Study at PSC

This AS Level course will move you on from GCSE, covering all four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. You will gain a greater knowledge of the grammatical structures and develop accuracy in the language. Teaching is based on a thematic approach, and the language is taught through a variety of contemporary issues, culture and society from the Spanish-speaking world, using authentic resources. The study of a Spanish film will be an integral focus at AS Level.

Your aim will be to improve your language skills, whilst gaining an understanding of the contemporary society, cultural background and heritage of Spain and Latin America. You will learn to speak and write at length in Spanish about all aspects of Spanish-speaking societies and cultures. You will study culturally relevant, familiar and motivating topics from the following themes:

• Aspects of Hispanic-speaking society; issues and trends such as: changing family structure and citizenship, youth trends and personal identity, education and employment. You will also learn about media, art, film and music in the Hispanic-speaking world. Spanish regional culture and heritage in Spanish speaking countries and communities.
• In class, you will practise all four skills and will engage in whole-class, group and pair discussions. From October to May you will also have a small group conversation session with a Spanish language assistant. There is a clear independent study programme to complete outside lessons, dividing your weekly study time between reading, writing, listening tasks and learning vocabulary. 
• You will also have the opportunity to reinforce your Spanish by joining our very popular annual Spanish study visit in the spring term.

Lessons are taught mainly in Spanish and students will be working individually, in pairs, or in small groups on a variety of activities including:

• Reading and responding to a range of authentic sources, including social issues and trends from the Spanish speaking world.
• Keeping track of notes from topics covered in class
• Extension work, making use of online resources to acquire a wider range of vocabulary
• Grammar revision will be an integral part of daily activities in class
• Engaging in many speaking activities such as class discussions.
• Working in the Language Multi-media Centre to practise your listening skills.

Learning through independent active study is crucial to your progress, and carefully monitored programmes will support you in this.

All four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) will be assessed at the end of the AS course, with cultural content forming a key part of the assessment. Assessment methods will include translation from and into Spanish, speaking, writing and listening/reading comprehension and grammar.

Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking are the skills assessed through cultural content

Component 1: Speaking 30%

Component 2: Listening, Reading and Translation-from Spanish into English and English into Spanish 50% 

Component 3: Critical and analytical response in Writing 20%

This practical, applied approach to the study of Spanish means that it will be useful to students of the arts and sciences alike. Being able to continue with Spanish beyond GCSE level will equip you with academic and employment benefits.

There are many good reasons to study Spanish, and these include:

• More than 23 million people around the world were learning Spanish in 2023.
• Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world.
• Spanish is spoken in 23 countries as a first language.
• Knowledge of a foreign language is highly valued by Universities and employers.

Students will have access to resources from the Learning Resource Centre, the Spanish department can also loan some materials but students will need to purchase their own online-textbook and other course materials for use at home.

Study visits abroad: The oral examinations account for a high percentage of the total mark. We therefore strongly encourage students to visit a country in which Spanish is spoken. An optional study trip takes place annually and the inclusive cost is approximately £750 for one week (excluding pocket money). You will also have the opportunity to attend a film study day, focus on the film studied at AS level Pan’s Labyrinth at the BFI in London.

The College has a Student Support Fund for those students who may have difficulty meeting these costs.
 

We support students travelling to Spain during the summer via the Aupair World. There is a support network with former students, who share their experience of working in Spain developing their language and communication skills.