Spanish

Spanish, with more than 500 million speakers, makes the rich cultural offering of over 20 Spanish-speaking countries available to you. You will be able to enjoy the original works of Cervantes, Federico García Lorca, Borges, Cortázar, García Márquez, Octavio Paz, Mario Vargas Llosa and a whole lot more. The resurgence of Latin pop has also thrust Latin culture, its origins and influences, into the mainstream for you to explore.

Studying a language opens endless doors for you. You can truly immerse yourself in countries and their cultures, experience literature and film in their original form and have access to study and work opportunities abroad. You will also develop as an individual. You grow in confidence, gain expert communication skills and an awareness of and interest in diverse cultures. In essence, you are equipped to be a truly global citizen.

Course content

The A Level course is wide-reaching and in-depth. Linguistic competence is developed and honed and you explore in-depth a wide range of topics related to Hispanic society, such as social and technological change, highlights of artistic culture and multiculturalism, politics and the influence of the past on today’s Hispanic world.

During the course you will also have the exciting opportunity to study in-depth Hispanic literature and film: either one novel and one film or two novels. For the spoken element of the course, you will also undertake an independent research project of your choosing, which always proves to be a wonderful opportunity to become an expert on your chosen area and to develop invaluable research and speaking skills.

There is an expectation that students choosing to study Spanish at A Level will take part in a visit abroad during the course of their study. This will help students experience the culture and everyday life in a Spanish-speaking country. These visits are expected to be either an exchange or cultural/study tour.

Inspirational Starting Point

Latinoamérica – Calle 13 – A journey across Latin America in one song

Course Preparation

Students should already have a sound knowledge of the grammatical and linguistic structures covered at GCSE.
You should take the opportunity over the Summer to further hone your linguistic skills by taking advantage of all opportunities to practise your spoken Spanish.

You can keep up to date with current affairs through a range of media, such as the internet, newspapers, TV and podcasts and by starting to read and watch some of the masterpieces of Spanish film and literature.

Future pathways

An A Level in Spanish will open doors to further study, travel and work opportunities. Spanish, with its global reach, is highly valued in the work of numerous international organisations as well as in the fields of

• Accountancy, 
• Banking, 
• Marketing, 
• Sales, 
• Tourism,
• Trade.

As well as becoming competent in Spanish, you will acquire transferable skills. You develop resilience, resourcefulness, creativity, critical thinking, and linguistic, cultural and cognitive flexibility.