A-level Spanish Study Group 2023-2024

Original post by emm4nuella

you're so sweet! im doing fine btw! i have a gyg forum in case you wanna check it out: emmanuella's y13 study diary: growing my grades & finding the motivation :smile:

- The Student Room (i also highly recommend you start one too 😀 - what other subjects do you do?)

Hey! I’ll keep an eye out for your gyg! I’ve got one too but it’s been a bit neglected atm bc this week has been v busy for me haha
I also take Maths (Edexcel), Further Maths (Edexcel) and Computer Science (AQA)

Reply 84

Original post by faith05

Hi everyone! I currently do A level Spanish and although it is my favourite subject I am finding it difficult in terms of the vocabulary (there's just so much lol). My mocks are in 2 weeks and I feel like I hardly remember anything! I also find summaries quite challenging as well - I never get full marks on them ☹️ Does anyone have any tips on how to do well with summaries?

Heyy (I do AQA btw)
Vocab: I’d say to take it step by step, if you learn too much at once then it might just all mush together, but if you’ve seen a particular word enough times, you’ll remember it w/o trying (!) Resources-wise, I’d say to have a look at Education Perfect (if your school uses it) or Quizlet & also familiarise yourself w the GCSE vocab bc according to my teacher, they sometimes sneak in a word or two (just to keep us on our toes)

On summaries: for listening summaries, you can just roughly transcribe what is being said, tho for written ones, I’d say a good thing to do is learn synonyms of verbs, so that you can show that you’ve “manipulated the language” w/o changing the overall meaning too much.

Hope that helps! & ¡buena suerte con tus exámenes! :smile:

(edited 5 months ago)

Reply 85

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

Original post by pineapple1865

Hey! I’ll keep an eye out for your gyg! I’ve got one too but it’s been a bit neglected atm bc this week has been v busy for me haha
I also take Maths (Edexcel), Further Maths (Edexcel) and Computer Science (AQA)

thank you! you can send me the link to yours if you want ❤️

Reply 86

Original post by charmaine.d

does anyone else have reeeally heavy topics for translations??

we have weekly homework booklets that include translations and every week it's all about drug trafficking. human trafficking. the effects of drugs on the body. education. drugs. a school teacher who was also a drug addict/vendor. a guy who shoots himself in the head and gets a face transplant. natural disasters. terrorism. drugs.

Fashionably late in replying to this as always haha. I think most people will have similar topics when studying languages. As I understand it, I think that the idea is to help students understand current challenges and problems in cultures other than our own. Exam boards indicate (i.e. through topics such as el racismo, la convivencia, etc.) that at least some awareness of current problems in Hispanophonic society/ies is important, so teachers probably want to try and normalise that so studying stuff like the real-world effects of racism doesn't hit you like a brick. Also, on a personal note, I think it can only be a good thing to become more aware of real-world issues! It's all part of understanding culture and identity. Not that that makes it any easier... 😬

Reply 87

Original post by emm4nuella

hiya how is everyone? has anyone started/or is starting their IRPs? 🙂 and if so, how are you planning it/doing research (you dont need to tell me your topic for legal reasons or smth like that)

My teacher's told us to start looking but hasn't actually asked if we need help yet or anything. So stressful, I'm worried my ideas are gonna be naff!

Reply 88

Original post by faith05

Hi everyone! I currently do A level Spanish and although it is my favourite subject I am finding it difficult in terms of the vocabulary (there's just so much lol). My mocks are in 2 weeks and I feel like I hardly remember anything! I also find summaries quite challenging as well - I never get full marks on them ☹️ Does anyone have any tips on how to do well with summaries?

