A-level Spanish Study Group 2023-2024
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Original post by zoeedgington19
ooh my sister studied the latter of yours but yeah i havent heard of the requiem one! umm basically our teachers are giving us booklets full of translations bc thats a weak spot for our class and then for reading and listening imma do past papers and quizlet, maybe do aqa past papers bc im doing edexcel (if that makes sense) and then for writing im gonna make mind maps of themes and try to plan answers, for speaking ill probably have a mental breakdown lols and then record myself and listen to it. I say all of this im also a hugeee procrastinator so I probs will just overstress understudy
thanks! yeah hahaha same as you really, im just gonna do past papers mainly for reading/listening/translation, although i might look at some vocab for some of the trickier themes (coz my vocab is one of my weaker points i think). agreed that translation can be so fiddly at times. for the film/text im doing the same as you- revising the themes and moments which pertain to x theme, and plan some answers too. ive done my speaking mocks now, phew. ngl tho most of this is gonna happen during ht coz likewise i like to procrastinate.
Original post by Castrovalva
Just finished my mocks with the exception of a speaking mock on Tuesday! I'm just trying to memorise my mock IRP on the Spanish-speaking community in Patagonia and make sure I've got a couple of facts up my (metaphorical) sleeve for the photo card bit. The advantage of doing Eduqas seems to be that it has one of - if not the - most relaxed mark schemes, but it's also so vague!!! What do you think of your film/text? I also do La casa de Bernarda Alba and I'm a HUGE Lorca fan, as well as doing El laberinto del fauno. I also adore Guillermo Del Toro's work, so that's handy haha
i also do eduqasssssss yes it seems that they are generous with the marking (but as a result the grade boundaries are so high). might mention that my friend did a level spanish a year early (hes spanish) and he mentioned the other day (well admittedly i asked) that the essay q on el laberinto that he answered was on vidal, so ig if it ends up being the 2023 paper, well lets just say im gonna be prepared for that...
One of our mock questions was something about his attitudes towards women bringing his downfall, but I just took the easy route and analysed visual impact lol... I'd be surprised if they did two Vidal-focused questions in a row though!
Original post by Castrovalva
One of our mock questions was something about his attitudes towards women bringing his downfall, but I just took the easy route and analysed visual impact lol... I'd be surprised if they did two Vidal-focused questions in a row though!
oh whoops i thought you hadnt done your mock yet but you have! wait so maybe thats the question my friend did last year (which im could get when i do my mocks soon...).
visual impact is, yes, perhaps a bit of an easy route, but id say that maybe for just that reason there's more opportunity to say interesting things and stand out? as opposed to the more generic surface-level 'dark cold colours reflect franco's spain being a sad time' (not that that's an invalid point). either way, i hope they went well!
Original post by jakechoice
oh whoops i thought you hadnt done your mock yet but you have! wait so maybe thats the question my friend did last year (which im could get when i do my mocks soon...).
visual impact is, yes, perhaps a bit of an easy route, but id say that maybe for just that reason there's more opportunity to say interesting things and stand out? as opposed to the more generic surface-level 'dark cold colours reflect franco's spain being a sad time' (not that that's an invalid point). either way, i hope they went well!
visual impact is, yes, perhaps a bit of an easy route, but id say that maybe for just that reason there's more opportunity to say interesting things and stand out? as opposed to the more generic surface-level 'dark cold colours reflect franco's spain being a sad time' (not that that's an invalid point). either way, i hope they went well!
Thanks! That's my bad haha, I've done all my mocks in all my subjects except for my Spanish speaking mock. I agree, there is way more to explore in the visual ideas of El laberinto, especially given how effectively everything in the film is deliberate and proud, whereas Vidal immediately confines you to scenes with/about him and women and I just prefer the freedom of the question!
