New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Una visita especial: translation, transcription

I can use different strategies to improve my dictation and translation skills.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Una visita especial: translation, transcription

I can use different strategies to improve my dictation and translation skills.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Successful transcription involves careful listening, writing and checking, ensuring every word written makes sense.
  2. Effective translation requires more than direct word-for-word substitution.
  3. The VAN check involves checking your verbs, adjectives and nouns after translating.
  4. The VAN check can significantly improve accuracy when tackling translation tasks.

Keywords

  • Transcription - process of listening to spoken words and writing them down accurately, also known as dictation

  • Translation, translating - changing words or sentences from one language into another, so the meaning stays the same

  • VAN check - a proofreading technique to improve the accuracy of verbs, adjectives, and nouns

Common misconception

Translating word-for-word is an effective strategy when tackling translation tasks.

Effective translation requires more than direct word-for-word substitution. Applying knowledge of grammar and using proofing strategies, such as the VAN check (Verbs, Adjectives, Nouns), can significantly improve accuracy.


To help you plan your year 11 Spanish lesson on: Una visita especial: translation, transcription, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

In Learning Cycle 2, Option 1 in Task B1 has Higher-tier structures and vocabulary and Option 2 is for Foundation tier. Note that the Option 2 translation has been designed to revisit structures and vocabulary recently covered, rather than accurately represent an example translation.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which words are exact cognates in Spanish?

French
Correct answer: legal
preferable
Correct answer: capital
gender

Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:desayunar,to eat breakfast, eating breakfast

to eat breakfast, eating breakfast

Correct Answer:discutir,to argue, discuss

to argue, discuss

Correct Answer:basarse en,to be based on, being based on

to be based on, being based on

Correct Answer:esperar,to hope, wait

to hope, wait

Correct Answer:emplear,to employ, use

to employ, use

Correct Answer:publicar,to post, publish

to post, publish

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:abuelo (m),grandfather

grandfather

Correct Answer:carácter (m),personality, character

personality, character

Correct Answer:martes (m),Tuesday

Tuesday

Correct Answer:niña (f),daughter, child

daughter, child

Correct Answer:noviembre (m),November

November

Correct Answer:título (m),title

title

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'the toy is not in the room'.

1 - el
2 - juguete
3 - no
4 - está
5 - en
6 - la
7 - habitación

Q5.
Write in English: 'mi tío siempre es tonto'.

Correct Answer: my uncle is always silly

Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'the minority is medium-sized'.

Correct Answer: la minoría es mediana

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Which statements about the dictation (transcription) task are correct?

There are three sentences.
Correct answer: You hear each sentence three times.
Correct answer: You write each sentence in Spanish.
You translate each sentence into English.
Spellings and accents do not matter.

Q2.
'El cumpleaños de mi abuela es el jueves.' Choose the best translation.

The birthday of my grandmother is the Thursday.
The birthday of my grandmother is on Thursday.
My grandmother's birthday is the Thursday.
Correct answer: My grandmother's birthday is on Thursday.

Q3.
As well as verbs, what do you look at according to the VAN check?

Correct answer: adjectives
adverbs
agreements
negatives
Correct answer: nouns

Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'the house used to be dirty'.

Correct Answer: la casa estaba sucia

Additional material

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