Hey faith05! First things first do not worry because I bet everyone here feels like this at some point! First of all I'd second what pineapple1865 has already said here (including some stuff I might try out haha), but also note that the best thing you can do is speak to your teacher/s as a first port of call and highlight the parts of the exams you're struggling with. They'll usually be experts on what the exam board's looking for specifically and they've seen what you're already doing well. Make sure you've actually got all the vocab you want/think you want to use! You're the expert on your essay-writing style even if you don't realise it, and you don't actually have to remember every specific word if you're overwhelmed. Focus on what helps you. The advantage of doing a foreign language subject is that there are different ways of saying the same thing. I like to use sites such as Seneca, Memrise or Quizlet (all of which are free!) for vocab lists because they're fairly comprehensive. It can feel less overwhelming if you break down your vocab lists into smaller ones, such as topic-specific ones for example. If you prefer something physical, like flash cards, what I do is write them all down then test myself. If I get it right, I test it out two days later, then five, then a week, then every two weeks. Ones I get wrong go back into the daily pile until I get them. I make sure I'm constantly reviewing my vocab, new and old, to keep it in my head. When it comes to summaries, I like to ask myself what point the author is making and/or what the major events are within the text. If it helps, to start off with, you can do this in English then translate it after. You've got time! Write it in the space for notetaking in your exam in whatever order comes to your head, then order it. Your teacher/marker is more interested in your comprehension and summary than dazzling language. For now at least, prioritise making cohesive answers, even if they seem blunt or boring. Once you're feeling confident, you can start to look at how to 'impress' the examiner with stuff like the subjunctive or whatever you feel works. Sorry I've rambled a lot, hope this helps!!! Buena suerte 😁

(edited 5 months ago)

Reply 89

Original post by mina3157

Hola!!
Can I ask how you revise? I'm in year 12 and got a 9 at GCSE but find that the jump was quite big, and I'm not sure how to revise since it's so different from GCSE. Could you detail how you structure your revision e.g. how many hours a week, resources etc?? thank you

¡Hola hola! Por favor, disculpe la respuesta tardía (!)

I’d like to preface this response w the following: I’m not by any means a “typical” student (hopefully not said in an edgy way). What I mean is that I don’t work hard during term time & massively cram for my exams (tho I am an excellent crammer, if I do say so myself :smile:

), so I don’t really structure my revision lol — I just do what I want to/what I need to work on, when I feel like doing work (I really should get better study habits ahhhh). I used to joke that instead of revising for my exams, I was revising how they worked lol (I tried to predict where the grade boundaries were going to be for my GCSE’s lol)

Now, onto el español. I do AQA, so this advice will be tailored towards that. The AQA exam is split into 3 parts:
1. Speaking: 1 tarjeta w 5 mins prep (like GCSE, but too short imo), that needs fully developed paragraph responses, supported with statistics (can be fake but have to be believable) + Independent Research Project (IRP) inc a 2 min presentation (in spanish) and 10 mins of general conv (like GCSE)
2. Reading/listening/writing (2.5 hrs): there are several dif question types for this, namely the resúmenes (reading/listening summaries; new to A Level & I think are a waste of time), gapfill, finding synonyms, answering questions (like GCSE), translations etc
3. Essays (2 hrs, basically 1 hr to write 1 essay): you will study either two texts or a text + a film & have to write essays abt them; imo they’re similar to Eng Lit GCSE essays, but minus the word analysis part (no “the writer used x vocab terminology that suggests”, none of that)

How I revise:
1. For me, I hate 1. the most, probably due to the lack of prep time for the tarjeta and the amount of memorisation that always goes into the oral exams (like why do I have to learn statistics for an exam that isn’t even 1/3 of my final grade (?)) & I revise this by ~~learning~~ going over the statistics that I’ve found & practising doing the tarjeta in class w my teacher & for the IRP, well I’m still doing that atm so not onto the revision stage yet, but I suspect something to do with Quizlet.

