Lesson 1
El tiempo libre y los pasatiempos.
Hobbies, free time and what you do for fun — the language for talking about your interests, how often you do them and what you think of them. 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 free-time 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 tiempo libre — Diego
Una persona muy activa — 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.
Mi tiempo libre — Marta
La música es mi vida — 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 free-time activities and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Qué haces tú en tu tiempo libre?
- 3.¿Con qué frecuencia y con quién haces tus pasatiempos?
- 4.¿Es importante tener pasatiempos? (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 — video games. En la primera foto hay dos chicos jóvenes jugando a los videojuegos en una consola. Llevan sudaderas y tienen un mando cada uno; parece que se lo están pasando muy bien. Jugar a los videojuegos con los amigos es una forma muy popular de relajarse después del instituto.
In the first photo there are two young boys playing video games on a console. They are wearing hoodies and each has a controller; they seem to be having a great time. Playing video games with friends is a very popular way to relax after school.
Foto B — a band. En la segunda foto se ve a un grupo de jóvenes tocando música en un garaje. Una chica canta y toca la guitarra, un chico toca la batería y otros tocan el bajo y la guitarra. Están ensayando juntos y parece que les encanta la música.
In the second photo you can see a group of young people playing music in a garage. A girl is singing and playing the guitar, a boy is playing the drums and others are playing the bass and guitar. They are rehearsing together and they clearly love music.
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
Los pasatiempos: jugar a los videojuegos · escuchar música · tocar un instrumento · ver una película · leer · hacer deporte
¿Cómo / cuándo?: en su tiempo libre · los fines de semana · con sus amigos · se divierten · se relajan · lo pasan bien
Opinar (tu turno): mi pasatiempo favorito es… · me gusta … porque me divierte / me relaja · es importante tener aficiones
Then the conversation
- Q2 — what you do: En mi tiempo libre me gusta … porque me divierte / me relaja.
- Q3 — how often & who with: Los fines de semana quedo con mis amigos; toco la guitarra dos veces por semana.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, tener pasatiempos es esencial porque ayudan a desconectar del estrés.
- Higher tier: add a tense — Antes coleccionaba… (imperfect) or me gustaría aprender a… (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 what you do in your free time. 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 tiempo libre
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe qué haces en tu tiempo libre. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Mis pasatiempos
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe tus pasatiempos, qué hacías antes y qué te gustaría hacer 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.