Spanish

The transition between Year 11 and Year 12 is quite a smooth one, but there are things that you can do to get a head start on the A Level course.

Grammar:
Make really good use of www.languagesonline.org.uk When you access it, click on Español, then Grammar, and work through the tenses and grammar points. You should make notes on the explanations and have a go at all of the activities that follow, to get some good practice. If you can keep all of your grammar explanations in one place (a specific Grammar exercise book for example), this will become a useful resource for you throughout the A level course, and you can build on this over time.

Film Study:
The film that we will be studying is Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno). I would really recommend that you buy and watch the film before the course starts, though we will of course be watching and studying it in great detail throughout the A level course. You can buy the film here: Pan's Labyrinth [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: 

There is also a study guide associated with the film:
Modern Languages Study Guides: Film Study Guide for AS/A-level Spanish Amazon.co.uk Books

Again, if you have watched the film and read the study guide before the start of the course, you will feel that you’ve made a real head start on the course.

Cultural Studies:
In the A Level course, you will need to develop an interest in reading the news in Spanish, so why not start this now? Read BBC Mundo and make notes on what you think the story is about. If you then look on BBC News, you might find the same story in English on there, and so you can check your understanding of the Spanish text.
Listen to some Spanish and Latin American music- find singers or groups that you like listening to. Is there a specific Spanish music style that you enjoy? We’ll be looking at Spanish music in Year 12, so coming in to that with some existing knowledge would be a real advantage.

Art:
We’ll be looking at Spanish/Latin American art throughout the course, so do some research into Salvador Dalí, Frida Kahlo, Joan Miró, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso- Start to develop opinions on artists and their work. Research what influenced their work, and see if you can see that reflected in their paintings.

Vocabulary:
There is a great Memrise course for essay phrases: https://www.memrise.com/course/512695/palabra-por-palabra-31/
You do not need to do the whole course, just choose chapters that will be useful to you at the moment, but there are some great phrases on there for adding authenticity and quality to your essays.