2. I’m pretty good at these questions, so they get less attention. I mainly focus on the translation/grammar part of the exercises (I love learning the grammar for some reason), using the grammar workbook that my teacher gave us (it includes translation as well !!!). I also focus on learning vocab so that I know which synonyms to pick out & which words go where in the gapfill. & for the other exercises, we’ve done them in class so much that they’re more like an instinct than anything. For the resúmenes, I usually just transcribe the listening one and change a few words around & for the writing one, my synonyms come in handy bc they show that I can ‘manipulate the language’ or whatnot.

3. Ironically, my teachers always tell me to go less complicated on my analysis and just stick to simpler ideas bc those are the ones that get the most marks, if executed properly. I’d practise writing essays & especially watch out for “major errors”, ie using the wrong form of a verb, bc those reduce your marks really quickly. & after all, there are only so many questions that they can possibly ask you abt your text.

Resources:
Above all, I recommend just doing some past papers/ppq’s, but do remember to save enough for your mocks/real exams bc unseen practice is always valuable.

As for the rest of them:
For learning vocab, I recommend Education Perfect (if your school has this) or Quizlet as those help me a lot (I like grinding words)
For grammar, I recommend This Spanish AS/A Level grammar workbook (Vince Everett) (<= links to Amazon)
For your texts, I recommend the Hodder education Spanish study guide for AS/A Level series (they are so good oml)
They only have the following & links to Amazon: Como agua para chocolate, Crónica de una muerte anunciada, El laberinto del fauno, La casa de Bernarda Alba, Ocho apellidos vascos, Volver
For general practice of 2., I recommend the Hodder education workbook that goes along with the textbook that I use. Personally, I don’t use this too much bc I don’t like practising those areas of the exam, but they are really good. Links to Amazon as follows: Book 1, Book 2

& finally for interest (when you’re not studying/revising/grinding): you could listen to some Spanish songs by Spanish-speaking artists, I recommend (links to Spotify) Bad Bunny, Efecto Pasillo y Rozalén
You could also listen to the Spanish Duolingo podcast (on 1.75 speed) — they’re bilingual & actually interesting (!)
If you enjoy reading the news, you could read BBC Mundo instead — it gives most, if not all of the BBC articles in Spanish (great for current affairs, statistics & general Spanish-ing!)
On Yt, you could watch the series “Un Mundo Sin” by Naisekai (or anything else that they produce), tho they do speak Latin American Spanish, so you might not understand everything that they’re saying
& on Netflix, I recommend La Casa de Papel (obv), but I prefer seasons 1+2 over the other 3

That is all for now, hope this helped! <3
Do lmk if this is helpful or not lol or if you actually take me up on my recommendations (!)

(edited 5 months ago)

Reply 90

Original post by Castrovalva

Hey faith05! First things first do not worry because I bet everyone here feels like this at some point! First of all I'd second what pineapple1865 has already said here (including some stuff I might try out haha), but also note that the best thing you can do is speak to your teacher/s as a first port of call and highlight the parts of the exams you're struggling with. They'll usually be experts on what the exam board's looking for specifically and they've seen what you're already doing well. Make sure you've actually got all the vocab you want/think you want to use! You're the expert on your essay-writing style even if you don't realise it, and you don't actually have to remember every specific word if you're overwhelmed. Focus on what helps you. The advantage of doing a foreign language subject is that there are different ways of saying the same thing. I like to use sites such as Seneca, Memrise or Quizlet (all of which are free!) for vocab lists because they're fairly comprehensive. It can feel less overwhelming if you break down your vocab lists into smaller ones, such as topic-specific ones for example. If you prefer something physical, like flash cards, what I do is write them all down then test myself. If I get it right, I test it out two days later, then five, then a week, then every two weeks. Ones I get wrong go back into the daily pile until I get them. I make sure I'm constantly reviewing my vocab, new and old, to keep it in my head. When it comes to summaries, I like to ask myself what point the author is making and/or what the major events are within the text. If it helps, to start off with, you can do this in English then translate it after. You've got time! Write it in the space for notetaking in your exam in whatever order comes to your head, then order it. Your teacher/marker is more interested in your comprehension and summary than dazzling language. For now at least, prioritise making cohesive answers, even if they seem blunt or boring. Once you're feeling confident, you can start to look at how to 'impress' the examiner with stuff like the subjunctive or whatever you feel works. Sorry I've rambled a lot, hope this helps!!! Buena suerte 😁

