Hobbies: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Note
Exam code: 8692
The topic of ‘hobbies’ can appear in any of the exams - you might be asked to speak or write about yourself, or understand information about others. Let’s use the vocabulary, grammar and phonics we have seen so far to take a closer look at some typical exam questions and how you might tackle them.
Hobbies: listening
In the listening exam, there will be some multiple-choice questions where you need to select a certain number of correct answers from all of the options provided. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word that you hear - just listen out for key words. Here is a question to practise this.
Worked Example
What does each person do for their hobby? Write the correct letter for each person.
A | photography |
B | cooking |
C | reading |
D | dancing |
E | fashion |
F | drawing |
Answers:
E
Me encanta la moda y siempre compro ropa nueva.
C
Leo mucho. Tengo un montón de libros en casa.
F
Me gusta el arte. Soy miembro de un club de dibujo.
A
Saco muchas fotos de mis amigos y mis animales.
Hobbies: speaking
In part 2 of the speaking exam, you will read aloud a text and have a short conversation based on the topic of the text. Here is a question to practise both elements of this task - reading aloud and answering questions on the topic of hobbies.
Worked Example
Read aloud the following sentences in Spanish.
Me gustaría aprender a tocar la guitarra.
El fin de semana pasado descansé en casa.
Hacemos deporte al aire libre.
Hay un club de música en el colegio.
Le gusta escribir sobre sus intereses.
Answers:
You should have stressed the accented vowels
You should have pronounced the [gui] sound correctly
You should have remembered that the letter 'h' is silent in Spanish
Answer all four questions as fully as you can.
¿Te gusta leer?
¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
¿Qué no te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
¿Qué hiciste ayer después del colegio?
Answers:
Me encanta leer porque es interesante.
Me gusta salir con mis amigos.
No me gusta ir al cine porque es muy aburrido.
Escuché música en mi habitación.
I love reading because it is interesting.
I like going out with my friends.
I don’t like going to the cinema because it is very boring.
I listened to music in my room.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You can add more detail by explaining your opinions. Identify the opinions and explanations in the responses above.
Hobbies: reading
In the reading exam, you will need to identify key information from longer passages. Remember that you don’t need to understand every word. Here is a question to practise this.
Worked Example
Read the text about hobbies and answer the questions in English.
¡Todo el mundo debe hacer algo interesante en su tiempo libre! Participar en actividades o deportes ayuda a relajarse y a conocer a nuevos amigos. Por ejemplo, escuchar música o tocar un instrumento puede reducir el estrés. Hoy en día, muchos jóvenes pasan demasiado tiempo con el móvil, por lo tanto, es muy importante encontrar una actividad sin usar pantallas. Es mejor salir con amigos y es más divertido que hablar en línea.
What two things do sports or activities help you to do? [2 marks]
What two things can reduce stress? [2 marks]
What do young people spend too much time doing? [1 mark]
What activity is suggested for young people? [1 mark]
Answers:
relax, meet new friends
ayuda a relajarse y a conocer a nuevos amigos
listening to music, playing an instrument
escuchar música o tocar un instrumento puede reducir el estrés
on / using their phone
demasiado tiempo con el móvil
going out with friends
es mejor salir con amigos
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Questions 1 and 2 require two details, as they are worth two marks. Always check carefully how much information is required.
Hobbies: writing
In the writing paper, there will be one question where you need to write a 90-word response guided by bullet points. The same question will appear on both Foundation and Higher papers.
Worked Example
You are emailing your Swiss friend about your hobbies.
Write approximately 90 words in Spanish.
Mention:
Why it is important to have hobbies
A hobby you have done recently
A hobby you would like to try in future
Answer:
Here is an example response of 91 words.
En mi opinión es muy importante disfrutar del tiempo libre y relajarse, porque a veces hay mucho estrés en la vida. Mis amigos y yo tenemos los mismos intereses y hacemos muchas cosas juntos, pienso que es muy divertido.
La semana pasada di un paseo con mi familia y nuestro perro, ¡pero hacía frío! También fuimos de compras en el centro de la ciudad.
En el futuro, me gustaría aprender a tocar un instrumento, porque me gusta escuchar música y cantar. Creo que hay un club de música en el colegio.
In my opinion, it is very important to enjoy free time and relax, because sometimes there is a lot of stress in life. My friends and I have the same interests and do many things together, I think it is a lot of fun.
Last week, I went for a walk with my family and our dog, but it was cold! We also went shopping in the city centre.
In the future, I would like to learn to play an instrument because I like listening to music and singing. I think that there is a music club at school.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This paragraph includes:
a range of tenses to match the bullet points
different subjects - ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘it’
a range of conjunctions - porque, pero, también
different opinion phrases - en mi opinión, pienso que, me gustaría
Check that your answer includes a variety of language and that you have written something about each bullet point. Look at the response above to identify where each bullet point is covered.
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