Lesson 2
¿Cómo eres? El físico.
How to describe what people look like — hair, eyes, height and build. This is the language you reach for in the photo-card task and any time you describe yourself or someone else. Work through the eight steps below: learn the words, read, listen, translate, then practise the photo card, role-play and writing exactly as they appear in the AQA exam.
Refresh your KS3 appearance words.
You met all of these in Years 7–9. Tap any word to hear it, and check the model sentence to see it in action. These are the building blocks — make sure they're solid before the new GCSE words.
Twenty new GCSE words.
Each card shows the word, its meaning, a model sentence and a tag: F on the AQA list (Foundation & Higher), H Higher only, útil not on AQA's list but very useful for speaking & writing. Tap to listen.
Read, then answer.
Two texts on the same topic — a Foundation text and a tougher Higher text. Read each one, then answer the questions in English underneath. They mark themselves: tap your answer and you'll see straight away if you're right.
Mi familia: todos diferentes
¿Idénticas? Dos hermanas
Listen, then answer.
Press play to hear the passage read aloud, as many times as you need, then answer the English questions. You can reveal the transcript afterwards to check what you heard.
🎧 Native-quality audio. Play it as many times as you need — just like the real exam, where each recording is played twice.
Me describo — Lucía
Diego se describe
Translate both ways.
First Spanish → English (reading translation), then English → Spanish (the harder direction, tested in Paper 4). Have a go on paper, then tap to reveal the model answer and compare.
Translate into English
Translate into Spanish
Describe the photo card.
In the speaking exam you get a card with two photos from one theme. You must say at least one thing about each photo, then have a conversation on the topic. Here are two photos of people and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe el aspecto físico de las personas. Compulsory
- 2.¿Cómo eres físicamente? (el pelo, los ojos, la estatura)
- 3.¿A quién te pareces en tu familia? ¿Por qué?
- 4.¿Es importante para ti el aspecto físico? (opinión + razón)
Describing the photos — model answer
The first question is compulsory: say at least one thing about each photo. Below are two model descriptions you can adapt to whoever is in the picture — tap the speaker to hear them.
Foto A — one person. En la primera foto hay un hombre joven. Tiene el pelo corto y rubio, lleva gafas y tiene barba y bigote. Lleva un jersey negro y parece serio y pensativo.
In the first photo there is a young man. He has short blond hair, wears glasses and has a beard and moustache. He's wearing a black jumper and looks serious and thoughtful.
Foto B — comparing people. En la segunda foto se ve un grupo de cinco jóvenes sentados en un muro, al aire libre. Son de orígenes diferentes: las chicas tienen el pelo largo y moreno, y los chicos tienen el pelo corto. Todos están sonriendo y parecen muy contentos.
In the second photo you can see a group of five young people sitting on a wall, outdoors. They are from different backgrounds: the girls have long dark hair and the boys have short hair. They are all smiling and look very happy.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (in the first/second photo there is) · se ve(n)… (you can see) · a la izquierda / derecha · en el centro · al fondo (in the background) · en primer plano (in the foreground)
El pelo: tiene el pelo corto / largo / rizado / liso · rubio / moreno / castaño / negro / pelirrojo · lleva barba / bigote · es calvo
La cara y los ojos: tiene los ojos azules / verdes / marrones · tiene la cara redonda · una sonrisa bonita · lleva gafas · tiene la piel clara / morena
Estatura y complexión: es alto / bajo / de estatura media · delgado / fuerte · parece joven / mayor
Comparar: se parece a… (looks like) · a diferencia de… (unlike) · mientras que… (whereas) · los/las dos son… (both are)
Then the conversation
- Q2 — yourself: Soy alto/a y delgado/a. Tengo el pelo… y los ojos… Add whether you wear glasses: Llevo gafas.
- Q3 — who you look like: Me parezco a mi madre/padre porque los dos tenemos el pelo…
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, el aspecto físico no es lo más importante porque lo que cuenta es la personalidad.
- Higher tier: add a tense beyond the present — De pequeño/a era más bajo/a… (imperfect) or En el futuro quiero… (future) — and a comparison with mientras que.
The role-play.
The instructions are in English. You must answer the prompts and ask one question (the ! bullet). Try it out loud first, then reveal the model answers.
You have just arrived in Spain to meet your exchange family for the first time. You phone them from the airport to describe what you look like so they can find you. Your teacher plays your exchange partner.
Model answers & tips
Write your answer.
Two tasks in the real exam style — a Foundation ~50-word task (five bullets) and a Higher ~90-word task (three bullets). Use the sentence starters (tap to drop them into the pad) and the useful vocab, then compare with a model answer.
Mi aspecto físico
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe tu aspecto físico. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Yo y mi físico
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe tu aspecto físico y compárate con otra persona. Menciona los tres puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 90 palabras en español.
Foundation answers cover all the bullets with clear, accurate present-tense sentences joined by y, pero and porque, plus at least one opinion. Higher answers do all that and then reach further: more than one tense (e.g. imperfect vivía, near future voy a, conditional me gustaría), opinions with developed reasons, a wider range of connectives (aunque, sin embargo, además) and more ambitious vocabulary. The biggest single lift from Foundation to Higher is justifying opinions and using a second and third tense accurately.