Why study Spanish? The ability to speak other languages opens up countless opportunities in both the fields of leisure and work. There will be a shortage of qualified linguists and your services will be in demand from industry if Britain is to compete in a business context. The course encourages a greater appreciation of Spanish language, society and culture, as well as a greater understanding of language in general. It would therefore be of great benefit to English Language and Literature students. What will you study? Paper 1 - draws on vocabulary and structures across all four Themes. 1. Changes in Spanish society; 2. Political and artistic cultural in Spanish speaking countries; 3. Immigration and the Spanish multicultural society; 4. Franco’s dictatorship and the Spanish transition to democracy. Section A: Listening (24 marks) A listening assessment based on a recording, featuring male and female Spanish speakers. Students will respond to comprehension questions based on a variety of contexts and sources. Section B: Reading (24 marks) A reading assessment based on a variety of text-types and genres where students will have to respond to comprehension questions. Section C: Translation into English (16 marks) An unseen passage to be translated from Spanish to English Paper 2 - draws on the study of two discrete Spanish works: either two literary texts, or one literary text and one film. The literary texts listed include a range of classic and contemporary novels, novellas, short stories and plays. All of the films are feature length. Assessment overview This paper includes a translation exercise and two essays on either two literary texts, or one literary text and one film (students must not answer questions on two films). Students are not permitted access to a dictionary or any documentation relating to the works during the examination. Section A: Translation (16 marks) Students translate an unseen passage from English into Spanish. Section B: Written response to works (literary texts) (16 marks) Section C: Written response to works (films) (16 marks) Paper 3 Task 1 draws on vocabulary and structures across all four Themes. Task 2 is based on independent research selected and carried out by the student. The research may be based on one of the Themes or on the student’s own subject of interest related to the society and culture of the language studied. Assessment overview Students complete two tasks. Task 1 worth 20 marks and Task 2 worth 28 marks. Task 1 (discussion on a Theme) Students discuss one Theme from the specification based on a stimulus containing two different statements. Task 2 (presentation and discussion on independent research) Students present a summary of the key findings of the written sources they have used for their research and answer questions on this. They then have a wider discussion on their research. What will Spanish offer you in the future? Direct use of languages following Higher Education: translating, interpreting, teaching, commerce, tourism and travel. Indirect use of languages for careers: law, accountancy, secretarial skills, export marketing and selling, insurance, hotels, catering, merchant banking, engineering, manufacturing, computing and purchasing.