tutoring
A-level Spanish
A-Level Spanish complete content and assessment objectives
Social issues and trends
Students must study the following themes and sub-themes in relation to at least one Spanish-speaking country. Students must study the themes and sub-themes using a range of sources, including material from online media.
Aspects of Hispanic society
Students may study all sub-themes in relation to any Spanish-speaking country or countries.
• Modern and traditional values (Los valores tradicionales y modernos)
• Los cambios en la familia
• Actitudes hacia el matrimonio/el divorcio
• La influencia de la Iglesia Católica
• Cyberspace (El ciberespacio)
• La influencia de internet
• Las redes sociales: beneficios y peligros
• Los móviles inteligentes en nuestra sociedad
• Equal rights (La igualdad de los sexos)
• La mujer en el mercado laboral
• El machismo y el feminismo
• Los derechos de los gays y las personas transgénero
Artistic culture
Students must study the following themes and sub-themes in relation to at least one Spanish-speaking country.
Artistic culture in the Hispanic world
Students must study the sub-theme Spanish regional identity in relation to Spain. Students may study the remaining sub-themes in relation to any Spanish-speaking country or countries.
• Modern day idols (La influencia de los ídolos)
• Cantantes y músicos
• Estrellas de televisión y cine
• Modelos
• Spanish regional identity (La identidad regional en España)
• Tradiciones y costumbres
• La gastronomía
• Las lenguas
• Cultural heritage (El patrimonio cultural)
• Sitios turísticos y civilizaciones prehispánicas: Machu Picchu, la Alhambra, etc
• Arte y arquitectura
• El patrimonio musical y su diversidad
Multiculturalism in Hispanic society
Students may study all sub-themes in relation to any Spanish-speaking country or countries.
• Immigration (La inmigración)
• Los beneficios y los aspectos negativos
• La inmigración en el mundo hispánico
• Los indocumentados – problemas
• Racism (El racismo)
• Las actitudes racistas y xenófobas
• Las medidas contra el racismo
• La legislación anti-racista
• Integration (La convivencia)
• La convivencia de culturas
• La educación
• Las religiones
Aspects of political life in the Hispanic world
Students must study Monarchies and dictatorships in relation to any relevant Spanish-speaking country or countries. Students may study the remaining sub-themes in relation to any Spanish-speaking country or countries.
• Today’s youth, tomorrow’s citizens (Jóvenes de hoy, ciudadanos del mañana)
• Los jóvenes y su actitud hacia la política : activismo o apatía
• El paro entre los jóvenes
• Su sociedad ideal
• Monarchies and dictatorships (Monarquías y dictaduras)
• La dictadura de Franco
• La evolución de la monarquía en España
• Dictadores latinoamericanos
• Popular movements (Movimientos populares)
• La efectividad de las manifestaciones y las huelgas
• El poder de los sindicatos
• Ejemplos de protestas sociales (eg El 15-M, las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, …)
Grammar
A-Level students will be expected to have studied the grammatical system and structures of the language during their course. Knowledge of the grammar and structures specified for GCSE is assumed. In the exam students will be required to use, actively and accurately, grammar and structures appropriate to the tasks set, drawn from the following list. The mention of an item in this list implies knowledge of both its forms and its functions at an appropriate level of accuracy and complexity. The examples in italics in parentheses are indicative; they serve to illustrate the part of speech or structure that the student must know and do not represent an exhaustive specification of the required grammatical knowledge. For items marked (R), receptive knowledge only is required.
Nouns
Gender
Singular and plural forms
Plural of male/female pairs (e.g. los Reyes)
Affective suffixes (R)
Articles
Definite and indefinite
El with feminine nouns beginning with stressed a (el agua) Lo + adjective
Adjectives
Agreement Position Apocopation (eg gran, buen, mal, primer)
Comparative and superlative (eg másfuerte; mejor, peor, mayor, menor)
Use of adjectives as nouns (eg una triste, la roja, las norteamericanas)
Demonstrative (eg este, ese, aquel)
Indefinite (eg alguno, cualquiera, otro)
Possessive (weak and strong forms) (eg mi / mío)
Interrogative and exclamatory (eg ¿cuánto? / ¡cuánto!, etc, including use of ¿qué? / ¡qué!)
Relative (cuyo) (R)
Numerals
Cardinal (eg uno, dos)
Ordinal 1–10 (eg primero, segundo)
Agreement (eg cuatrocientas chicas)
Expression of time and date
Adverbs
Formation of adverbs in -mente Comparative and superlative (eg más despacio)
Use of adjectives as adverbs (eg rápido, claro)
Adjectives as equivalents of English adverbs (eg Salió contenta)
Interrogative (eg ¿cómo?, ¿cuándo?, ¿dónde?)
