AQA GCSE Spanish (8698) Specification Overview

These vocabulary flashcards cover the administrative structure, assessment objectives, themes, and key linguistic strategies of the AQA GCSE Spanish (8698) specification.

Linear qualification

A qualification where students sit all their exams at the end of the course.

Foundation Tier

A level of assessment covering grades $1-5$.

Higher Tier

A level of assessment covering grades $4-9$.

Paper 1: Listening

A written exam testing understanding and responding to spoken language, worth $25\%$ of the GCSE.

Paper 2: Speaking

A non-exam assessment testing communication and interaction in speech, worth $25\%$ of the GCSE.

Paper 3: Reading

A written exam testing understanding and responding to written language, including a translation from Spanish into English, worth $25\%$ of the GCSE.

Paper 4: Writing

A written exam testing communication in writing, including a translation from English into Spanish, worth $25\%$ of the GCSE.

AO1 (Listening)

Assessment Objective focussed on understanding and responding to different types of spoken language.

AO2 (Speaking)

Assessment Objective focussed on communicating and interacting effectively in speech.

AO3 (Reading)

Assessment Objective focussed on understanding and responding to different types of written language.

AO4 (Writing)

Assessment Objective focussed on communicating in writing.

Theme 1

Identity and culture, covering family, technology, free-time activities, and festivals.

Theme 2

Local, national, international and global areas of interest, covering town, social issues, global issues, and travel.

Theme 3

Current and future study and employment, covering studies, school life, post-16 education, and jobs.

Cognates

Words that have exactly the same form and essentially the same meaning in Spanish and English (e.g., animal, principal).

Near-cognates

Words that have essentially the same meaning but differ slightly in written form, usually by an accent or omitted letter (e.g., confusión, oficial).

False friends

Words that appear similar to English words but have different meanings (e.g., largo, sensible, actual).

Repair strategies

Communication strategies used to sustain conversation, such as rephrasing or seeking clarification.

Word coinage

The creation of non-existent words based on English or Spanish; a strategy rarely effective in promoting communication.

Topic avoidance

A strategy where a student abandons a topic due to inability to deal with it; learners are discouraged from using this in exams.

Bastante

Spanish general vocabulary term meaning 'sufficient', 'enough', or 'quite'.

Sin embargo

Spanish conjunction meaning 'however'.

Desde hace

A time expression used with the present tense to mean 'since'.

A pesar de

Spanish conjunction meaning 'in spite of' or 'despite'.

Acabar de + infinitive

A Spanish verbal structure meaning 'to have just (done something)'.

Soler

An important Spanish verb meaning 'to regularly do something'.

Darse cuenta (de)

A Spanish verbal expression meaning 'to realise'.

Gamberro

A Higher Tier global issues term meaning 'hooligan', 'lout', or 'troublemaker'.

Efecto invernadero

A Higher Tier global issues term meaning 'greenhouse effect'.

Acoso (escolar)

A school-related term meaning '(school) bullying'.

Eras (Enhanced Results Analysis)

A free online results analysis tool to help teachers see where students need to improve.

ERA

Enhanced Results Analysis; a free online tool to analyze student performance and focus teaching.

Ofqual

The regulatory body that sets assessment objectives for all GCSE Spanish specifications.

Section C (Paper 3)

The part of the Reading exam consisting of a translation from Spanish into English.

Photo card

A part of the Speaking assessment (Paper 2) involving a discussion based on a stimulus card.

Role-play

The first part of the Speaking assessment (Paper 2) where students carry out a situation based on a stimulus card.