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.
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.
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.
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.
Unless I am reading this wrong, in the AQA Spanish A level exam the gap fill exercises seem to focus on literary texts. Gap fill activities always seem to have traps in them and they do like to use an expression or two. Getting the students to focus on the types of words listed is key + then to work out the possibilities. If one of the possible answers is an adjective does the gap require masculine, feminine, etc? If a verb is needed which tense etc? I try to get my students to do this before filling the gaps telling them that there are always more words than gaps and the extra words might be trying to catch them out.
With Year 11 students not taking their GCSE exams this summer amid the impact of Covid19, getting them ready for A level studies from September is problematic. Like may other schools we are putting together transition packs. Getting the balance between engaging them to do some work and taking it to the next level is clearly important. I don’t want to put them off! Attached is what I have put together so far. We are doing two booklets and this is the first. I have borrowed ideas from some other people who have posted their resources online, but this is mostly my own work. Students work through the three tasks independently.
To try and keep my blog going (see previous post re: increase in blog costs), I have posted a group of resources on the TES website. I don’t want to charge much and have kept the price low. My aim has always been to share my resources for free and I will use the money (if I get any!!!) from the TES to keep this blog going.
I am updating some of my resources for the Monarquías y Dictaduras section of the A level Spanish course. I have decided to add something in about the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valle de los Caídos nearly four and a half decades after his burial. So, attached is a simple resource – just a video followed by a reading comprehension. I like the video because of the subtitles which make it more accessible + it provides a clear picture of the events.