Spanish

Great Routes. Endless Trails. Innumerable Adventures.

Studying Spanish at WAS, like the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, El Camino de Santiago, has more than one route.

As the pilgrims have done so for centuries, students of Spanish cover a great route of cultural and linguistic exchange, which takes its travellers through a variety of territory and terrain. A wealth of experiences is provided along the route of the Spanish language, which is now used by more than 400 million people, is the official language of 21 countries and is spoken by over 15% of the US population.

Most pilgrims embark on the route via its gateway, the Pyrenees, and many of those taking Spanish ab initio in UIII will be able to draw on their prior knowledge of French and find that Spanish is easy to learn: It has a very simple sound system, with just 5 vowel sounds; There is a direct correspondence between spoken and written forms; A good level of communication is achieved fairly rapidly.

The majority opt to travel the longer Camino Francés through to GCSE following the Caminos series of textbooks with songs, poems and projects to entertain the pilgrims along the way.

Our Spanish journey continues, guided by Caminos 2, and takes the Maritime route from where we set sail to broaden our horizons and discover the culinary delights of Mexico and its cultural differences from the Iberian Peninsula.

Our final guidebook to aid our travels is Caminos 3, which takes the Northern route, crossing Green Spain and sharpening our environmental sensibilities and linguistic skills.

Sixth form study offers the key to unlock the treasure chest of Hispanic heritage.

Like the Routes of the Caliphate and the Sefarad, it is a journey in time through the mosaic of the melting pot of peoples, cultures and religions.

The Washington Irving Route is a romantic, literary journey which begins with Lorca, meets Buñuel along the way before setting sail on a voyage of magical realism.

The Via de la Plata, the Roman Road via Islamic territory from South to North between mountains, valleys, plains and the cities which gave birth to the Conquistadors, is an adventure of the spirit. It affords the traveller the freedom of the open road to explore the endless possibilities of A2 cultural topics enriched with flamenco shows, salsa dancing, theatre trips and lectures en route.

El español abre una puerta al mundo.

Aprende el español – descubre el mundo.

Try Life in another Language

Channel 4 is running a promotional campaign to promote the study of languages to students. Click here to be introduced to Spanish pop music and to find out more about the campaign.

Spanish Trip

At Easter 24 LV and 9 UV girls gathered at Gatwick airport for what was to be the beginning of an experience of a lifetime. From what I've heard, many linguists say that the best way to learn a language is to immerse oneself in the country and culture, and the 2009 Seville Trip certainly encouraged this fervently. Not only were our mornings in the language school, 'CLIC', packed with essential learning of grammar and culture, notto mention the music of'La Oreja de Van Gogh', but our afternoon excursions, for example to Jerez, were really enlightening. We learned about everything in the Seville area, from sherry to the Moorish influence on Spain.

My favourite part of the trip, however, was staying with a Spanish family. Our host was so friendly, and such a great cook,that she made us feel at home right away. I believe that this trip, andhaving to speak Spanish almost constantly really helped my fluency and communication skills, and I would recommendthis experience to anyone who is willing to give it a shot - it may have seemed scary at first, but it was worth it in the end!

¡LO PASAMOS BOMBA!

Emma

The following are examples of poems written in Spanish by pupils:

Me gustaría ser… Quizá sea bombera, Que es muy peligrosa, O quizá sea cocinera, Que no es ruidosa. Quizá sea dentista, Que creo que sería divertida, O quizá sea electricista, Que pienso que sería aburrida. Quizá sea abogada Y llevaré una peluca O quizá sea granjera, Que es fantástica. Quizá sea piloto, Y viajar mucho, O quizá sea mecánica, Que no es mucho segura Charlotte Humphries

El invierno Miro a través de la ventana Y veo un mundo blanco. Contemplo el cielo despejado Y oigo el rugido del viento. El bosque aislado Cubierto de nieve. Ahora es el mejor momento Para beber chocolate caliente. Quiero sentir el frío Y pelear con bolas de nieve. Pero permanezco en casa, Admirando la belleza austera. Nicola Lui

De la sierra De la sierra, veo un río En el verano e invierno. Me gusta este río porque es muy bonito. De la sierra, veo un campo, Un campo de trigo. Me gusta este campo porque no hay ruido. De la sierra, veo una casa. En esta casa, hay una chica. La chica está sola, la chica es triste. Voy a la sierra, para reunirme con la chica. Me siento a su lado, la escucho. Porque siento por ella. Nos sentamos juntas y miramos el mundo, Y sonreímos. Marie Naffah