SPANISH

Studying IBDP Spanish provides you with the chance to build strong communication skills in Spanish, enhancing your ability to understand and connect with people from Spanish-speaking cultures around the world. Beyond language itself, this course fosters international-mindedness, helping you appreciate cultural diversity, new perspectives, and the global contexts in which Spanish is spoken. In learning Spanish, you’ll explore themes that are universally relevant, such as identity, experiences, human creativity, social structures, and sustainability—gaining insights that will serve you well in both personal and academic pursuits.

The IBDP Spanish curriculum is organized around five core themes: Identities, Experiences, Human Ingenuity, Social Organization, and Sharing the Planet. Through these themes, you’ll engage with authentic texts and conversations that span a variety of real-world contexts, allowing you to explore and respond to culturally rich topics and current issues.

You’ll develop not only vocabulary and grammar but also an understanding of how language varies according to audience, context, and purpose. Additionally, you will practice describing situations, narrating events, comparing perspectives, explaining issues, and articulating and defending your opinions—all of which will deepen your understanding of how Spanish functions in different social and cultural settings.

Assessment in IBDP Spanish involves both external and internal components.

Externally, you will complete:

Paper 1: A writing task where you respond to a prompt, demonstrating your productive skills in written Spanish.

Paper 2: A receptive skills assessment consisting of separate sections for listening and reading. In this paper, you will show your understanding of various audio and written passages on topics related to the themes you’ve studied.

Internally, there is an individual oral assessment that evaluates your interactive and productive skills. This consists of a presentation based on a visual stimulus related to one of the prescribed themes or a piece of literature studied in the course. Following this presentation, you’ll engage in a discussion with your teacher, which includes a broader conversation about an additional theme from the course. This assessment allows you to demonstrate your ability to express your ideas fluently, respond to questions, and engage in meaningful dialogue in Spanish.