What do I need to know or be able to do before taking this course? A Level Spanish is a facilitating subject when it comes to choosing a university degree i.e. universities value studying a language at A Level. Apart from feeling confident in the four language skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking in Spanish, you need to be interested in expanding your current knowledge of Spanish and in studying cultural and political aspects, a book, a film and a topic of your choice related to one of the Spanish-speaking countries. Apart from the summer work on the first module in A level Spanish, it would be very beneficial for youto keep up your reading skills by reading articles on the internet and making a glossary of new words. What will I learn on this course? This course will help you to communicate in Spanish at an academic level by discussing a wide range of cultural and political aspects of Spanish-speaking countries. Y12 Traditional and modern values Cyberspace Gender equality The influence of celebrities Regional identity in Spain Cultural Heritage Study of a film Y13 Immigration Racism Coexistence Young people, citizens of tomorrow Monarchy and dictatorships Social movements Study of a book and Individual Research Project (IRP) What skills will I develop by doing this course? This course will enable you to develop some key skills, which will be essential to you whatever you go on to do afterwards. The key skills you can develop during this course are the following: • Listening skills: you will listen to and understand contemporary spoken language and answer questions on passages from a range of sources such as news videos, reports, interviews, discussions and films. • Reading skills: you will read, understand and extract information from written passages in the target language that are taken from authentic sources such as magazines and newspapers articles and books. • Speaking and debating skills: you will discuss a variety of topics in the target language and express your opinions providing evidence for your arguments. • Writing skills: you will learn how to write essays and to hold a line of argument in Spanish. You will learn all of the appropriate grammar, words and phrases to express your ideas successfully. • Translation skills: you will increase your translation skills from English to Spanish and vice versa. • Summary skills: you will practise your summary skills by selecting information in texts in reading and listening tasks and by manipulating grammar. • Research skills: beyond your Individual Research Project(IRP) in Y13, you will be asked to do research on different topics and to present your findings throughout the 2-year course. • Analytical skills: you will analyse and extract conclusions from different texts, images and graphs. • Collaborative skills: you will be paired up with other students and asked to work in groups to practise your linguistic skills and to provide solutions to problems. • Study skills: beyond homework, responding to feedback, target setting, revision skills and organisational skills, you will also complete independent learning tasks that will deepen into those areas where you need further practice. What kind of student is this course suitable for? This course will appeal to students who have an interest in • Developing further their current linguistic skills in Spanish • Exploring cultural and political aspects of Spanish speaking countries • Analysing a variety of topics, a book, a film and a topic of their choice in Spanish (IRP) What could I go on to do at the end of my course? Students with A Level Spanish have access to a wide range of possible career and higher education opportunities. These may include but are not limited to • Doing degrees specialised in languages such as Linguistics, Translation or Literature Studies • Doing a course in another subject i.e. Politics, History, Business, Tourism, Journalism, and Media and choosing a language option alongside it Having a language at Advanced Level will improve your employability, in particular with companies which have international branches.