Spanish
Speaking Spanish can open a door to a whole new world! Spanish is one of the Modern Languages offered at AESG; it is a wonderful language to learn and is always a very popular choice with our students. Pupils will not only become confident in their ability to communicate in Spanish, but will also learn about the vibrant culture of Spain and the Spanish-speaking world. There are some great opportunities to take part in educational trips – in recent years we have visited Madrid and Barcelona to experience the culture, food, art and of course the sunshine of these fabulous Spanish cities.
We are very pleased with our excellent examination results in recent years:
97% of girls have achieved grades A* - C for their GCSE in Spanish and 49% achieved grades A* or A.
At A level all our students have achieved grades A* - C and 64% achieved grade A.
At A level we study a variety of relevant and thought provoking themes such as balancing work and leisure; marriage versus cohabitation; the influence of music on identity; climate change; racism. In the Upper Sixth we also look at two aspects of Hispanic culture such as literature, theatre, poetry and film. Students continue to work on linguistic structures and grammar and gain a command of the language such that they can write and speak with fluency on a whole variety of subjects.
Languages combine well with other arts subjects and also with science subjects. Having a good working knowledge of another language is a real advantage when applying for university and also a future career. Several of our A level students choose to continue studying Spanish at university. Some have combined Spanish with another Modern Foreign Language whilst other students have taken courses such as ‘Spanish with Business Studies’ or ‘Management with Spanish’.
Fascinating FactsFascinating Facts
- Spanish is one of the world’s major languages with as many first language speakers as English.
- By 2050 the number of Spanish speakers world wide is expected to increase to 530 million, with the Spanish speaking population of the USA alone currently increasing at more than 1 million a year.
- Fútbol is the most popular spectator sport in Spain. Fans often crowd homes and local bars to watch important matches.
- In Spain, people eat lunch at around 2 pm, and dinner at 9-10 pm.
- Spanish is by no means the only language spoken in Spain. Some other languages are Catalan, Valencian, Galician, and the Basque language.
- Spain has one of the most diverse landscapes and climates in Europe. The region of AlmerÃa in the South East resembles a desert in places, while the North West in winter can expect rain around 20 days out of every month.
- Bullfighting is considered an art as well as a sport and popular attraction. It is also the biggest and most controversial sport in Spain and is an integral part of Spanish history, art and culture with bull rings in many major cities.
- There are no tooth fairies in Spain. Instead, there is a tooth mouse named Ratoncito Pérez.
- The popular Spanish drink sangrÃa is named because of its blood-red colour. The word in Spanish for blood is sangre.