Lesson 6
Las fiestas del mundo hispano.
Festivals across the Spanish-speaking world — the Day of the Dead, Carnival, and traditions from Spain to Latin America. The language for describing them, comparing past and present opinions, and saying why other cultures matter. 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 celebration 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.
Fiestas coloridas — Diego
La diversidad hispana — Elena
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.
El Carnaval — Marta
Más allá de España — Hugo
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 festivals and celebrations and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Qué fiesta del mundo hispano te interesa más?
- 3.¿Qué hace la gente en esa fiesta y dónde se celebra?
- 4.¿Es importante conocer otras culturas? (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 — the Day of the Dead. En la primera foto se ve un altar del Día de los Muertos, lleno de flores naranjas, velas y calaveras de colores. Una familia ha puesto fotos de sus seres queridos. Es una tradición mexicana muy bonita para recordar a los difuntos.
In the first photo you can see a Day of the Dead altar, full of orange flowers, candles and colourful skulls. A family has placed photos of their loved ones. It is a beautiful Mexican tradition for remembering the deceased.
Foto B — a Carnival. En la segunda foto hay un desfile de Carnaval con carrozas enormes y gente disfrazada con trajes muy coloridos. Hay música y baile por toda la calle. El ambiente es muy alegre y festivo.
In the second photo there is a Carnival parade with huge floats and people in costume wearing very colourful outfits. There is music and dancing all through the street. The atmosphere is very lively and festive.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve a… (you can see) · unos jóvenes / un grupo de amigos
Las fiestas: la celebración · el desfile · los fuegos artificiales · disfrazarse · el ambiente · reunirse
¿Cómo / cuándo?: por la noche · en la calle · con la familia · celebran · se divierten · lo pasan bien
Opinar (tu turno): mi fiesta favorita es… · me gusta … porque hay muy buen ambiente · las tradiciones son importantes
Then the conversation
- Q2 — your favourite: La fiesta del mundo hispano que más me interesa es el Día de los Muertos en México.
- Q3 — how & who with: Las familias hacen altares con flores y comida para recordar a sus seres queridos; se celebra en México.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, conocer otras culturas es esencial porque nos abre la mente y nos hace más tolerantes.
- Higher tier: add a tense — De pequeño pensaba que era una fiesta triste… (imperfect) or el año que viene me gustaría viajar a México… (conditional) — and an opinion with creo que / pienso 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.
Your Spanish friend asks you about festivals across the Hispanic world. 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.
Una fiesta del mundo hispano
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe una fiesta del mundo hispano y qué hace la gente. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Las fiestas del mundo hispano
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe las fiestas hispanas que te interesan, qué pensabas antes y qué te gustaría ver en el futuro. 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.