a sentence

Viajar al extranjero ayuda conocer otras culturas. Travelling abroad

helps to know other cultures)

Viajar en avion, es, no obstante, ms prctico (Travelling by plane is

nonetheless more convenient).