Original post by Castrovalva
Thanks! That's my bad haha, I've done all my mocks in all my subjects except for my Spanish speaking mock. I agree, there is way more to explore in the visual ideas of El laberinto, especially given how effectively everything in the film is deliberate and proud, whereas Vidal immediately confines you to scenes with/about him and women and I just prefer the freedom of the question!
agreed 100%. good luck with your speaking mock!
Original post by Castrovalva
Thank you - what a great idea for a mock, too! I discuss the cover up of racism against the Tehuelche still going on in modern texts about Y Wladfa as part of my mock IRP. I think it's just really upsetting but not at all surprising that anti-native sentiment still runs deep. My real IRP is probably going to be on something to do with the Mexican Revolution (Or maybe the Cristero War but to be honest I'm not sure if I could find an interesting way of talking about that).
I really enjoyed Diarios de motocicleta, but again I love South American politics! I agree though, it is a little to 'this happened, then this, then this' and it's a lot to remember for the exam. I'm glad we're doing El laberinto del fauno because it's pretty straightforward plot-wise - most of the hard work comes down to remembering the technique because it's a very very very stylistic film
I really enjoyed Diarios de motocicleta, but again I love South American politics! I agree though, it is a little to 'this happened, then this, then this' and it's a lot to remember for the exam. I'm glad we're doing El laberinto del fauno because it's pretty straightforward plot-wise - most of the hard work comes down to remembering the technique because it's a very very very stylistic film
Thank youuu and yes it surprised me just the extent that the indigenous communities are still so marginalised, I think both of those ideas would be fab for an IRP for you.
Whats annoying is youtube removed the film so imma have to buy it before the mock urgh!
I kinda wanna watch El laberinto del fauno would you recommend it just as a good film to see?
Original post by jakechoice
thanks! yeah hahaha same as you really, im just gonna do past papers mainly for reading/listening/translation, although i might look at some vocab for some of the trickier themes (coz my vocab is one of my weaker points i think). agreed that translation can be so fiddly at times. for the film/text im doing the same as you- revising the themes and moments which pertain to x theme, and plan some answers too. ive done my speaking mocks now, phew. ngl tho most of this is gonna happen during ht coz likewise i like to procrastinate.
Quizlet is honestly my saviour for vocab i might invest in quizlet plus but i am BROKE!!!! And twin im literally procrastinating rnnn arghh. I always forget subjunctive in translation so i need to practise that
Original post by zoeedgington19
Heyy I'm doing edexcel with la casa de bernada alba and los diarios de motocicleta.
Anyone else got mocks coming up? 🙂
Anyone else got mocks coming up? 🙂
Yep I’m La casa as well! We also study Volver (AQA). I have my writing mock tuesday and L/R mock on Friday and then speaking mock first morning back after half term (with biology and history mocks as well it is a bit peak) when are your mocks?
Original post by zoeedgington19
Thank youuu and yes it surprised me just the extent that the indigenous communities are still so marginalised, I think both of those ideas would be fab for an IRP for you.
Whats annoying is youtube removed the film so imma have to buy it before the mock urgh!
I kinda wanna watch El laberinto del fauno would you recommend it just as a good film to see?
Whats annoying is youtube removed the film so imma have to buy it before the mock urgh!
I kinda wanna watch El laberinto del fauno would you recommend it just as a good film to see?
Absolutely! It's on iPlayer right now, and I think it's available on Prime (both under the English title) but I'm not sure. It's deliberately very creepy, with some scenes of violence which I won't spoil - check doesthedogdie.com's listing for a full list of triggers if you have any! That said, it's a genuinely brilliant emotional, profound story which manages to both immerse and educate, showing the brutal reality of Franco's Spain. It certainly deserves its international prestige; it's full of stylistic choices, you can (and a lot of us have to!) watch it over and over and find something new every time to appreciate!
Original post by zoeedgington19
Quizlet is honestly my saviour for vocab i might invest in quizlet plus but i am BROKE!!!! And twin im literally procrastinating rnnn arghh. I always forget subjunctive in translation so i need to practise that
i feel like i want to start using it but then i also feel like theres not point now because i feel like its something i should have been doing since y12. better late than never then? enjoy translation!
