Lesson 2
El deporte y los juegos.
Sport and games in your free time — playing, watching, video games and board games, 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 sport & games 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.
El deporte en mi tiempo libre — Diego
Una gran aficionada — 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.
Deporte y juegos — Marta
De la consola al deporte — 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 sport and games and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Qué deporte o juego prefieres en tu tiempo libre?
- 3.¿Juegas o ves el deporte? ¿Con qué frecuencia?
- 4.¿Es mejor hacer deporte o jugar a videojuegos? (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 — playing football. En la primera foto hay unos jóvenes jugando al fútbol en un campo de hierba. Corren con mucha energía para llegar al balón y parece un partido muy reñido. El fútbol es el deporte más popular del mundo y una forma estupenda de hacer ejercicio con los amigos.
In the first photo there are some young people playing football on a grass pitch. They are running energetically to reach the ball and it looks like a closely-fought match. Football is the most popular sport in the world and a great way to exercise with friends.
Foto B — playing chess. En la segunda foto se ve a unos hombres mayores jugando al ajedrez en un parque. Están muy concentrados en la partida y uno de ellos gesticula con las manos mientras habla. El ajedrez es un juego de mesa clásico, ideal para pensar y pasar el rato al aire libre.
In the second photo you can see some older men playing chess at a table in a park. They are very focused on the game and one of them is gesturing with his hands as he talks. Chess is a classic board game, perfect for thinking and spending time outdoors.
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
Deportes y juegos: jugar al fútbol / baloncesto · ver un partido · jugar a las cartas · un juego de mesa · el ajedrez · los videojuegos
¿Cómo / cuándo?: en su tiempo libre · los fines de semana · al aire libre · en el campo · compiten · se divierten · ganan o pierden
Opinar (tu turno): prefiero … porque … · es emocionante / relajante · me apasiona el deporte
Then the conversation
- Q2 — what you play: En mi tiempo libre juego al … y veo partidos porque me divierte.
- Q3 — how often & who with: Entreno con mi equipo dos veces por semana y juego a las cartas con mi familia.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Creo que el deporte es mejor que los videojuegos porque es más sano, aunque ambos son divertidos.
- Higher tier: add a tense — Antes solo jugaba a la consola… (imperfect) or me gustaría competir en… (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 the sport and games 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.
El deporte y los juegos
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe qué deportes y juegos haces en tu tiempo libre. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
El deporte y los juegos
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe los deportes y juegos que te gustan, qué hacías antes y tus planes para 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.