Thanks to a comment on the blog I have been reminded that I was going to post a booklet on translating from English into Spanish (A level AQA). As there is very limited space left on this blog, I have posted it on the TES site – for free. It is based on past paper translations as well as those from the specimen papers. The AQA way of dealing with translation into Spanish does require a bit of technique and practice esp. using the text provided successfully. Hope this is of use.

LINK TO BOOKLET: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/a-level-translation-from-english-into-spanish-aqa-12372954

Guerrero, Una Vida, Muchas Batallas (Warrior, One Life Many Battles) is a short film covering the life of Manuel Guerrero Ceballos and his son also called Manuel (Guerrero Antequera). Manuel Guerrero was the head of the Teacher’s Union in Chile under Pinochet. Along with two others, Manuel Guerrero was murdered in what became known as Caso Degollados (Slit-throat Case). Stories like these are powerful and I wanted to use the film trailer so my students could see the impact of dictatorship at a family level. I could probably develop this further, but for the moment I have made two translation tasks which can be downloaded below.

WORKSHEET: El Caso Degollados TRANSLATION INTO SPANISH + ENGLISH

I have been putting things together so that I can do revision of topics that were covered during lockdown – I will want to pop back to some of them as we move through the first term. One part of this is a resource based on an interview with the Venezuelan trans producer ARCA. I have also taken the opportunity to take a look at suffixes in Spanish. When you see the resources you will see how I have shoehorned that in!

WARNING – You may not want to show too much of the video. I’m only showing the bit up to where the lyrics end on the worksheet.

POWERPOINT: You can download the PPT from the TES resources website – the file is too large for this blog + I’m still saving up to pay for more space on here. I’m halfway there!

WORKSHEETS: SUFFIXES ENTREVISTA CON ARCA KiCk i

The idea of using the video for the song SOY YO by Bomba Estéro has been commented on by other people with blogs sharing resources. I used it with my Year 7 to add a bit of variety to our lessons and to give them some cultural input. We watched the video first WITHOUT the sound and we tried to describe what was happening. This was obviously very much led by me and they were agreeing or not with what I was saying (thumbs up / down). They had been introduced to the verb SER already, so we were trying to describe the personality of people we saw. We then looked at the written description and picked that apart before watching the video again. With older students you might then take a look at the lyrics, but this would have been a step too far for my lot.

POWERPOINT: THE VERB SER + BOMBA ESTERO

I’m not normally one for promoting companies via my blog, but ….. A few months ago we had a theatre group come in to perform to our Year 10. It was great! We will have them in again. However, what is even greater (!) is their venture into making films for language learning. Years ago we used to have some great things produced by the BBC and Channel 4 for leaning Spanish (Aventura vascas, etc.), but they have all disappeared. Now the same company that does the theatre productions is making films which I think are great. Their website is www.onattifilms.com. We are about to take out a subscription + plan to embed some of the resources into our schemes of learning. 

I am almost out of space on this blog, so while I save up for the upgrade, I’m posting on the TES website. On the link below you will find a reading resource for A level Spanish in the topic area of Jóvenes de hoy – ciudadanos del mañana. It focuses on a Spanish street artist (Pejac) and how this art form can be used as a means of social protest.

LINK: www.tes.com/teaching-resource/reading-pejac-y-el-arte-urbano-12328101

For more information on Pejac, visit his website – http://www.pejac.es

As I explained in a post a week or two ago, we are trying to prepare our Year 11 students for their A level studies from September. We are putting together transition packs, but are doing this in two phases. Attached is the work I have created for phase 2. I really want to get the balance right between engaging them to do some work and pushing them beyond GCSE while at the same time not putting anyone off taking the subject! Not sure whether I’ve managed it here, but you can adapt it yourselves to your own context. Students work through the three tasks independently.

TASK 1 – Sentence structure /grammatical accuracy (using Duolingo). The activities are quick to do + focus them on a range of grammar and sentence structure exercises.

TASK 2 – Cultural awareness (- exposure to Spanish language music and culture). The Bomba Estero song “Soy yo” has a great video and message.

TASK 3 – Vocabulary development + conceptual awareness (- the how and why of things). Hopefully this gets them to engage with authentic texts but in a gradual, step by step way.

BOOKLET: Step Up – SPANISH A LEVEL 2 v2

Although translation can easily be embedded into teaching, I find that it is important to take a period of time to focus on the skills involved. Attached is a booklet I have put together which is made up of all of the AQA translations into English from recent past papers. I find that pulling everything together from a certain task type helps to focus the students on the skills needed and also helps me as a teacher to spot trends.

BOOKLET: TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH (updated to include 2020 paper)

I have also produced a booklet for translation from English into Spanish, but there is not enough space on the blog to upload it at the moment. If you are able to support so I can pay for more space, I would be most grateful. I don’t feel comfortable asking this, and I have always funded the blog myself, but the package to get more space is a significant jump in cost. If you want to buy a pack of resources I have put on the TES Resources website, I would be really grateful, as I am going to use whatever funds I get from that to pay for the blog upgrade.

LINK: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/racismo-a2-spanish-resources-12313821

Another update to my resources on the Spanish A level topic of Franco y su dictadura, but somewhat left of field. I was watching a BBC documentary in which they mentioned that there was some controversy when Spain participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968. It was alleged that the contest was rigged by “el Caudillo”, who sent state television officials across Europe offering cash and promising to buy television series and contract unknown artists in other participating countries in return for their votes. The UK came second by one vote that year. Whether or not this is true, it is an interesting stories and it lends itself pretty well to an A level summary task which is posted below.

WORKSHEET: Franco y el Festival de Eurovisión