Spanish
Spanish at Nottingham High School
Spanish is introduced in the High School as a very popular option in Year 9 and then continues to be taught at GCSE and A level.
Although starting later than French or German, our boys quickly catch up with the other languages and, by the time they reach their GCSEs in Year 11, they are ready to sit and excel in their examinations on a level pegging, as proven by the fact that Spanish continues to enjoy huge popularity into the 6th Form.
We currently follow the AQA syllabus for GCSE and Edexcel syllabus for A level and our results in external examinations continue to be very good, with many boys deciding to continue with their Spanish beyond their time at the High School.
Spanish is taught by Mr Allerton, Mrs Griffin, Mr Jackson and Mr Picardo, who is Head of Spanish. In addition, boys from Year 10 onwards receive extra tuition from Mr Rosas, our Spanish assistant, with the aim of increasing their proficiency in speaking.
The Spanish department uses a wealth of external resources to deliver the Spanish curriculum, such as text books, magazines and websites, but we have also created some of our own resources for Year 11 onwards which are available online at www.AsiSeHace.net.
As well as the occasional escapade to see Spanish films at the cinema, the Spanish department also organises regular residential trips to Spain in the 6th Form, currently alternating between Madrid, the Capital, and Jerez, a beautiful Andalusian city near Spain’s southern Atlantic coast and home to Sherry. Boys, without exception, always enjoy their Spanish experience and learn a great deal attending Spanish lessons in specialist language schools in the morning and then taking part in activities and excursions in the evening and at the weekend.
A world language
Spanish, or Castilian, as it is often referred to by native speakers, is a Romance language which evolved in Northern Spain from several dialects of Latin (95% of Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin) and was later influenced by the numerous dialects of Vulgar Latin introduced by the frequent invasions of Germanic Vandals and Visigoths, among other central European tribes. The fledgling Spanish language was then also influenced by Arabic after the Moorish Conquest in the 8th century, eventually resulting in the language which we now know as Spanish.
As well as in Spain, due to the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, Spanish is also spoken most notably throughout the Americas, though also in parts of Africa (such as the Canary Islands, Western Sahara, Northern Morocco and Equatorial Guinea) and Asia and the Pacific (Easter Island and the Philippines).
Today, almost 500 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world’s second most spoken language in terms of native speakers. Spanish is the official language in 21 countries throughout the world, as well as being an official language in the United Nations, the European Union and many other world organisations.
Spanish is growing increasingly popular as a second or third language in a number of countries because of logistical, economic, and tourist interest towards the many nations which chiefly use Spanish as the primary language. The combined Gross Domestic Product of all Spanish speaking nations amounts to over $3 billion, making Spanish the second most economically powerful world language after English.
In addition, Spanish speaking countries have produced a vibrant popular culture, history and literature, and they continue to do so. Spanish is the native language of many world class writers and philosophers, such as Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco de Quevedo, Federico García Lorca, Gabriel García Márquez, Pablo Neruda, Isabel Allende and Jorge Luis Borges, among countless others.
Facts and figures
- In 2006, 429,293,261 people in the world speak Spanish (latest estimate).
- It is predicted that there will be 530,000,000 Spanish speakers by 2050.
- Spanish has roughly the same number of first language speakers as English and is growing.
- The top five Spanish-speaking nations are Mexico (100 million), Colombia (44.5 million), Spain (44 million), Argentina (38.5 million) and the USA (38 million).
- Spanish is the fourth most widely-used language on the internet and represents 8% of all internet users.
- Spanish speaking countries represent 6% of the world GDP.
- The total value of business between Spain and the UK is approximately £21.2 billion per annum.
- The value of UK exports to the 19 Spanish-speaking nations of Latin America is approximately £1.9 billion.
- Spain is the country most likely to be visited by British tourists – 16.5 million of us visit Spain each year.
- In 2005, there were 34.5 million air journeys between the UK and Spain.
Source: Languages Work
Picture and text by Mr Picardo
