Spanish

Assessment

The GCSE MFL qualification has a Foundation Tier (suitable for those aiming for grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (aimed at grades 4–9). The four language skills of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking are assessed separately, and students must take all four question papers at the same tier. The overall grade is made up of the following proportions which are added together to give the overall grade: Non-examination Assessment – 25% Paper 2: Speaking in Spanish (out of 70 marks and worth 25% of total grade) This is conducted within school, although marked externally. Students must speak for a total of 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) or 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) in three different formats: • participating in a role-play, • speaking about a picture stimulus card, and • holding a sustained conversation about two of the five studied themes - holding a sustained conversation about two of the five studied themes - part 1 about a topic selected in advance and part 2, about a topic allocated by the Examination Board Students have 12 minutes preparation immediately before the exam takes place. Examination Assessment – 75% Paper 1: Listening and understanding in Spanish (out of 50 marks and worth 25% of total) The examinations tests students’ understanding and responding to different types of spoken language. Listening material may include instructions, messages, announcements, monologues, dialogues and discussions of varying length. The extracts relate to the five themes studied. The Listening exam lasts 35 minutes (Foundation Tier) or 45 minutes (Higher Tier). Both exams consist of Section A, where questions are given in English and are to be answered in English, and Section B – questions are given in Spanish, and must be answered in Spanish. Paper 3: Reading and understanding in Spanish (out of 50 marks and worth 25% of total) The examinations tests students’ understanding and responding to different types of written language. Reading material may include instructions, messages, announcements, monologues, dialogues and discussions of varying length. The extracts relate to the five themes studied. The Reading exam lasts 45 minutes (Foundation Tier) or 1 hour (Higher Tier). Both exams consists of Section A, where questions are given in English and are to be answered in English, and Section B – questions are given in Spanish, and must be answered in Spanish. The Reading exam also has a Section C, where students are required to translate from Spanish into English (between 35 – 50 words depending on the tier) Paper 4: Writing in Spanish (out of 60 marks and worth 25% of total grade) The written exam format differs depending on the tier taken: FOUNDATION: the exam lasts 1 hour and 10 minutes. Question 1 requires students to describe a photo in 20-30 words. Question 2 requires the student to write approximately 40-50 words in total, and answer all four bullet points. For Question 3, students must write 80-90 words, answering all the bullet points and using opinions and justifications and topic-specific vocabulary. Students must also use a past, a present and a future tense. They have the choice between two topics. Question 4 is translation of some sentences from English into Spanish. HIGHER: the exam lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. Question 1 requires students to write 80-90 words, answering all the bullet points and using opinions and justifications and topic-specific vocabulary. Students must also use a past, a present and a future tense. They have the choice between two topics. For Question 2, students must write 130-150 words, answering all the bullet points and using opinions and justifications and topic-specific vocabulary. Students must also use a past, a present and a future tense. They have the choice between two topics. Question 3 is a translation of a short passage from English into Spanish.