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by charmaine.d
hello hello fellow language nerds !!!!
I'm in year 13 and I take spanish, french and music technology btec !!! (i have no idea why i chose both langs i just love learning them
). exam board is wjec eduqas !
i don't know which language i like better/find easier but spanish feels a lot more natural for me to speak ! the best thing about learning languages is being able to understand the spoken language in series and dubbed cartoons, plus with prior knowledge of spanish, i've been able to understand bits and bobs of portuguese !!
i got 9s in fr sp in GCSE and currently predicted an A*s (i hope
) and looking to go to uni of leeds !
if anyone needs help with revision techniques or how to answer some types of exam questions, my silly little nerdy heart will be happy to help !!!!
question for all year 13s and also year 12s if you've thought about it: what are your topics for your irp?
i'm going to do mayan history and the effects of spanish colonisation on mayan culture !
I'm in year 13 and I take spanish, french and music technology btec !!! (i have no idea why i chose both langs i just love learning them
). exam board is wjec eduqas !i don't know which language i like better/find easier but spanish feels a lot more natural for me to speak ! the best thing about learning languages is being able to understand the spoken language in series and dubbed cartoons, plus with prior knowledge of spanish, i've been able to understand bits and bobs of portuguese !!
i got 9s in fr sp in GCSE and currently predicted an A*s (i hope
) and looking to go to uni of leeds !if anyone needs help with revision techniques or how to answer some types of exam questions, my silly little nerdy heart will be happy to help !!!!
question for all year 13s and also year 12s if you've thought about it: what are your topics for your irp?
i'm going to do mayan history and the effects of spanish colonisation on mayan culture !
how did you revise to get 9s in spanish and french ? im predicted a 9 in spanish rn but a low 7 in french. WHich revision techniques did you used please?
Hi everyone!
I'm a year 13 Spanish student studying El laberinto del fauno and Como agua para chocolate. Trying to revise essay writing as it's my worst section of the course. Just wondering if anyone had any A/A* essays they could send? My teacher hasn't shown any good examples, and my essays certainly aren't good so would just love to see the format, structure and content which gets good marks. If not, if anyone has any advice on how to do well in the essays that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!
I'm a year 13 Spanish student studying El laberinto del fauno and Como agua para chocolate. Trying to revise essay writing as it's my worst section of the course. Just wondering if anyone had any A/A* essays they could send? My teacher hasn't shown any good examples, and my essays certainly aren't good so would just love to see the format, structure and content which gets good marks. If not, if anyone has any advice on how to do well in the essays that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!
Hello Spanish students! 
Just dropping in to let you know we have a new project launching next week to help you with your revision. TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities! It's going to be a fun and social way to stay on track and you can find out how it works here. Come along and help rep the Humanities! 
Just dropping in to let you know we have a new project launching next week to help you with your revision. TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities! It's going to be a fun and social way to stay on track and you can find out how it works here. Come along and help rep the Humanities! Original post by pineapple1865
¡Hola todos! I’m in Y13 & taking Spanish (AQA), Maths (Edexcel), Further Maths (Edexcel) and Computer Science (AQA) (hopefully all A* at the end!)
What I enjoy the most: I love Spanish (been doing it for 7 years now!) bc it’s just such a straightforward language imo & learning new grammar in particular is my fav part bc I want to go into Linguistics for uni!
Areas I struggle w: the oral exam def — 5 mins instead of 12 at GCSE is too little for me to do the tarjetas! Idk if I’m alone on this one haha
My texts are: Volver & La Casa de Bernarda Alba
IRP: I want to do it on another language in Spain (Gallego, Vasco, Catalán etc) but need to pick one jaja
Latest Netflix show/movie I’ve watched: Disenchantment P5 — it was so good & such a nice ending to the series!