Well written! I agree w finding alternatives for saying the same things & also taking your time during the exam — 2 hrs & 2.5 hrs are a long time to do an exam for anyone & you’d benefit from pacing yourself & avoid being rushed. & final point (also a rambler here!) pls do rmb that your mocks are there for you to practise sitting the real exam, so that you’re not surprised when they do come. & they highlight things that you should work on whether this is exam technique or a specific part that you’re weak in, and can be hugely beneficial to your performance in the summer. Good luck for your mocks tho!! ¡Buena suerte! Y estoy segura de que te irá bien :smile:

Reply 91

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

Original post by pineapple1865

¡Hola hola! Por favor, disculpe la respuesta tardía (!)

I’d like to preface this response w the following: I’m not by any means a “typical” student (hopefully not said in an edgy way). What I mean is that I don’t work hard during term time & massively cram for my exams (tho I am an excellent crammer, if I do say so myself :smile:

), so I don’t really structure my revision lol — I just do what I want to/what I need to work on, when I feel like doing work (I really should get better study habits ahhhh). I used to joke that instead of revising for my exams, I was revising how they worked lol (I tried to predict where the grade boundaries were going to be for my GCSE’s lol)

Now, onto el español. I do AQA, so this advice will be tailored towards that. The AQA exam is split into 3 parts:
1. Speaking: 1 tarjeta w 5 mins prep (like GCSE, but too short imo), that needs fully developed paragraph responses, supported with statistics (can be fake but have to be believable) + Independent Research Project (IRP) inc a 2 min presentation (in spanish) and 10 mins of general conv (like GCSE)
2. Reading/listening/writing (2.5 hrs): there are several dif question types for this, namely the resúmenes (reading/listening summaries; new to A Level & I think are a waste of time), gapfill, finding synonyms, answering questions (like GCSE), translations etc
3. Essays (2 hrs, basically 1 hr to write 1 essay): you will study either two texts or a text + a film & have to write essays abt them; imo they’re similar to Eng Lit GCSE essays, but minus the word analysis part (no “the writer used x vocab terminology that suggests”, none of that)

How I revise:
1. For me, I hate 1. the most, probably due to the lack of prep time for the tarjeta and the amount of memorisation that always goes into the oral exams (like why do I have to learn statistics for an exam that isn’t even 1/3 of my final grade (?)) & I revise this by ~~learning~~ going over the statistics that I’ve found & practising doing the tarjeta in class w my teacher & for the IRP, well I’m still doing that atm so not onto the revision stage yet, but I suspect something to do with Quizlet.

2. I’m pretty good at these questions, so they get less attention. I mainly focus on the translation/grammar part of the exercises (I love learning the grammar for some reason), using the grammar workbook that my teacher gave us (it includes translation as well !!!). I also focus on learning vocab so that I know which synonyms to pick out & which words go where in the gapfill. & for the other exercises, we’ve done them in class so much that they’re more like an instinct than anything. For the resúmenes, I usually just transcribe the listening one and change a few words around & for the writing one, my synonyms come in handy bc they show that I can ‘manipulate the language’ or whatnot.

3. Ironically, my teachers always tell me to go less complicated on my analysis and just stick to simpler ideas bc those are the ones that get the most marks, if executed properly. I’d practise writing essays & especially watch out for “major errors”, ie using the wrong form of a verb, bc those reduce your marks really quickly. & after all, there are only so many questions that they can possibly ask you abt your text.

Resources:
Above all, I recommend just doing some past papers/ppq’s, but do remember to save enough for your mocks/real exams bc unseen practice is always valuable.

