Reading aloud
Reading a short text aloud so a Spanish speaker understands every word, then talking about it.
Learn
Reading aloud, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the read-aloud task works and is marked
With AQA it is the second part of the speaking test, worth 15 marks: you read a short Spanish text aloud (at least 35 words at Foundation, 50 at Higher), then answer four set questions on its topic. The reading earns up to 5 marks for pronunciation, and the four answers earn up to 10, marked together as a whole. With Edexcel it opens the test and is worth 12: a text of 35 to 40 words in five sentences at Foundation, or 50 to 55 in four at Higher, read aloud for up to 8 marks for pronunciation, then two short questions asking for your likes, dislikes or opinions in the present, worth up to 2 marks each.
Prepare the text in your head during preparation time
You see the text in your preparation time but may not read it aloud there, so practise it silently. Underline the sounds that catch people out: every h to leave silent, every ll, ñ, j and rr, and every c or g before e or i. Your notes can go into the room with you.
Get the sounds the text is built to test
The text is written to test the sound-symbol rules in the specification. Words like jugar, gente, cine, quiero, llueve, mañana and perro are there on purpose, so those sounds matter most. Say every vowel clearly: a Spanish vowel is never swallowed.
Keep the meaning clear and keep going
The mark weighs minor errors, which do not affect communication, against major ones, which do. A slightly English vowel is minor; saying pero (but) for perro (dog) changes the meaning. If you slip, say the word again calmly and carry on at a steady pace.
Follow the accents and the punctuation
A written accent shows the syllable to stress: música, jamón, fácil. Pause briefly at commas and full stops, and let your voice rise at the end of a question. Reading in phrases rather than word by word helps the listener follow.
Develop your answers to the questions on the text
The teacher asks the questions exactly as written: four with AQA, where the top marks need every question answered clearly, at least two with an extended response and another developed well, and two with Edexcel, where each answer earns its marks for giving an opinion and making it clear. Add a reason, an example or something you did, as in Me gusta leer porque es divertido. Ayer leí un libro en el tren.
Answer in the tense the question uses
Listen for the tense of each question: ¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana pasado? wants the past, ¿Qué vas a hacer este verano? wants the future. Start your answer with the same verb in the first person (hice, voy a), then add an opinion. Structures like me gustaría, and at Higher cuando sea mayor, show range.
Reading aloud key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Pronunciation
- How you say the words. In reading aloud it earns up to 5 marks with AQA and up to 8 with Edexcel, judged on how many errors there are and whether they get in the way of meaning.
- Major error
- A pronunciation slip that affects communication, such as pero for perro, which turns dog into but.
- Minor error
- A slip that does not affect communication, such as a slightly English vowel in a word that is still clear.
- Sound-symbol correspondence
- The link between letters and sounds, such as j and the throaty h sound. The reading-aloud text is written to test these.
- Stress
- The syllable you say most strongly. A written accent shows where it falls, as in música and jamón.
- Compulsory questions
- The questions on the text's topic that the teacher asks word for word: four with AQA, marked together out of 10, and two with Edexcel, asking for opinions in the present and worth 2 marks each.
- Developed answer
- An answer with something added, such as a reason after porque, an example after por ejemplo or something you did.
- Extended response
- An answer that goes well beyond the minimum, linking several developed ideas. The top band needs at least two.
Common mistakes in Reading aloud
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Sounding the h in words like hay, hacer and ahora.
The Spanish h is always silent. Underline every h in the text during preparation as a reminder to skip it.
Reading ce, ci, ge and gi with English sounds, so gente sounds like gentle.
Before e and i, c is the th of think and g is the throaty sound of j. Mark these in the text during preparation and say them in your head several times.
Saying a tapped r where the word needs rr, so perro turns into pero.
A slip that changes the meaning counts as a major error. Roll every rr and every r at the start of a word, and keep the single r between vowels to a quick tap.
Rushing through the text, or stopping dead after a slip.
A steady pace keeps every sound clear. If you slip, say the word again calmly and carry on: a corrected word is better than a long silence.
Giving one-word answers to the four questions after the reading.
The top marks need extended and developed answers. Add a reason with porque, an example with por ejemplo, or what you did or will do, so each answer runs to two or three sentences.