My go-to positive/motivational quote/affirmation: Either “all this misery brings no salary” from “Santa Fe” (RENT) or the song “Chip on my shoulder” from Legally Blonde (Both of these aren’t quotes haha)
How’s everyone finding their time back to school? UCAS deadlines for me are right around the corner so am trying to get my final drafts of my PS in!
Y finalmente, ¡Buena suerte a todos con vuestros exámenes! ¡Espero que saquéis buenas notas con todas las asignaturas!
What I enjoy the most: I love Spanish (been doing it for 7 years now!) bc it’s just such a straightforward language imo & learning new grammar in particular is my fav part bc I want to go into Linguistics for uni!
Areas I struggle w: the oral exam def — 5 mins instead of 12 at GCSE is too little for me to do the tarjetas! Idk if I’m alone on this one haha
My texts are: Volver & La Casa de Bernarda Alba
IRP: I want to do it on another language in Spain (Gallego, Vasco, Catalán etc) but need to pick one jaja
Latest Netflix show/movie I’ve watched: Disenchantment P5 — it was so good & such a nice ending to the series!
My go-to positive/motivational quote/affirmation: Either “all this misery brings no salary” from “Santa Fe” (RENT) or the song “Chip on my shoulder” from Legally Blonde (Both of these aren’t quotes haha)
How’s everyone finding their time back to school? UCAS deadlines for me are right around the corner so am trying to get my final drafts of my PS in!
Y finalmente, ¡Buena suerte a todos con vuestros exámenes! ¡Espero que saquéis buenas notas con todas las asignaturas!
Hola! Have you had your Y13 mocks yet because if so I was wondering if you could please let me know what the 2023 writing paper question was for Volver - I have already answered the past paper ones on the website so I need some more to practice. Thank you so much.
Original post by LSM08
Hello! Does anyone know the 2023 questions for 'Volver' for the AQA A level Spanish Paper 2? Thank you very much.
I don't think the questions have been officially released yet, but maybe take a look at last year's exam discussion and see if that helps? https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7334670&page=11
Original post by Castrovalva
I don't think the questions have been officially released yet, but maybe take a look at last year's exam discussion and see if that helps? https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7334670&page=11
Amazing thank you so much
hey everybody, please check your notifications as i would have quoted/tagged you in a very exciting opportunity that the TSR study team have been thinking of doing!
Spoiler
hello !!!! IRP dates are fast approaching so to help those who might be stuck, here's a little list of everything i've done to work on and revise for both my IRPs !!
1) PRACTICE THE INTRO !!! - introduce the surface level of your most important points, answer your question.
I practiced my intro aloud and recorded myself to make sure it's within 2 minutes. Try to aim for 1:45-1:50, make sure you're not speaking too fast or too slow. Reciting it at a lower speed will help it be less overwhelming and to stick within limit, this will give you an extra buffer of 15 seconds in case you stumble over some words or need a moment to think.
Practice with friends as well !!! even if they don't take spanish, reciting it in front of people will help prepare you for the real thing!!
2) KEY NUMBERS / FACTS / STATISTICS !!! - this one is mainly for numeric facts, especially if you have to remember any years, percentages or longer numbers. I need to remember some years like 1517 and 1697, 1960 and 1996 and some numbers like 365 and 260 for my project on the Mayas. When I first translated my fully researched IRP, I wrote the numbers and also the word version and practiced saying it outloud so I stumble over it less. ((spanish is such a tongue twisting language sometimes
)). If remember the numbers, it's easier to remember what they tie to !!!
3) VOCAB !!! - I went through my IRP, section by section and picked out all the important new and known vocab in spanish. I put it all on a google doc and printed it (optional ofc!), and I'm chipping away at translating and revising them in sections. This also works for key concepts / events / people eg. popol vuh is a massive mayan religious book, comparable to the bible and the ceiba tree is believed to have roots that connect to the underworld.
4) QUESTIONS !!! - depending on how specific you've made your subheadings, there will only be so many questions that an examiner can ask you about it. Make sure to have an answer ready for "why did you choose this topic?"!! I went through all my subheadings / points and wrote down 2-3 possible questions an examiner could ask me. If you've got a lot of facts about a subtopic and might struggle with picking one when an examiner asks a general question, think of a question to ask back!!
