Spanish AS/A Level

Knowledge of a foreign language is highly valued in the world in which we live. Spanish is the third most widely spoken language and will be a useful skill for life or future career. It is becoming increasingly popular as a component offer in many degree courses as well as forming part of a main degree programme.

Different Routes from Beginners Level and GCSE

There is the opportunity to take up beginners Spanish, completing a GCSE course in Year One. You may continue to AS Level in Year Two. In exceptional circumstances, in the second year of college, students can study AS Spanish alongside A2 Spanish in order to achieve the A Level in one year.

Advanced Subsidiary units extend speaking, listening, writing and reading skills using a variety of resources: the language laboratory; film; the media; course books; the language assistant.

All material used in AS and A2 Spanish is firmly rooted in the culture of Spain or Latin America and a typical range of topics follows:

AS Topics

• Aspects of daily life
  
• Leisure and entertainment
  
• Communication and media
  
• Education and training

A2 Level topics explore:

• Social issues
  
• The environment
  
• Science and technology
  
• Aspects of culture

Assessment

At AS Level you will complete a unit in speaking where you discuss a chosen topic, and one unit combining the skills of listening, reading and writing.

A2 Spanish will follow a similar pattern of assessment but requires more complex knowledge and language skills. The unit in speaking gives students the opportunity to explore in depth the topics outlined in A2 above. The second unit combines listening, reading and writing skills and involves writing an essay on one of the topics.