Role Models: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Note

Transcribe the sentences you hear in Spanish.

[8 marks]

H Only

[10 marks]

Answers:

1. ¿Qué haces?

   Uses the interrogative ¿Qué?
   

2. ¿Quién es el modelo a seguir?

   Uses the interrogative pronoun ¿Quién? and core vocabulary modelo a seguir
   

3. Pienso que es un cantante alegre.

   Uses vocabulary cantante (singer) and alegre (cheerful)
   

4. ¿Cómo es su comportamiento positivo?

   Uses the interrogative ¿Cómo? and core vocabulary comportamiento positivo

H Only

5. La actriz ganó un concurso en Sudamérica el año pasado.
   Uses Higher-Tier vocabulary (actriz) and refers to a time frame other than the present (Preterite: ganó).

Remember that at Foundation Tier you transcribe 4 sentences and at Higher Tier 5 sentences.

Foundation Tier

Read aloud the following text in Spanish.

Mi modelo a seguir es mi madre. Ella es muy trabajadora y responsable. Usa su fama para apoyar a mucha gente en mi comunidad.
No me gusta cuando los famosos roban o tienen comportamiento negativo.

Possible conversation questions:

1. ¿Quién es tu persona famosa favorita y por qué? (Who's your favourite person and why?)

2. ¿Qué famosos crees que ayudan más a las personas en su comunidad? (What celebrities do you think help more the people in their community?)

3. ¿Qué opinas de la fama? (What do you think about fame?)

4. ¿Qué vas a hacer para ser más activo en el futuro? (What are you going to do to be more proactive in the future?)

Answer:

1. Mi persona famosa favorita es un cantante. Pienso que es muy simpático y activo. Me gusta porque es trabajador y apoya a mucha gente.

   English Translation: My favourite famous person is a singer . I think that he is very nice and friendly and active. I like him because he is hardworking and supports a lot of people.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses opinion verbs (Pienso que, Me gusta)

• Includes two positive adjectives (simpático y activo)

• Develops the answer using porque to give a reason

2. Creo que los famosos que ayudan a la gente pobre en su comunidad son modelos positivos. Deben usar su influencia para apoyar a los niños o a los ancianos.

   English translation: I believe that the celebrities who help poor people in their community are positive role models. They must use their influence to support children or elderly people.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses the verb ayudar (to help) and key vocabulary like comunidad and modelos positivos

• The modal verb deben (They must) is suitable for expressing expectations about responsibility

3. Pienso que la fama tiene ventajas y desventajas. Me gusta porque puedes ganar mucho dinero y viajar a otros países. Pero, a veces la presión es un problema y pueden criticar a la gente.

   English translation: I think that fame has advantages and disadvantages. I like it because you can earn a lot of money and travel to other countries. But, sometimes the pressure is a problem and they can criticise people.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses a balanced opinion (advantages/disadvantages)

• Employs the verb poder (can) to talk about possibilities (puedes ganar)

• Uses the negative concept criticar (to criticise) and presión

4. Voy a ser más activo. Voy a ir al gimnasio con mis amigos dos veces a la semana. También, voy a correr más para estar sano y mejorar.

   English translation: I am going to be more active. I am going to go to the gym with my friends twice a week. Also, I am going to run more in order to be healthy and improve.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses the essential near future tense (Voy a ir, Voy a correr) which is fundamental at this level

• Includes clear actions using frequency phrases (dos veces a la semana) and the aim (para estar sano)

Higher Tier

Read aloud the following text in Spanish.

Pienso que la fama puede ser muy peligrosa porque la gente famosa es un modelo a seguir para los jóvenes. Por ejemplo, un periodista conocido robó un coche la semana pasada. Los jóvenes que ven este comportamiento negativo pueden ser afectados. Me gustaría ser una actriz para promover causas importantes en el futuro.

Possible conversation questions:

1. ¿Cuáles son las ventajas de ser famoso? (What are the advantages of being famous?)

2. Describe un comportamiento positivo que viste recientemente. (Describe a positive behaviour you've seen recently)

3. ¿Qué harías si tuvieras riqueza e influencia? (What would you do if you had riches and influence?)

4. ¿Qué piensas sobre la fama y la riqueza? (What do you think about fame and being rich?)

Answer:

1. Las ventajas son que puedes viajar a otros países y puedes ganar mucho dinero. Pienso que la fama da muchas oportunidades.

   English translation: The advantages are that you can travel to other countries and you can earn a lot of money. I think that fame gives many opportunities.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses the plural interrogative (¿Cuáles?)