For example, one of my topics is about mayan religious beliefs. An examiner might ask me "tell me a religious belief" or "explain some religious beliefs to me", I can ask "would you like to hear about mayan gods, mayan religious traditions or a mayan legend?". This can make it easier for yourself so you don't have to pick something yourself. Also shows you've researched a variety of things!!
5) SUBHEADING SUMMARY SHEETS !!! - very similar to the questions part I suppose, but I'm also making bullet-pointed summary sheets that outline key points in each subheading. Making these is a useful revision activity and after you get more confident, active recall can be super helpful !!
and that draws us to the end of this post !!!
the IRP has been SO difficult to research and revise for because teachers aren't allowed to help at all so it's like we're all being thrown into it blindly !!! i hope this helps !!
do you want a part 2 on photocards???
i'm happy to answer any questions (if i can lol
) and good luck for your speaking exams !!!! mine is in uuuh .. 5 DAYS UHHHH !!!! SCARYYY !!! SPOOKY SCARY !!!!
1) PRACTICE THE INTRO !!! - introduce the surface level of your most important points, answer your question.
I practiced my intro aloud and recorded myself to make sure it's within 2 minutes. Try to aim for 1:45-1:50, make sure you're not speaking too fast or too slow. Reciting it at a lower speed will help it be less overwhelming and to stick within limit, this will give you an extra buffer of 15 seconds in case you stumble over some words or need a moment to think.
Practice with friends as well !!! even if they don't take spanish, reciting it in front of people will help prepare you for the real thing!!
2) KEY NUMBERS / FACTS / STATISTICS !!! - this one is mainly for numeric facts, especially if you have to remember any years, percentages or longer numbers. I need to remember some years like 1517 and 1697, 1960 and 1996 and some numbers like 365 and 260 for my project on the Mayas. When I first translated my fully researched IRP, I wrote the numbers and also the word version and practiced saying it outloud so I stumble over it less. ((spanish is such a tongue twisting language sometimes
)). If remember the numbers, it's easier to remember what they tie to !!!3) VOCAB !!! - I went through my IRP, section by section and picked out all the important new and known vocab in spanish. I put it all on a google doc and printed it (optional ofc!), and I'm chipping away at translating and revising them in sections. This also works for key concepts / events / people eg. popol vuh is a massive mayan religious book, comparable to the bible and the ceiba tree is believed to have roots that connect to the underworld.
4) QUESTIONS !!! - depending on how specific you've made your subheadings, there will only be so many questions that an examiner can ask you about it. Make sure to have an answer ready for "why did you choose this topic?"!! I went through all my subheadings / points and wrote down 2-3 possible questions an examiner could ask me. If you've got a lot of facts about a subtopic and might struggle with picking one when an examiner asks a general question, think of a question to ask back!!
For example, one of my topics is about mayan religious beliefs. An examiner might ask me "tell me a religious belief" or "explain some religious beliefs to me", I can ask "would you like to hear about mayan gods, mayan religious traditions or a mayan legend?". This can make it easier for yourself so you don't have to pick something yourself. Also shows you've researched a variety of things!!
5) SUBHEADING SUMMARY SHEETS !!! - very similar to the questions part I suppose, but I'm also making bullet-pointed summary sheets that outline key points in each subheading. Making these is a useful revision activity and after you get more confident, active recall can be super helpful !!
and that draws us to the end of this post !!!
the IRP has been SO difficult to research and revise for because teachers aren't allowed to help at all so it's like we're all being thrown into it blindly !!! i hope this helps !!
do you want a part 2 on photocards???i'm happy to answer any questions (if i can lol
) and good luck for your speaking exams !!!! mine is in uuuh .. 5 DAYS UHHHH !!!! SCARYYY !!! SPOOKY SCARY !!!!Quick Reply
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