All About Me: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Note
Exam code: 8692
The topic of ‘all about me’ 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.
All about me: listening
In the listening exam you will need to answer in English. You need to understand the Spanish information you hear and respond by writing words or phrases in English. Here is a question to practise this.
Worked Example
Vicente is talking about himself. Answer the questions in English.
1. How old is he?
2. What is his nationality?
3. What colour are his eyes?
4. How does he describe his hair? (give two details)
Answers:
The correct answers are:
15 (quince)
Spanish (español)
blue (azules)
long and black (largo y negro)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Be careful to include the correct number of details as indicated by the question and number of marks, like in question 4.
All about me: speaking
In part 2 of the speaking exam, you will read aloud a text and answer four unprepared questions based on the topic of the text. Here are some sentences for you to practise reading aloud on the topic of 'all about me'.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Use the preparation time in the exam to identify tricky sounds and mentally rehearse the text.
Worked Example
Read aloud these sentences in Spanish.
Me llamo Daniel.
Soy un poco gordo.
Tengo los ojos verdes y el pelo gris.
Soy británico.
Answer:
You should have pronounced the [ll] sound correctly in me llamo
All about me: reading
In the reading exam there are questions where you need to select the correct statements from multiple options. It is very important to read the questions and the text carefully, as some information will be included as a distractor. Here is a question to help you practise this.
Worked Example
Ana is talking about herself. Which two statements are true?
Me llamo Ana y tengo dieciséis años. Tengo los ojos marrones y el pelo rubio. Soy alemana. No soy alta, soy bastante pequeña.
Ana is seventeen.
Ana has brown hair.
Ana has brown eyes.
Ana is German.
Ana is tall.
Answer:
The correct answers are:
Ana has brown eyes. Tengo los ojos marrones.
Ana is German. Soy alemana.
Spotting why the other answers are wrong can also help identify the correct answers:
Ana is seventeen is incorrect. Ana says ‘Tengo dieciséis años’, which means she is sixteen. ‘Seventeen’ would be ‘diecisiete’.
Ana has brown hair is incorrect. ‘El pelo rubio’ means ‘blond/fair hair’.
Ana is tall is also incorrect. Ana says ‘No soy alta’, which means ‘I am not tall’ - be careful with negatives!
All about me: writing
In the Foundation writing exam you need to complete a gap fill task which is based on your knowledge of grammar, such as verb forms or adjective agreements. Here is a question to help you practise this.
Worked Example
Choose the correct word from the three options.
Tengo unos gatos …………………… .
blanca | blanco | blancos |
Answer:
The correct answer is blancos. The sentence means ‘I have some white cats’.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
When choosing the correct form of an adjective, ask yourself these three things:
Is the noun masculine or feminine? (‘cat’ is masculine in Spanish)
Is the noun singular or plural? (the word unos - 'some'- and the -s ending tell us that this is a plural noun)
Which adjective ending reflects the correct number and gender? (masculine plural adjectives end in -os, whereas -o is for masculine singular and -a is for feminine singular)
Worked Example
Choose the correct word from the three options.
Hay tres …………………… en casa.
animal | animals | animales |
The correct answer is animales. The sentence means ‘There are three animals at home'.
Spanish nouns ending in a consonant like animal add -es to form their plural.
Mi madre tiene …………………… pelo rubio.
el | la | los |
The correct answer is el. The sentence means ‘My mum has blond hair'.
Pelo is a masculine singular noun, so the plural article el is correct. Los is for masculine plural nouns and la is for feminine singular nouns.
Higher tier
In the writing exam, you need to translate five English sentences into Spanish. There are two marks per sentence. This question will help you to practise translating into Spanish, focusing on Higher tier-only vocabulary.
Here are some tips:
Translate meaning, but don't translate word-for-word
Check tenses carefully
Look out for false friends
Check if nouns are singular or plural
Worked Example
Translate these sentences into Spanish.
I have a red bird.
I am not Latin American.
I live in a Spanish-speaking country.
I am fifteen years old.
Answers:
Tengo un pájaro rojo.
No soy latino/latina.
Vivo en un país hispanohablante.
Tengo quince años.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember to use tengo to give your age in Spanish, not soy or estoy.
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