• Employs the modal verb poder (puedes ganar) to express ability or possibility

• Includes key vocabulary like oportunidad (opportunity)

• The response includes multiple details, characteristic of developed Higher Tier responses

2. Mi modelo a seguir es una actriz. Ella construyó muchos edificios en Sudamérica el año pasado. Además, hizo un gran esfuerzo para apoyar a mucha gente en su comunidad.

   English translation: My role model is an actress. She built many buildings in South America last year. Also, she made a great effort to support a lot of people in her community.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses the preterite tense (hizo, construyó) to describe specific completed past actions

• Includes Higher Tier vocabulary such as actriz

• Uses vocabulary related to positive, proactive behaviour, including construir (to build), apoyar (to support), and esfuerzo (effort)

• Includes the cultural/geographical item Sudamérica

3. Si tuviera más riqueza, me gustaría usar mi influencia para promover la solidaridad. Construiría organizaciones para ayudar a los jóvenes y así combatiría la violencia.

   English translation: If I had more wealth, I would like to use my influence to promote solidarity. I would build organizations to help young people and thus I would fight violence.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses the conditional tense (me gustaría, construiría) in conjunction with the imperfect subjunctive (si tuviera) for hypothetical situations. This complex structure is expected at the Higher Tier level

• Employs the multi-word complex fixed phrase me gustaría + infinitive to convey wishes

• Incorporates abstract and topic-specific vocabulary, such as riqueza (wealth), influencia, promover (to promote) , organización (organization), and violencia (violence)

4. Pienso que la riqueza no es siempre positiva, aunque puedes tener más libertad. La fama puede ser peligrosa porque a veces lleva a un comportamiento perezoso, como robar.

   English translation: I think that wealth is not always positive, although you can have more freedom . Fame can be dangerous because sometimes it leads to lazy behaviour, like stealing.

Targeted language focus:

• Uses the connector aunque (although) to demonstrate a balanced and complex opinion

• Integrates abstract concepts like riqueza (wealth), fama (fame), and libertad (freedom)

• Includes topic-specific negative vocabulary related to comportamiento (behaviour), such as perezoso (lazy), robar (to steal), and peligroso (dangerous)

• Develops the opinion using a conjunction of cause (porque)

• Remember that even if you can't think of an answer in the moment, they don't need to be truthful. Make it up!

Foundation Tier

Translate this text into English.

1. Mi modelo a seguir es mi padre.

2. Pienso que su comportamiento es siempre positivo.

3. Le gusta apoyar a mucha gente en mi comunidad.

4. Quiero ser como él en el futuro.

[10 marks]

Answer:

1. My role model is my father.

2. I think that his behaviour is always positive.

3. He likes to support a lot of people in my community.

4. I want to be like him in the future.

Translation tips

• Overall strategy

Translate meaning, not words: Your English answer must convey the core idea fully. Break the sentence into smaller pieces (elements) and ensure you translate every part, as missing elements will lose marks.

• Vocabulary

Know core nouns: Accurately translate topic-specific nouns like modelo a seguir (role model), comportamiento (behaviour), and comunidad (community).

• Verbs & tense

Master the present tense: Ensure you are fluent in translating simple present tense verbs (es, pienso).

Identify intentions: Correctly translate intention phrases, such as Quiero ser as "I want to be" or "I want to become".

• Grammar

Handling Gusta: Be careful with Le gusta (He likes). Ensure the subject of the liking is clear in your English translation.

Higher Tier

Translate this text into English.

1. Si es posible, me gustaría ser un actor.

2. Los actores y las actrices ganan mucho dinero, aunque la fama puede ser peligrosa.

3. Un periodista famoso robó un coche la semana pasada. Esto es un ejemplo de comportamiento negativo.

4. Pienso que es difícil vivir una vida normal sin ser constantemente criticado.

5. Afortunadamente, mi actriz favorita acababa de promover una causa social.

[10 marks]

Answer:

1. If possible, I would like to be an actor.

2. Actors and actresses earn a lot of money, although fame can be dangerous.

3. A famous journalist stole a car last week. This is an example of negative behaviour.

4. I think that it is difficult to live a normal life without being constantly criticised.

5. Fortunately, my favourite actress had just promoted a social cause.

Translation tips

1. Recognising tenses: It is crucial to distinguish between past tenses, such as identifying the preterite tense used for single, completed past actions, such as robó ("stole"). This ensures accuracy when translating specific past events related to negative behaviour.

