Lesson 1

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El móvil y yo.

Smartphones — how we use them every day, what we use them for, and the apps we can't live without. This is the first lesson of Topic 2, all in the present tense plus frequency adverbs (siempre, a menudo, todos los días) and the opinion-and-reason move you'll need for higher marks. Year 9 has already taught you some of this — we're stepping it up to GCSE.

① KS3 review ② New GCSE vocab ③ Reading ④ Listening ⑤ Translation ⑥ Photo card ⑦ Role-play ⑧ Writing

Step 1 · Vocabulary you already know

Refresh your KS3 mobile 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.

Step 2 · New for GCSE

Twenty new GCSE words.

Straight from the AQA prescribed vocabulary list. Each card shows the word, its meaning, a model sentence and its tier — F Foundation & Higher, H Higher only. Tap to listen.

Step 3 · Reading comprehension

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.

Foundation

Mi día con el móvil — Sofía

Higher

El móvil: amigo y enemigo — Mateo

Step 4 · Listening comprehension

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.

Foundation

Un día normal — Carlos

Foundation passage · ~45 words · 0:18Carlos speaks.

Higher

La adicción al móvil — Valentina

Higher passage · ~70 words · 0:31Valentina speaks.

Step 5 · Translation

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.

Spanish → English

Translate into English

English → Spanish

Translate into Spanish

Step 6 · Photo card (Paper 2 · 25 marks)

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 mobiles and the kind of questions you'll be asked.

Foto A

A Spanish teen scrolling through TikTok on a sofa with headphones in

Foto B

A family at dinner with the parents looking at their phones instead of talking

1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe las dos fotos. Compulsory
2.¿Cómo usas el móvil normalmente?
3.¿Cuáles son las ventajas del móvil para los jóvenes?
4.¿Crees que pasas demasiado tiempo en el móvil? ¿Por qué? (opinión + razón)

Describing the two photos — model answer

The first question is compulsory: say at least one thing about each photo. Here is a model description of each one — tap the speaker to hear it.

Foto A. En la primera foto se ve a una chica adolescente sentada en el sofá. Lleva unos auriculares y está mirando su móvil. Parece que ve vídeos en TikTok porque sonríe y los pulgares se mueven rápido. La habitación está oscura porque la única luz es la de la pantalla. Es una imagen muy típica de mi generación.
In the first photo you can see a teenage girl sitting on the sofa. She's wearing headphones and looking at her phone. It looks like she's watching TikTok videos because she's smiling and her thumbs are moving fast. The room is dark because the only light is the screen. It's a very typical image of my generation.

Foto B. En la segunda foto hay una familia cenando en casa. Los padres miran sus móviles en lugar de hablar con sus hijos. Los niños parecen aburridos. La cena está en la mesa pero nadie come. Es una imagen triste, que muestra el problema de la adicción al móvil en muchas familias.
In the second photo there is a family having dinner at home. The parents are looking at their phones instead of talking to their children. The children look bored. The dinner is on the table but no one is eating. It's a sad image, which shows the problem of phone addiction in many families.

Useful vocabulary & phrases

Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (in the first/second photo there is) · se ve(n)… (you can see) · al fondo (in the background) · en primer plano (in the foreground) · parece (it looks like)

Describir el uso del móvil (Foto A): una chica adolescente · en el sofá / en la cama · llevar auriculares · mirar el móvil · ver vídeos en TikTok · la pantalla iluminada · típico de mi generación

Describir la adicción (Foto B): una familia cenando · los padres miran el móvil · en lugar de hablar · los niños aburridos · la adicción al móvil · una imagen triste · un problema serio

Verbos clave: hay (there is/are) · se ve(n) (one can see) · está(n) + gerundio (is/are -ing) · lleva(n) (is/are wearing) · parece(n) (seems/look)

Then the conversation

Q2 — your typical holiday: Normalmente voy a la playa con mi familia en agosto. Pasamos una semana en un hotel.
Q3 — be specific: name the country and the people: Suelo ir al sur de España con mis padres y mi hermano, en avión.
Q4 — opinion + reason (where Higher students score): Prefiero las vacaciones de aventura porque me parecen más interesantes y conoces lugares nuevos.
Higher tier: add a tense beyond the present — El año pasado fui a Italia y lo pasé genial (preterite) or Me gustaría hacer un crucero por el Caribe (conditional + infinitive).

Step 7 · Role-play (Paper 2 · 10 marks)

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.

The situation

You are talking to a Spanish exchange student about how you both use your phones. Your teacher will play the part of the exchange student.

Step 8 · Writing (Paper 4)

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.

Foundation · Q2

El móvil y yo

≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marks

Escribe sobre tus vacaciones. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.

0 words · aim ~50

Higher · Q2 overlap

El móvil y yo (Higher)

≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marks

Escribe sobre tus vacaciones. Menciona los tres puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 90 palabras en español.

0 words · aim ~90

Foundation vs Higher — what's the difference?

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.

← Back to Travel & Tourism

Bonus · Cultural read

Spain en WhatsApp: el país más conectado de Europa

Why almost everyone in Spain has WhatsApp — and the language to talk about it.

Did you know over 96% of Spaniards aged 16-44 use WhatsApp? It's higher than in the UK, France or Germany. WhatsApp isn't just an app in Spain: it's how the country runs. Family grupos, school class chats, your doctor's appointment reminder — everything happens there.

Throughout the article, the useful Spanish words and phrases are highlighted (with their meaning in brackets). Tap the on any phrase to hear it.