As for the rest of them:
For learning vocab, I recommend Education Perfect (if your school has this) or Quizlet as those help me a lot (I like grinding words)
For grammar, I recommend This Spanish AS/A Level grammar workbook (Vince Everett) (<= links to Amazon)
For your texts, I recommend the Hodder education Spanish study guide for AS/A Level series (they are so good oml)
For general practice of 2., I recommend the Hodder education workbook that goes along with the textbook that I use. Personally, I don’t use this too much bc I don’t like practising those areas of the exam, but they are really good.

& finally for interest (when you’re not studying/revising/grinding): you could listen to some Spanish songs by Spanish-speaking artists, I recommend (links to Spotify) Bad Bunny, Efecto Pasillo y Rozalén
You could also listen to the Spanish Duolingo podcast (on 1.75 speed) — they’re bilingual & actually interesting (!)
If you enjoy reading the news, you could read BBC Mundo instead — it gives most, if not all of the BBC articles in Spanish (great for current affairs, statistics & general Spanish-ing!)
On Yt, you could watch the series “Un Mundo Sin” by Naisekai (or anything else that they produce), tho they do speak Latin American Spanish, so you might not understand everything that they’re saying
& on Netflix, I recommend La Casa de Papel (obv), but I prefer seasons 1+2 over the other 3

That is all for now, hope this helped! <3
Do lmk if this is helpful or not lol or if you actually take me up on my recommendations (!)

oooo i am a year 13 but this has helped sm and i do aqa too ❤️ could you attach the links to the hodder textbooks? :smile:

Reply 92

Original post by emm4nuella

oooo i am a year 13 but this has helped sm and i do aqa too ❤️ could you attach the links to the hodder textbooks? :smile:

Glad it helped! & ofc adding now

Reply 93

XXSlayerXX

6

hi, we've just started la casa de bernarda alba and i was wondering if it is necessary to remember quotes?

Reply 94

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

Original post by XXSlayerXX

hi, we've just started la casa de bernarda alba and i was wondering if it is necessary to remember quotes?

yup definitely is

Reply 95

charmaine.d

13

i have my mocks next weeek aaah !!!! i got an A (based on grade boundaries of other papers) in both fr/sp reading, listening translation sample exams we did but honestly the grade boundaries are kinda low . so i think i'd be able to get an A* in the final exam ??

the essays i can do fine but the speaking and IRP reeeaaally scares me. i'm so used to having speaking practice with my teacher + native speaker college staff where I take some time to respond and even have to go back to correct myself. i don't think i'd be allowed to correct myself in exams ??? but i have trouble speaking in english sometimes like phrasing words and putting things together. at least i'm showing i recognise where i go wrong and correcting it ???? irp is gonna hit me like a ton of bricks though hahaaa

also is anyone else studying réqiuem por un campesino espan~ol? (srry i dont know how to do the enye on laptop keyboard) we watched the film of the book earlier this week to introduce us to the general plot of the book. we got simon as one of the characters for the lord of the flies exam in gcse eng lit so im really excited to have the chance to talk about jesus parallels again in another book !!!!

not religious btw, just brought up in a catholic household, primary school and secondary school where we studied/were brought up around christianity/catholicism.

Reply 96

XXSlayerXX

6

hi guys just started la casa de bernarda alba and i was wondering if there are any good revision resources preferably online

Reply 97

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

Original post by XXSlayerXX

hi guys just started la casa de bernarda alba and i was wondering if there are any good revision resources preferably online

most of thr resources i have been given was from our teacher's powerpoints or paper resources ☹️ - i guess you could watch yt videos? sorry about that

Reply 98

Original post by XXSlayerXX

hi guys just started la casa de bernarda alba and i was wondering if there are any good revision resources preferably online

A quick Google reveals a few but I'm not sure what sort you're looking for so maybe give it a try and see if anything suits? Again, the Hodder Education textbook is incredible for the exam specifications!

Reply 99

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper