Attaining a 9 in GCSE Spanish is achievable with the right strategic preparation. In this guide, you'll find techniques to help you excel in your Spanish exams.
What are examiners looking for?
1. Opinions
For the writing and speaking exams, it is imperative that you not only give opinions, but justify them, explaining why you think a certain way.
For example:
Mi asignatura favorita es la historia porque es muy interesante y el profesor es simp谩tico - My favourite subject is history because it鈥檚 interesting and the teacher is nice.
2. A range of vocabulary
You are marked on the range of vocabulary used. Here are a few ways you can achieve this:
- A variety of connecting words: igualmente, adem谩s, sin embargo, no obstante, en primer lugar, etc.
- A variety of vocabulary to justify your opinions: porque, dado que, ya que, puesto que, etc.
- A range of opinion phrases: pienso que, creo que, prefiero, dir铆a que, etc.
3. Add lots of detail
When you are presented with a prompt such as 鈥渨hat did you do last weekend?鈥�, think about how you can expand. For example, you could talk about going to the cinema, what film you watched, who you went with. You could add that you went for dinner afterwards and include what you ate and drank. Finally, you could add what your friends had.
Where relevant, you could also talk about what you normally do and contrast this with what you did recently or what you are going to do, e.g. Normalmente, los fines de semana, juego al f煤tbol con mis amigos, pero el fin de semana pasado, fuimos al cine - Normally, on the weekends, I play football with my friends, but last weekend, we went to the cinema.
4. Not just talking about 鈥淚鈥�
To achieve top marks, it鈥檚 a good idea to discuss what other people have done to show that you can change the verb for different subjects. You can learn phrases such as mi madre/padre dice que鈥� (鈥渕y mum/dad says that鈥�...). Another idea is to use 鈥渨e鈥� when talking about what you have done with others.
For example:
La semana pasada, fui a un restaurante italiano. Com铆 pasta y beb铆 zumo de naranja. Mis amigos comieron pizza y bebieron limonada - Last week, I went to an Italian restaurant. I ate pasta and drank orange juice. My friends ate pizza and drank lemonade.
5. Use a range of tenses
You must use at least three different tenses in your writing and speaking exams. The question will prompt you to do this anyway, i.e. you will have a question on what you did last weekend, as well a question on what your plans are for the future.
One tip is to use certain opinion phrases which already count as another tense. For example, if you say dir铆a que (鈥淚 would say that鈥�) or me gustar铆a (鈥淚 would like to鈥�) this shows use of the conditional tense.
6. Complex grammar structures
Here are a few ideas for some complex structures that you can include for top marks:
- The subjunctive
- Use of pronouns, e.g. 鈥渋t鈥� / 鈥渢hem鈥�, e.g Las veo todos los d铆as - I watch them every day.
- Lo + adjective, e.g. lo bueno es que - the good thing is that
- Comparatives, e.g. Para m铆, el ingl茅s es m谩s interesante que las ciencias - For me, English is more interesting than science.
- Superlatives, e.g. Mi profesor de ingl茅s es el profesor m谩s simp谩tico del colegio - My English teacher is the nicest teacher in the school.
- Use of the gerund, e.g. Sabiendo que el espa帽ol es muy importante, lo estudio todos los d铆as - Knowing that Spanish is important, I study it every day.
What are the common mistakes in GCSE Spanish?
1. Adjectival Agreement
Spanish adjectives always agree in gender and number with the noun that they are describing.
When you鈥檝e finished your writing, carefully check that every adjective agrees with the relevant noun. This final proofreading can gain you important marks.
2. Accents
Accents are important. Sometimes forgetting an accent can change the meaning of the word. For example:
Hablo - I speak
Habl贸 - He spoke
3. Understanding the question
Occasionally students will confuse 诲贸苍诲别 (where) and 肠耻谩苍诲辞 (when). Revising will help avoid making these mistakes.
4. Use of gustar
Remember to say me gustan rather than me gusta for plural things that you like.
When discussing what other people like, you have to include a in front, for example: A mi madre le gusta el chocolate / a Elena le gusta el chocolate - My mum likes chocolate (lit. to my mum it is pleasing to her the chocolate) / Elena likes chocolate.
You also have to remember the correct pronoun, e.g. saying 鈥渨e like鈥� is nos gusta. A common mistake is nos gustamos which actually means we like ourselves, or equally saying ella gusta instead of le gusta for 鈥渟he likes鈥�.
Here are the correct phrases:
- Me gusta(n) - I like
- Te gusta(n) - You like
- Le gusta(n) - He/she likes
- Nos gusta(n) - We like
- Os gusta(n) - You (pl.) like
- Les gusta(n) - They like
5. The weather
The weather can appear on listening and reading exams, but the vocabulary can be challenging. It鈥檚 advisable to learn .
6. The difference between the preterite and imperfect
Solidifying your understanding on will help secure greater accuracy.
Overall, the imperfect is used for descriptions or activities done more than once. The preterite is for a single, completed action.
7. Answer all questions with relevant information
Examiners must cap your mark at a certain band if you have not answered all bullet points on the writing exam. Tick each bullet point to ensure that you have answered it. Make sure to include relevant information, showing that you have fully answered the prompt.
How can I revise for Spanish GCSE?
- Practice makes perfect: Allowing yourself ample preparation time before the exam is important. Practising for the speaking exam with a tutor can have a significant impact on your fluency.
- Learn verb endings: Learn the different for as many tenses as possible, but particularly for the preterite tense. It is an essential tense, but has endings which students find challenging.
- Use past papers: Completing past papers will allow you to familiarise yourself with the exam format and acquire additional vocabulary. If you've worked through all the past papers from your exam board, you can explore those from other boards as well. While there are some differences in terms of format and content, you will find they are generally very similar.
- Write down your speaking and writing answers: A common challenge in speaking and writing exams is knowing what to say, even in English. Preparing ideas in advance helps avoid hesitation on the day of the exam. Creating a document with a bank of questions and answers will benefit you in both speaking and writing exams. You don't need to memorise answers word for word, but being familiar with your ideas can boost your confidence and performance.
GCSE Spanish Tutors
With tutors based in London and available online to families around the world, Keystone is one of the UK鈥檚 leading private tutoring organisations. Find out more about our GCSE Spanish Tutors and IGCSE Spanish Tutors.