Quantifiers/intensifiers
(eg muy, bastante, poco, mucho)
Pronouns
Subject Object: direct and indirect; use of se for le(s); ‘redundant’ use of indirect object (eg Dale un beso a tu papá)
Reflexive Unstressed/stressed forms (eg me/mí)
Position and order Relative (que, quien, el que, el cual)
Demonstrative (este, ese, aquel; esto, eso, aquello)
Indefinite (eg algo, alguien)
Possessive (eg el mío, la mía).
Expression of possession by the use of the indirect object pronoun (Le rompió el brazo) must also be included.
Interrogative
Verbs
Regular conjugations of -ar, -er and -ir verbs, including radical-changing (eg recordar/recuerdo, pedir/pido) and orthographic-changing (eg abrazar/abracé) verbs in all tenses and moods, finite and non-finite forms
Regular and irregular verbs, in all tenses and moods, finite and non-finite forms
Agreement of verb and subject Use of hay que in all tenses
Use of tenses:
• present
• preterite
• imperfect
• future
• conditional
• perfect
• future perfect
• conditional perfect
• pluperfect.
Use of the infinitive, the gerund and the past participle Verbal paraphrases and their uses. These include but are not limited to the following:
• ir a + gerund
• estar + gerund
• acabar de + infinitive
• estar para + infinitive
• llevar + gerund • ir + gerund (R)
• venir + gerund (R).
Use of the subjunctive
Commands
Conditional sentences
After conjunctions of time After para que, sin que In relative clauses (R)
After other subordinating conjunctions (R)
With verbs and verbal expressions of wishing, commanding, influencing, emotional reaction, doubt, denial, possibility, probability (R)
Sequence of tense in indirect speech and other subordinate clauses
Voice
Use of the reflexive as a passive (eg El puente se construyó para unir a las comunidades)
Use of the reflexive to express an impersonal subject (eg ¿Cómo se llega a la estación?)
Use of ser + past participle Use of estar + past participle
‘Nuance’ reflexive verbs (eg caerse, pararse)
Modes of address (tú, usted; vos (R))
Constructions with verbs
Verbs followed directly by an infinitive (eg querer, poder)
Verbs followed by a preposition plus an infinitive or noun phrase (eg insistir en, negarse a)
Verbs followed by a gerund (eg seguir)
Verbs of perception (eg Vi asfaltar la calle)
Uses of ser and estar
Prepositions
All prepositions, both simple (eg bajo) and complex (eg encima de)
‘Personal’ a
Discrimination of por and para
Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions (eg y, o, pero)
Subordinating conjunctions. These include but are not limited to the following:
• cause (porque)
• purpose (para que)
• proviso (con tal que)
• supposition (a no ser que)
• time (cuando)
• concession (aunque).
Use of que to introduce a clause (eg ¡Cuidado, que se va a quemar la tortilla!) (R)
Negation
Questions
Commands
Word order
Subject following verb (Ha llegado el profesor; Me gustan las patatas)
Focalisation (Tú ¿qué opinas?; A Cristiano lo odian) (R)
Other constructions
Time expressions with hace/hacía and desde hace/hacía
Cleft sentences (Fue en Madrid donde nos conocimos)
Comparative constructions. These include but are not limited to the following:
• tan… como…, etc
• más… que…, etc.
Tiene más dinero de lo que creía (R)
Indirect speech
Discourse markers
(eg Es que…, Por ejemplo, Ahora bien…)
Fillers
(eg pues, bueno)
Works
Literary texts and film
Students must study either one text or one film from the list below. Abridged editions should not be used.
Texts
• Federico García Lorca La casa de Bernarda Alba
• Gabriel García Márquez Crónica de una muerte anunciada
• Laura Esquivel Como agua para chocolate
• Ramón J. Sender Réquiem por un campesino español
• Carlos Ruiz Zafón La sombra del viento
• Isabel Allende La casa de los espíritus
• Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Rimas
• Fernando Fernán-Gómez Las bicicletas son para el verano
• Luis de Castresana El otro árbol de Guernica
• Gabriel García Márquez El coronel no tiene quien le escriba
Films
• El laberinto del fauno Guillermo del Toro (2006)
• Ocho apellidos vascos Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (2014)
• María, llena eres de gracia Joshua Marston (2004)
• Volver Pedro Almodóvar (2006)
• Abel Diego Luna (2010)
• Las 13 rosas Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (2007)
Assessment details
- The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives:
- AO1: Understand and respond: • in speech to spoken language including face-to-face interaction • in writing to spoken language drawn from a variety of sources
- AO2: Understand and respond: • in speech to written language drawn from a variety of sources • in writing to written language drawn from a variety of sources
- AO3: Manipulate the language accurately, in spoken and written forms, using a range of lexis and structure
- AO4: Show knowledge and understanding of, and respond critically to, different aspects of the culture and society of countries/communities where the language is spoken. Across assessment objectives AO1 and AO2, no more than 10 % of the total marks for the qualification may be used for responses in English, including translation into English.