2. Using advanced vocabulary: Ensure accurate translation of specialised Higher Tier vocabulary, including job titles like actriz ("actress") and periodista ("journalist"), as well as concepts such as comportamiento negativo ("negative behaviour").

3. Handling complexity: Demonstrate linguistic range by accurately translating multi-verb structures. For example, the phrase acababa de promover ("had just promoted") uses the complex structure acabar de + infinitive, which is a specific multi-word expression required for the Higher Tier curriculum.

Choose the correct word from the three options to complete the sentence.

1. ______ es tu famoso favorito?

   ¿Qué? / ¿Quién? / ¿Cómo?

2. El actor es muy _________.

   perezosa / perezoso / perezosos

3. Las cantantes son __________.

   alegre / alegra / alegres

4. ¿__________ ventajas hay de ser modelo?

   ¿Cuál? / ¿Cuánto? / ¿Cuántas?

5. ______ te gusta criticar?

   ¿Quién? / ¿A quién? / ¿Qué?

[5 marks]

Answer:

1. ¿Quién? (Who?)

2. perezoso (lazy)

3. alegres (happy / cheerful)

4. ¿Cuántas? (How many?)

5. ¿A quién? (To whom?)

Write an opinion piece for a Spanish website about celebrity culture. Write approximately 150 words in Spanish. You must write something about both bullet points.

• The main disadvantages of being famous

• A positive role model you admire and how they inspire you

[25 marks]

Answer:

La fama tiene muchas desventajas que pueden afectar la vida personal. Pienso que los famosos no tienen privacidad y es terrible que no puedan salir a la calle sin ser criticados. Además, a veces, la riqueza es una cosa negativa porque lleva a un comportamiento malo y perezoso, como robar o hacer trampas.

Mi modelo a seguir es [Name], que es [Job]. Me inspira mucho porque siempre apoya causas sociales. Es una persona muy responsable y ha construido muchos edificios en [Country] para ayudar a las personas pobres. Si tuviera más dinero, me gustaría apoyar proyectos como él en el futuro. Es importante que los modelos a seguir promuevan la solidaridad y no solo su propia imagen.

English translation

Fame (fama) has many disadvantages (desventajas) that can affect (afectar) personal life (vida personal). I think that famous people (famosos) do not have privacy (privado) and it is terrible that they cannot go out into the street (calle) without being criticised (criticados). Also (Además), sometimes, wealth (riqueza) is a negative thing because it leads to bad and lazy (perezoso) behaviour (comportamiento), such as stealing (robar) or cheating.

My role model (modelo a seguir) is [Name], who is [Job]. He/She inspires me a lot because he/she always supports (apoya) social causes (causas sociales). He/She is a very responsible (responsable) person and has built (ha construido) many buildings (edificios) in [Country] to help poor people. If I had (Si tuviera) more money (dinero), I would like (me gustaría) to support (apoyar) projects (proyectos) like him/her in the future (futuro). It is important that role models promote (promuevan) solidarity (solidaridad) and not only their own image (imagen).

• Why it would achieve high marks: The response addresses both bullets and conveys a lot of information, developing ideas with reasons (porque/ya que). It demonstrates use of complex language (conditional: me gustaría; imperfect subjunctive: Si tuviera; relative pronoun: que) and includes vocabulary specific to negative and positive behaviour related to fame.

Be a grammar detective: Before selecting an answer, decide exactly what the sentence is missing:

• Is it an adjective that needs to agree with the noun? (e.g., perezoso or alegres)

• Is it a question word (Interrogative)? (e.g., ¿Qué? or ¿Quién?), which is the specific grammar focus for the Role Models topic

• Is it a key verb form or pronoun?

Apply the agreement checklist: If the missing word is an adjective or noun (like cantante or actriz), use this quick checklist to pick the right option:

• Gender: Is the noun masculine (-o) or feminine (-a)?

• Number: Is the noun singular (one thing) or plural (ends in -s)?

• Match: Choose the option that matches the noun perfectly in both gender and number

Check the logic and context: Read the completed sentence, even with the gaps filled in.

• Interrogatives: If you are choosing a question word, ensure the choice makes logical sense. For example, use ¿Quién? (Who?) for a person or ¿Cuántas? (How many?) for quantity (¿Cuántas ventajas...?)

• Context: Does the chosen word fit the rest of the sentence's meaning?

Accuracy is everything

• Aim for perfection: Since this task is only 5 marks, any error is highly penalised. Focus entirely on accuracy

• Accents: Watch out for accents on question words (e.g., ¿Qué? vs que) and other required accents, as incorrect use can impact your mark