Lesson 5
El trabajo a tiempo parcial.
Saturday jobs, babysitting, earning and saving — the language for talking about part-time work while you study. 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 work & money words.
You met all of these in earlier years. 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 trabajo de los sábados — Elena
¿Vale la pena trabajar?
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.
Cuido niños los fines de semana — Carmen
Trabajo en un supermercado — Pablo
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 about part-time work and money, and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Tienes un trabajo a tiempo parcial? ¿Qué haces?
- 3.¿Qué haces con el dinero que ganas?
- 4.¿Es bueno trabajar mientras estudias? (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 — learning a trade. En la primera foto hay dos personas trabajando en una obra. Un hombre mayor, con casco blanco y chaleco reflectante, le está enseñando a un chico joven a colocar ladrillos. El chico también lleva un chaleco amarillo y guantes, y sostiene una paleta con cemento. Parece que el joven está haciendo prácticas o aprendiendo un oficio.
In the first photo there are two people working on a building site. An older man, in a white hard hat and a hi-vis vest, is teaching a young lad to lay bricks. The boy is also wearing a yellow vest and gloves, and is holding a trowel with cement. It looks like the young man is doing work experience or learning a trade.
Foto B — saving money. En la segunda foto se ve a una niña contando monedas en una mesa, con una hucha rosa a su lado. Detrás, su madre la observa sonriendo con una taza en las manos. La niña está ahorrando el dinero que ha ganado. Aprender a ahorrar desde pequeño es un buen hábito.
In the second photo you can see a girl counting coins on a table, with a pink piggy bank beside her. Behind her, her mother watches, smiling, with a mug in her hands. The girl is saving the money she has earned. Learning to save from a young age is a good habit.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve a… (you can see) · un chico / una niña que…
El trabajo a tiempo parcial: trabajar de · cuidar niños · repartir periódicos · aprender un oficio · hacer prácticas
El dinero: ganar · ahorrar · gastar · la paga · la hucha · por hora
Opinar (tu turno): es agotador / gratificante · me hace más responsable · …porque…
Then the conversation
- Q2 — your part-time job: Los sábados trabajo de camarero y, a veces, cuido a los niños de mis vecinos.
- Q3 — what you do with the money: Ahorro casi todo para las vacaciones y gasto un poco en ropa.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Creo que trabajar mientras estudias es bueno porque te hace más responsable, aunque tienes menos tiempo libre.
- Higher tier: use the conditional — Si tuviera más tiempo, trabajaría más horas… — contrast antes (imperfect) with ahora, and justify your opinion.
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.
Your Spanish friend asks you about your part-time job and what you do with your money. Your teacher plays your friend.
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 trabajo a tiempo parcial
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe tu trabajo a tiempo parcial. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
El trabajo a tiempo parcial
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe tu trabajo, las ventajas y desventajas de trabajar mientras estudias, y el dinero. 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.