Listening is one of the harder skills to revise when you are preparing for your Spanish GCSE. There may be a long period of time between your last class and the actual exam. How can you continue practising listening to Spanish at home? I have put together a few tips to help build your confidence in listening to Spanish.
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1. Listen to Spanish every day
Try to find a way to include Spanish in your everyday routine. You may enjoy listening to a Spanish podcast or watching a Spanish YouTube channel. Listening to music is also a great way to train yourself to listen to Spanish. This lyrics trainer is a great way to start. You do not necessarily have to understand every word of what you hear. Instead try to pick out words that you do know. Over time this will help you get used to listening to Spanish.
2. Past Papers
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Your exam board will have listening past papers with audio on their website. This is a really great resource for revision. When you feel ready, why not try to complete one of these papers. You will also find the audio transcript which you can use afterwards to see if there was anything that you missed. Practising with real papers will also help you to become more familiar with the format of the exam and the types of questions to expect. This will help you to feel more confident and calm on the day of your exam.
3. Numbers
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Knowing your Spanish numbers will help you in all areas of you Spanish GCSE, including the listening exam. You may only have had one or two lessons on numbers, perhaps quite early on in your journey to learning Spanish. Make sure you familiarise yourself with numbers, dates and times. Flashcards and games can be really effective for this.
4. Vocabulary
The better your grasp of Spanish vocabulary, the more words you will be able to pick out during the listening exam. The process of listening in a foreign language is essentially one of “filling in the gaps”. You use the words you know, in connection with the context, to make sense of what is being said.
The good thing about Spanish GCSE is that the vocabulary you need to know is very specific. You will find a full list of all the words you need on the exam board website. Focus on becoming familiar with as many of these as you can. This will boost your listening skills. Check out my top tips for boosting your vocabulary for more advice on increasing your Spanish knowledge.
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5. Get Access to Listening Exercises
There are many other listening practice exercises available for you to use to revise. BBC Bitesize has a really helpful range of listening examples for you to practice with. You can also ask your Spanish tutor or teacher if they can give you access to the resources they use for teaching listening. The more different examples you listen to and become familiar with the more you will understand.
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As with all Spanish learning, practising little and often is key. Keep motivated and you'll start to understand more and more. It is a fantastic feeling when you realise that someone is speaking in a different language and you can understand. Not only will this help you with your GCSE exams, you can take this skill to talk and meet to the millions of Spanish speakers around the world!
For more tips and preparing for your Spanish GCSE click here.
I also have posts on how to revise for the GCSE Spanish writing and speaking.
Hi, I am Karen. I am an online Spanish tutor and blogger. I offer online tuition for students across the UK. I live in Tonbridge, in Kent, with my husband and my son. For me learning Spanish has meant fun, adventure, friendship and fulfilling work. I love sharing all that I have learnt with my students and via my blog. You can sign up for a free trial meeting here.