Spanish

Course summary

The aims of the course are: • for you to enjoy studying in more depth the language, life and culture of Spain and to develop a positive attitude towards Spanish life and people. You will find that the A-level course covers more stimulating and diverse topics than at GCSE. Topics of interest such as family and new technologies, as well as cinema and literature, are discussed and explored in detail. • to broaden your linguistic knowledge. By the end of the course, you will be able to understand authentic spoken and written Spanish from a variety of sources e.g. TV, radio, talks, newspapers, books and magazines. You will be able to communicate confidently in Spanish in a variety of everyday situations, both orally and in writing. • you will gain many intellectual, personal and social skills which are transferrable to future career choices, whether or not based on languages. You will study technological and social change, looking at the multicultural nature of Spanish-speaking society. You will study highlights of Spanish-speaking artistic culture, including art and architecture, and will learn how Spain’s political landscape was formed. You will explore the influence of the past on present-day Spanish-speaking communities and, throughout your studies, you will learn the language in the context of Spanish-speaking countries and the issues and influences which have shaped them. You will study literature and film and will have the opportunity to carry out independent research on an area of your choice. Assessment tasks will be varied and cover listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. By the end of the course you should be able to: • understand authentic texts in the written language from a variety of sources such as magazines, newspapers, the internet or books; • understand contemporary spoken language from various sources including recorded news items from radio and TV, announcements, talks and discussions; • communicate confidently and clearly in the spoken language in a wide variety of situations; • display research skills in Spanish; • display a positive attitude towards foreign language learning and its uses in a future career together with a range of intellectual, personal and social skills.