Spanish Department

¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?
Muy bien, gracias. Me gusta estudiar español!

SPAIN


Full country name: Spain

Area: 505,000 sq km
Population: 42.7 million
Capital City: Madrid

People: Castilians, Basques, Catalans, Galicians, Moroccans, South Americans
Language: Catalan, Basque, Gallegan, Spanish
Religion: 85% Roman Catholic; 2% Jewish; 2% Muslim

Government: parliamentary monarchy
Head of State: King Juan Carlos I
Head of Government: President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

Major Industries: Textiles & apparel, food & beverages, metals, chemicals, shipbuilding, tourism
Major Trading Partners: EU (especially France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, UK, Benelux), US

Member of EU: Yes

Once away from the holiday costas, you could only be in Spain. In the cities, narrow twisting old streets suddenly open out to views of daring modern architecture, while spit-and-sawdust bars serving wine from the barrel rub shoulders with blaring, glaring discos.
Travel is easy, accommodation plentiful, the climate benign, the people relaxed, the beaches long and sandy, the food and drink easy to come by and full of regional variety. More than 50 million foreigners a year visit Spain, yet you can also travel for days and hear nothing but Spanish.
Geographically, Spain's diversity is immense. There are endless tracts of wild and crinkled sierra to explore, as well as some spectacularly rugged stretches of coast between the beaches.
Culturally, the country is littered with superb old buildings, from Roman aqueducts and Islamic palaces to Gothic cathedrals. Almost every second village has a medieval castle. Spain has been the home of some of the world's great artists â€" El Greco, Velázquez, Goya, Picasso, Dalí â€" and has museums and galleries to match. The country vibrates with music of every kind â€"from the drama of flamenco to the melancholy lyricism of the Celtic music and gaitas (bagpipes) of the northwest.



Using accents on the computer

HOLD ALT KEY DOWN AND WITH NUM LOCK ON
[USE THE NUMERIC KEYPAD]

FRENCH        SPANISH
Ç    [128]    ü    [129]
é    [130]    é    [130]
â    [131]    É    [144]
à    [133]    Ü    [154]
ç    [135]    á    [160]
ê    [136]    í    [161]
è    [138]    ó    [162]
î    [140]    ú    [163]
É    [144]    ñ    [164]
ô    [147]    Ñ    [165]
û    [150]    º    [167]
ù    [151]    ¿    [168]
                    ¡    [173]
                   «    [174]


Essential Spanish Phrases

Outside the classroom



Inside the classroom

Sentaos       -       Sit down
Levantaos       -     Stand up
Escuchad la cinta  -  Listen to the tape
Escuchad     -        Listen
Cerrad los libros  -  Shut your books
Escribid       -      Write
Abrid los libros   -   Open your books
Mirad          -       Look
Dejad de escribir  - Stop writing
Leed         -         Read
Sacad las cosas  -   Get out your equipment
Silencio        -      Silence
Guardad las cosas - Pack away
Parad      -          Stop
Levantad la mano  - Put your hand up
Dibujad      -       Draw
Escribid los deberes - Write down your homework
Repetid      -        Repeat


Hablando con el Profesor


Spanish trips


There is possibly nothing better for learning a language than actually being in the country and talking to native speakers. With this in mind, the Spanish Department at St Monicas has set up an annual trip to Spain, giving pupils the opportunity to profit from speaking with Spanish natives and experiencing life in Spain. An exchange with Tarrogona is also available for year 10 students.



Topics covered at KS3 (Years 7-9)


All pupils study Modern Foreign Languages throughout their time at St Monicas. At the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9), pupils then choose which language(s) they wish to continue until GCSE (end of Key Stage 4). Below is a list of the topics covered during Key Stage 3:


MODULE 1    ¡Bienvenidos!          Hello
MODULE 2    Tù y yo                   Family
MODULE 3    Vamos al instituto    The Timetable
MODULE 4    En Casa                  At Home
MODULE 5    Mi Puebo                 In Town
MODULE 6    El tiempo libre          Hobbies
MODULE 7    Nos Presentamos      Introducting Ourselves
MODULE 8    La Comida                Food and Drink
MODULE 9    De Compras             Shopping
MODULE 10    La Salud                 Health
MODULE 11    El Turismo              Holidays
MODULE 12    Diviértete               Going Out
MODULE 13                                  La salud